Washington State House of Representatives Office of Program Research	BILL ANALYSIS
State Government Committee

HJR 4216

Brief Description:  Allowing job sharing by elected officials.

Sponsors:  Representatives Lambert and Hunt.

Brief Summary of Bill

$Allows job sharing by state officials.

Hearing Date:  2/26/01

Staff:  Jim Morishima (786‑7191).

Background: 

There are a variety of elected state officials in Washington including members of the House of Representatives, members of the Senate, and statewide executive branch officials.  Statewide elected officials in the executive branch include the Governor, the Lieutenant Governor, the Secretary of State, the State Treasurer, the State Auditor, the Attorney General, the Superintendent of Public Instruction, the Commissioner of Public Lands, and the Insurance Commissioner.

Summary of Bill: 

All elected legislative and executive branch offices may be held jointly by two qualified persons as job share officials.  Persons wishing to file for office as job share candidates must do so when filing for office.  The ballot must list the names of both job share candidates along with the percentage of time each candidate will spend fulfilling the duties of the office.

Job share candidates must enter into binding agreements specifying:

$How the responsibilities of the office will be divided;

$How executive decisions will be made;

$How the benefits of the office will be divided; and

$The approximate percentage of time each official will spend fulfilling the duties of the office.

In the event one job share official dies during his or her term of office, the other official will assume the full duties and responsibilities of the office for the remainder of the term.  If both officials die during their term of office, the office will be handled in the manner provided in the state Constitution.

Rulemaking Authority:  The Legislature must enact rules to implement job sharing in the legislative branch.

Appropriation:  None.

Fiscal Note:  Not Requested.