[atlas:bill]

AN ACT Relating to reports to the legislature; amending RCW 34.05.328, 43.20B.030, 43.79.460, 43.88.110, 74.09.310, 74.09.320, and 84.33.200; and repealing RCW 15.58.420, 17.21.350, 43.41.220, 43.41.230, 43.88.510, 71.36.020, and 82.08.0201.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

Sec. 1. RCW 34.05.328 and 1997 c 430 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) Before adopting a rule described in subsection (5) of this section, an agency shall:

(a) Clearly state in detail the general goals and specific objectives of the statute that the rule implements;

(b) Determine that the rule is needed to achieve the general goals and specific objectives stated under (a) of this subsection, and analyze alternatives to rule making and the consequences of not adopting the rule;

(c) Determine that the probable benefits of the rule are greater than its probable costs, taking into account both the qualitative and quantitative benefits and costs and the specific directives of the statute being implemented;

(d) Determine, after considering alternative versions of the rule and the analysis required under (b) and (c) of this subsection, that the rule being adopted is the least burdensome alternative for those required to comply with it that will achieve the general goals and specific objectives stated under (a) of this subsection;

(e) Determine that the rule does not require those to whom it applies to take an action that violates requirements of another federal or state law;

(f) Determine that the rule does not impose more stringent performance requirements on private entities than on public entities unless required to do so by federal or state law;

(g) Determine if the rule differs from any federal regulation or statute applicable to the same activity or subject matter and, if so, determine that the difference is justified by the following:

(i) A state statute that explicitly allows the agency to differ from federal standards; or

(ii) Substantial evidence that the difference is necessary to achieve the general goals and specific objectives stated under (a) of this subsection; and

(h) Coordinate the rule, to the maximum extent practicable, with other federal, state, and local laws applicable to the same activity or subject matter.

(2) In making its determinations pursuant to subsection (1)(b) through (g) of this section, the agency shall place in the rule-making file documentation of sufficient quantity and quality so as to persuade a reasonable person that the determinations are justified.

(3) Before adopting rules described in subsection (5) of this section, an agency shall place in the rule-making file a rule implementation plan for rules filed under each adopting order. The plan shall describe how the agency intends to:

(a) Implement and enforce the rule, including a description of the resources the agency intends to use;

(b) Inform and educate affected persons about the rule;

(d) Evaluate whether the rule achieves the purpose for which it was adopted, including, to the maximum extent practicable, the use of interim milestones to assess progress and the use of objectively measurable outcomes.

(4) After adopting a rule described in subsection (5) of this section regulating the same activity or subject matter as another provision of federal or state law, an agency shall do all of the following:

(a) ((~~Provide to the business assistance center a list citing by reference the other federal and state laws that regulate the same activity or subject matter;~~

~~(b)~~)) Coordinate implementation and enforcement of the rule with the other federal and state entities regulating the same activity or subject matter by making every effort to do one or more of the following:

(i) Deferring to the other entity;

(ii) Designating a lead agency; or

(iii) Entering into an agreement with the other entities specifying how the agency and entities will coordinate implementation and enforcement.

If the agency is unable to comply with this subsection (4)((~~(b)~~)) (a), the agency shall report to the legislature pursuant to ((~~(c)~~)) (b) of this subsection;

((~~(c)~~)) (b) Report to the joint administrative rules review committee:

(i) The existence of any overlap or duplication of other federal or state laws, any differences from federal law, and any known overlap, duplication, or conflict with local laws; and

(ii) Make recommendations for any legislation that may be necessary to eliminate or mitigate any adverse effects of such overlap, duplication, or difference.

(5)(a) Except as provided in (b) of this subsection, this section applies to:

(i) Significant legislative rules of the departments of ecology, labor and industries, health, revenue, social and health services, and natural resources, the employment security department, the forest practices board, the office of the insurance commissioner, and to the legislative rules of the department of fish and wildlife implementing chapter ((~~75.20~~)) 77.55 RCW; and

(ii) Any rule of any agency, if this section is voluntarily made applicable to the rule by the agency, or is made applicable to the rule by a majority vote of the joint administrative rules review committee within forty-five days of receiving the notice of proposed rule making under RCW 34.05.320.

(b) This section does not apply to:

(i) Emergency rules adopted under RCW 34.05.350;

(ii) Rules relating only to internal governmental operations that are not subject to violation by a nongovernment party;

(iii) Rules adopting or incorporating by reference without material change federal statutes or regulations, Washington state statutes, rules of other Washington state agencies, shoreline master programs other than those programs governing shorelines of statewide significance, or, as referenced by Washington state law, national consensus codes that generally establish industry standards, if the material adopted or incorporated regulates the same subject matter and conduct as the adopting or incorporating rule;

(iv) Rules that only correct typographical errors, make address or name changes, or clarify language of a rule without changing its effect;

(v) Rules the content of which is explicitly and specifically dictated by statute;

(vi) Rules that set or adjust fees or rates pursuant to legislative standards; or

(vii) Rules of the department of social and health services relating only to client medical or financial eligibility and rules concerning liability for care of dependents.

(i) A "procedural rule" is a rule that adopts, amends, or repeals (A) any procedure, practice, or requirement relating to any agency hearings; (B) any filing or related process requirement for making application to an agency for a license or permit; or (C) any policy statement pertaining to the consistent internal operations of an agency.

(ii) An "interpretive rule" is a rule, the violation of which does not subject a person to a penalty or sanction, that sets forth the agency’s interpretation of statutory provisions it administers.

(iii) A "significant legislative rule" is a rule other than a procedural or interpretive rule that (A) adopts substantive provisions of law pursuant to delegated legislative authority, the violation of which subjects a violator of such rule to a penalty or sanction; (B) establishes, alters, or revokes any qualification or standard for the issuance, suspension, or revocation of a license or permit; or (C) adopts a new, or makes significant amendments to, a policy or regulatory program.

(d) In the notice of proposed rule making under RCW 34.05.320, an agency shall state whether this section applies to the proposed rule pursuant to (a)(i) of this subsection, or if the agency will apply this section voluntarily.

(((6) By January 31, 1996, and by January 31st of each even-numbered year thereafter, the office of financial management, after consulting with state agencies, counties, and cities, and business, labor, and environmental organizations, shall report to the governor and the legislature regarding the effects of this section on the regulatory system in this state. The report shall document:

~~(a) The rules proposed to which this section applied and to the extent possible, how compliance with this section affected the substance of the rule, if any, that the agency ultimately adopted;~~

~~(b) The costs incurred by state agencies in complying with this section;~~

~~(c) Any legal action maintained based upon the alleged failure of any agency to comply with this section, the costs to the state of such action, and the result;~~

~~(d) The extent to which this section has adversely affected the capacity of agencies to fulfill their legislatively prescribed mission;~~

~~(e) The extent to which this section has improved the acceptability of state rules to those regulated; and~~

~~(f) Any other information considered by the office of financial management to be useful in evaluating the effect of this section.~~))

Sec. 2. RCW 43.20B.030 and 1997 c 130 s 5 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) Except as otherwise provided by law, there will be no collection of overpayments and other debts due the department after the expiration of six years from the date of notice of such overpayment or other debt unless the department has commenced recovery action in a court of law or unless an administrative remedy authorized by statute is in place. However, any amount due in a case thus extended shall cease to be a debt due the department at the expiration of ten years from the date of the notice of the overpayment or other debt unless a court-ordered remedy would be in effect for a longer period.

(2)((~~(a)~~)) The department, at any time, may accept offers of compromise of disputed claims or may grant partial or total write-off of any debt due the department if it is no longer cost-effective to pursue. The department shall adopt rules establishing the considerations to be made in the granting or denial of a partial or total write-off of debts.

(((b) Beginning December 1, 1997, the department shall report by December 1 each year to the commerce and labor committees of the senate and house of representatives, the senate ways and means committee, and the house appropriations committee, or successor committees, the following information:

~~(i) The cumulative amount of debt due the department;~~

~~(ii) The cumulative amount of debt that has been written off by the department as no longer cost-effective to pursue;~~

~~(iii) The amount of debt due the department that has accrued in each of the previous five fiscal years; and~~

~~(iv) The amount of debt that has been written off in each of the previous five fiscal years as no longer cost-effective to pursue.~~))

Sec. 3. RCW 43.79.460 and 1998 c 302 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) The savings incentive account is created in the custody of the state treasurer. The account shall consist of all moneys appropriated to the account by the legislature. The account is subject to the allotment procedures under chapter 43.88 RCW, but no appropriation is required for expenditures from the account.

(2) Within the savings incentive account, the state treasurer may create subaccounts to be credited with incentive savings attributable to individual state agencies, as determined by the office of financial management in consultation with the legislative fiscal committees. Moneys deposited in the subaccounts may be expended only on the authorization of the agency's executive head or designee and only for the purpose of one-time expenditures to improve the quality, efficiency, and effectiveness of services to customers of the state, such as one-time expenditures for employee training, employee incentives, technology improvements, new work processes, or performance measurement. Funds may not be expended from the account to establish new programs or services, expand existing programs or services, or incur ongoing costs that would require future expenditures.

(3) For purposes of this section, "incentive savings" means state general fund appropriations that are unspent as of June 30th of a fiscal year, excluding any amounts included in across-the-board reductions under RCW 43.88.110 and excluding unspent appropriations for:

(a) Caseload and enrollment in entitlement programs, except to the extent that an agency has clearly demonstrated that efficiencies have been achieved in the administration of the entitlement program. "Entitlement program," as used in this section, includes programs for which specific sums of money are appropriated for pass-through to third parties or other entities;

(b) Enrollments in state institutions of higher education;

(c) A specific amount contained in a condition or limitation to an appropriation in the biennial appropriations act, if the agency did not achieve the specific purpose or objective of the condition or limitation;

(d) Debt service on state obligations; and

(e) State retirement system obligations.

(4) The office of ((~~fiscal [financial]~~)) financial management, after consulting with the legislative fiscal committees, shall report to the treasurer the amount of savings incentives achieved. ((By December 1, 1998, and each December 1st thereafter, the office of financial management shall submit a report to the fiscal committees of the legislature on the implementation of this section. The report shall (a) evaluate the impact of this section on agency reversions and end-of-biennium expenditure patterns, and (b) itemize agency expenditures from the savings recovery account.))

Sec. 4. RCW 43.88.110 and 1997 c 96 s 6 are each amended to read as follows:

This section sets forth the expenditure programs and the allotment and reserve procedures to be followed by the executive branch for public funds.

(1) Allotments of an appropriation for any fiscal period shall conform to the terms, limits, or conditions of the appropriation.

(2) The director of financial management shall provide all agencies with a complete set of operating and capital instructions for preparing a statement of proposed expenditures at least thirty days before the beginning of a fiscal period. The set of instructions need not include specific appropriation amounts for the agency.

(3) Within forty-five days after the beginning of the fiscal period or within forty-five days after the governor signs the omnibus biennial appropriations act, whichever is later, all agencies shall submit to the governor a statement of proposed expenditures at such times and in such form as may be required by the governor.

(4) The office of financial management shall develop a method for monitoring capital appropriations and expenditures that will capture at least the following elements:

(a) Appropriations made for capital projects including transportation projects;

(b) Estimates of total project costs including past, current, ensuing, and future biennial costs;

(d) Comparisons of estimated construction start and completion dates with actual dates;

(e) Documentation of fund shifts between projects.

This data may be incorporated into the existing accounting system or into a separate project management system, as deemed appropriate by the office of financial management.

(5) The office of financial management shall publish agency annual maintenance summary reports beginning in October 1997. State agencies shall submit a separate report for each major campus or site, as defined by the office of financial management. Reports shall be prepared in a format prescribed by the office of financial management and shall include, but not be limited to: Information describing the number, size, and condition of state-owned facilities; facility maintenance, repair, and operating expenses paid from the state operating and capital budgets, including maintenance staffing levels; the condition of major infrastructure systems; and maintenance management initiatives undertaken by the agency over the prior year. Agencies shall submit their annual maintenance summary reports to the office of financial management by September 1st each year.

(6) The office of financial management, prior to approving allotments for major capital construction projects valued over five million dollars, shall institute procedures for reviewing such projects at the predesign stage that will reduce long-term costs and increase facility efficiency. The procedures shall include, but not be limited to, the following elements:

(a) Evaluation of facility program requirements and consistency with long-range plans;

(b) Utilization of a system of cost, quality, and performance standards to compare major capital construction projects; and

(7) No expenditure may be incurred or obligation entered into for such major capital construction projects including, without exception, land acquisition, site development, predesign, design, construction, and equipment acquisition and installation, until the allotment of the funds to be expended has been approved by the office of financial management. This limitation does not prohibit the continuation of expenditures and obligations into the succeeding biennium for projects for which allotments have been approved in the immediate prior biennium.

(8) If at any time during the fiscal period the governor projects a cash deficit in a particular fund or account as defined by RCW 43.88.050, the governor shall make across-the-board reductions in allotments for that particular fund or account so as to prevent a cash deficit, unless the legislature has directed the liquidation of the cash deficit over one or more fiscal periods. Except for the legislative and judicial branches and other agencies headed by elective officials, the governor shall review the statement of proposed operating expenditures for reasonableness and conformance with legislative intent. Once the governor approves the statements of proposed operating expenditures, further revisions shall be made only at the beginning of the second fiscal year and must be initiated by the governor. However, changes in appropriation level authorized by the legislature, changes required by across-the-board reductions mandated by the governor, changes caused by executive increases to spending authority, and changes caused by executive decreases to spending authority for failure to comply with the provisions of chapter 36.70A RCW may require additional revisions. Revisions shall not be made retroactively. Revisions caused by executive increases to spending authority shall not be made after June 30, 1987. However, the governor may assign to a reserve status any portion of an agency appropriation withheld as part of across-the-board reductions made by the governor and any portion of an agency appropriation conditioned on a contingent event by the appropriations act. The governor may remove these amounts from reserve status if the across-the-board reductions are subsequently modified or if the contingent event occurs. The director of financial management shall enter approved statements of proposed expenditures into the state budgeting, accounting, and reporting system within forty-five days after receipt of the proposed statements from the agencies. If an agency or the director of financial management is unable to meet these requirements, the director of financial management shall provide a timely explanation in writing to the legislative fiscal committees.

(9) It is expressly provided that all agencies shall be required to maintain accounting records and to report thereon in the manner prescribed in this chapter and under the regulations issued pursuant to this chapter. Within ninety days of the end of the fiscal year, all agencies shall submit to the director of financial management their final adjustments to close their books for the fiscal year. Prior to submitting fiscal data, written or oral, to committees of the legislature, it is the responsibility of the agency submitting the data to reconcile it with the budget and accounting data reported by the agency to the director of financial management.

(10) The director of financial management shall monitor agency operating expenditures against the approved statement of proposed expenditures ((~~and shall provide the legislature with quarterly explanations of major variances~~)).

(11) The director of financial management may exempt certain public funds from the allotment controls established under this chapter if it is not practical or necessary to allot the funds. Allotment control exemptions expire at the end of the fiscal biennium for which they are granted. The director of financial management shall report any exemptions granted under this subsection to the legislative fiscal committees.

Sec. 5. RCW 74.09.310 and 1998 c 314 s 34 are each amended to read as follows:

The department may make available, or cause to be made available, pharmaceutical birth control services, information, and counseling to any person who enters chemical dependency treatment under section 20 or 21 of this act. Within available funds, the department may pay for any tubal ligations requested under section 19 of this act if the mother's income is less than two hundred percent of the federal poverty level. ((The department shall report by December 1st of each year to the governor and legislature: (1) The number of tubal ligations performed as a result of chapter 314, Laws of 1998; (2) the number of women who decline to undergo the surgery; (3) the number of women who obtain pharmaceutical birth control, by type of birth control; and (4) the number of women who are reported to the department.))

Sec. 6. RCW 74.09.320 and 1998 c 314 s 35 are each amended to read as follows:

The department may make available, or cause to be made available, pharmaceutical birth control services, information, and counseling to any person who enters chemical dependency treatment under section 27 of this act. Within available funds, the department may pay for any tubal ligations requested under section 26 of this act if the mother's income is less than two hundred percent of the federal poverty level. ((The department shall report by December 1st of each year to the governor and legislature: (1) The number of tubal ligations performed as a result of chapter 314, Laws of 1998; (2) the number of women who decline to undergo the surgery; (3) the number of women who obtain pharmaceutical birth control, by type of birth control; and (4) the number of women who are reported to the department.))

Sec. 7. RCW 84.33.200 and 1998 c 245 s 170 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) The legislature shall review the system of distribution and allocation of all timber excise tax revenues in January 1975 and each year thereafter to provide a uniform and equitable distribution and allocation of such revenues to the state and local taxing districts.

(2) In order to allow legislative review of the rules to be adopted by the department of revenue establishing the stumpage values provided for in RCW 84.33.091, such rules shall be effective not less than sixty days after transmitting to the staffs of the senate and house ways and means committees (or their successor committees) the same proposed rules as have been previously filed with the office of the code reviser pursuant to RCW 34.05.320.

(3) The department of revenue and the department of natural resources shall make available to the revenue committees of the senate and house of representatives of the state legislature information and data, as it may be available, pertaining to the status of forest land grading throughout the state, the collection of timber excise tax revenues, the distribution and allocation of timber excise tax revenues to the state and local taxing districts, and any other information as may be necessary for the proper legislative review and implementation of the timber excise tax system((~~, and in addition, the departments shall provide an annual report of such matters in January of each year to such committees~~)).

NEW SECTION. Sec. 8. The following acts or parts of acts are each repealed:

(1) RCW 15.58.420 (Report to legislature) and 1997 c 242 s 9 & 1989 c 380 s 30;

(2) RCW 17.21.350 (Report to legislature) and 1997 c 242 s 19 & 1989 c 380 s 64;

(3) RCW 43.41.220 (Review of boards and commissions by governor--Report--Termination--Transfers) and 1994 sp.s. c 9 s 873;

(4) RCW 43.41.230 (Boards and commissions reviewed--Exceptions) and 1994 sp.s. c 9 s 874;

(5) RCW 43.88.510 (State boards, commissions, councils, and committees--Submission of list and data to legislature) and 1996 c 288 s 42, 1987 c 505 s 37, 1979 c 151 s 144, & 1977 c 23 s 3;

(6) RCW 71.36.020 (Inventory of mental health programs for children--Plan for early periodic screening, diagnosis, and treatment services) and 1991 c 326 s 13; and

(7) RCW 82.08.0201 (Rental cars--Estimate of tax revenue) and 1992 c 194 s 10.