Read first time 02/10/2003.   Referred to Committee on Appropriations.

     AN ACT Relating to implementing the collective bargaining agreement between the home care quality authority and individual home care providers; creating new sections; making appropriations; and providing an effective date.

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

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   (1) The legislature finds that the voters of Washington state expressed their strong support for home-based long-term care services through their overwhelming approval of Initiative Measure No. 775 in 2001. With passage of the initiative, the state has been directed to increase the quality of state-funded long-term care services provided to elderly and disabled persons in their own homes through recruitment and training of in-home individual providers, referral of qualified individual providers to seniors and persons with disabilities seeking a provider, and stabilization of the individual provider work force. The legislature further finds that the quality of care our elders and people with disabilities receive is highly dependent upon the quality and stability of the individual provider work force, and that the demand for the services of these providers will increase as our population ages.
     (2) The legislature intends to stabilize the state-funded individual provider work force by providing funding to implement the collective bargaining agreement between the home care quality authority and the exclusive bargaining representative of individual providers. The agreement reflects the value and importance of the work done by individual providers to support the needs of elders and people with disabilities in Washington state.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   The sum of seven million one hundred twenty-nine thousand dollars, or as much thereof as may be necessary, is appropriated for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2005, from the general fund--state, and the sum of six million nine hundred eighteen thousand dollars, or as much thereof as may be necessary, is appropriated for the biennium ending June 30, 2005, from the general fund--federal to the department of social and health services solely to increase the wages of state-funded individual providers from the current hourly rate of eight dollars and forty-three cents per hour to eight dollars and ninety-three cents per hour beginning October 1, 2004.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3   The sum of ten million six hundred four thousand dollars, or as much thereof as may be necessary, is appropriated for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2005, from the general fund--state, and the sum of ten million two hundred ninety-four thousand dollars, or as much thereof as may be necessary, is appropriated for the biennium ending June 30, 2005, from the general fund--federal to the department of social and health services solely to provide contributions of up to four hundred dollars per month for each eligible state-funded individual provider for health insurance coverage pursuant to the terms of the collective bargaining agreement between the home care quality authority and the exclusive bargaining representative of individual providers.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 4   The sum of five million seven hundred thirteen thousand dollars, or as much thereof as may be necessary, is appropriated for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2005, from the general fund--state, and the sum of five million five hundred forty-three thousand dollars, or as much thereof as may be necessary, is appropriated for the biennium ending June 30, 2005, from the general fund--federal to the department of social and health services solely to provide workers' compensation benefits to state-funded individual providers beginning October 1, 2004, through a third-party administrator under contract with the home care quality authority.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 5   The sum of one million three hundred twenty-four thousand dollars, or as much thereof as may be necessary, is appropriated for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2005, from the general fund--state, and the sum of one million two hundred eighty-four thousand dollars, or as much thereof as may be necessary, is appropriated for the biennium ending June 30, 2005, from the general fund--federal to the department of social and health services solely for costs associated with administrative, labor, and employment relations costs determined by the terms of the collective bargaining agreement between the home care quality authority and the exclusive bargaining representative of individual providers.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 6   The appropriations to the department of social and health services in this act may be transferred among programs within the department or to the home care quality authority to implement the collective bargaining agreement between the home care quality authority and the exclusive bargaining representative of individual providers.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 7   This act takes effect July 1, 2004.