BILL REQ. #:  S-0992.1 

Read first time 02/06/2003.   Referred to Committee on Commerce & Trade.

     TO THE HONORABLE GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, AND TO THE PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE AND THE SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, AND TO THE SENATE AND HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE UNITED STATES, IN CONGRESS ASSEMBLED:
     We, your Memorialists, the Senate and House of Representatives of the State of Washington, in legislative session assembled, respectfully represent and petition as follows:
     WHEREAS, The Department of Labor has implemented a new way of budgeting for the state administrative costs of the Unemployment Insurance program called the Resource Justification Model; and
     WHEREAS, There is insufficient correlation between a state's comparative workload or unemployment rate and a state's allocation of funds under the Resource Justification Model; and
     WHEREAS, There are wide variations in what types of expenses and assumptions were made by individual states when using the Resource Justification Model, which resulted in a nonuniform consideration of state funding needs by the Department of Labor; and
     WHEREAS, The Resource Justification Model would reduce administrative funding to the Employment Security Department by 4.7 million dollars in fiscal year 2003 from the fiscal year 2002 allocation, despite the fact that Washington has one of the highest unemployment rates in the nation; and
     WHEREAS, This loss of funds, if not abated or reversed, will result in a crippling of benefit services to the unemployed and diminished tax services for the employer community, both of which can have a drastic impact on the integrity of the unemployment insurance system in this state;
     NOW, THEREFORE, Your Memorialists respectfully pray that Congress should: Adequately fund state administration of the unemployment insurance system based upon appropriate criteria; encourage the Department of Labor to set aside the Resource Justification Model for fiscal year 2003 while additional evaluations of the system are undertaken; and seriously consider the Washington State Employment Security Department's October 14, 2002, revised submittal under the Resource Justification Model.
     BE IT RESOLVED, That copies of this Memorial be immediately transmitted to the Honorable George W. Bush, President of the United States, the President of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and each member of Congress from the State of Washington.