BILL REQ. #:  H-1679.1 



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HOUSE BILL 2158
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State of Washington61st Legislature2009 Regular Session

By Representatives Green, Cody, Walsh, Conway, Kenney, and Morrell

Read first time 02/11/09.   Referred to Committee on Commerce & Labor.



     AN ACT Relating to the collective bargaining of adult family home providers' health benefits; and amending RCW 41.05.011 and 41.56.029.

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

Sec. 1   RCW 41.05.011 and 2008 c 229 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:
     The definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter unless the context clearly requires otherwise.
     (1) "Administrator" means the administrator of the authority.
     (2) "State purchased health care" or "health care" means medical and health care, pharmaceuticals, and medical equipment purchased with state and federal funds by the department of social and health services, the department of health, the basic health plan, the state health care authority, the department of labor and industries, the department of corrections, the department of veterans affairs, and local school districts.
     (3) "Authority" means the Washington state health care authority.
     (4) "Insuring entity" means an insurer as defined in chapter 48.01 RCW, a health care service contractor as defined in chapter 48.44 RCW, or a health maintenance organization as defined in chapter 48.46 RCW.
     (5) "Flexible benefit plan" means a benefit plan that allows employees to choose the level of health care coverage provided and the amount of employee contributions from among a range of choices offered by the authority.
     (6) "Employee" includes all full-time and career seasonal employees of the state, whether or not covered by civil service; elected and appointed officials of the executive branch of government, including full-time members of boards, commissions, or committees; and includes any or all part-time and temporary employees under the terms and conditions established under this chapter by the authority; justices of the supreme court and judges of the court of appeals and the superior courts; and members of the state legislature or of the legislative authority of any county, city, or town who are elected to office after February 20, 1970. "Employee" also includes: (a) Employees of a county, municipality, or other political subdivision of the state if the legislative authority of the county, municipality, or other political subdivision of the state seeks and receives the approval of the authority to provide any of its insurance programs by contract with the authority, as provided in RCW 41.04.205 and 41.05.021(1)(g); (b) employees of employee organizations representing state civil service employees, at the option of each such employee organization, and, effective October 1, 1995, employees of employee organizations currently pooled with employees of school districts for the purpose of purchasing insurance benefits, at the option of each such employee organization; (c) employees of a school district if the authority agrees to provide any of the school districts' insurance programs by contract with the authority as provided in RCW 28A.400.350; ((and)) (d) employees of a tribal government, if the governing body of the tribal government seeks and receives the approval of the authority to provide any of its insurance programs by contract with the authority, as provided in RCW 41.05.021(1) (f) and (g); and (e) adult family home providers, but only for the purpose of collective bargaining under RCW 41.56.029.
     (7) "Board" means the public employees' benefits board established under RCW 41.05.055.
     (8) "Retired or disabled school employee" means:
     (a) Persons who separated from employment with a school district or educational service district and are receiving a retirement allowance under chapter 41.32 or 41.40 RCW as of September 30, 1993;
     (b) Persons who separate from employment with a school district or educational service district on or after October 1, 1993, and immediately upon separation receive a retirement allowance under chapter 41.32, 41.35, or 41.40 RCW;
     (c) Persons who separate from employment with a school district or educational service district due to a total and permanent disability, and are eligible to receive a deferred retirement allowance under chapter 41.32, 41.35, or 41.40 RCW.
     (9) "Premium payment plan" means a benefit plan whereby state and public employees may pay their share of group health plan premiums with pretax dollars as provided in the salary reduction plan under this chapter pursuant to 26 U.S.C. Sec. 125 or other sections of the internal revenue code.
     (10) "Salary" means a state employee's monthly salary or wages.
     (11) "Participant" means an individual who fulfills the eligibility and enrollment requirements under the salary reduction plan.
     (12) "Plan year" means the time period established by the authority.
     (13) "Separated employees" means persons who separate from employment with an employer as defined in:
     (a) RCW 41.32.010(11) on or after July 1, 1996; or
     (b) RCW 41.35.010 on or after September 1, 2000; or
     (c) RCW 41.40.010 on or after March 1, 2002;
and who are at least age fifty-five and have at least ten years of service under the teachers' retirement system plan 3 as defined in RCW 41.32.010(40), the Washington school employees' retirement system plan 3 as defined in RCW 41.35.010, or the public employees' retirement system plan 3 as defined in RCW 41.40.010.
     (14) "Emergency service personnel killed in the line of duty" means law enforcement officers and firefighters as defined in RCW 41.26.030, members of the Washington state patrol retirement fund as defined in RCW 43.43.120, and reserve officers and firefighters as defined in RCW 41.24.010 who die as a result of injuries sustained in the course of employment as determined consistent with Title 51 RCW by the department of labor and industries.
     (15) "Employer" means the state of Washington.
     (16) "Employing agency" means a division, department, or separate agency of state government; a county, municipality, school district, educational service district, or other political subdivision; and a tribal government covered by this chapter.
     (17) "Tribal government" means an Indian tribal government as defined in section 3(32) of the employee retirement income security act of 1974, as amended, or an agency or instrumentality of the tribal government, that has government offices principally located in this state.
     (18) "Dependent care assistance program" means a benefit plan whereby state and public employees may pay for certain employment related dependent care with pretax dollars as provided in the salary reduction plan under this chapter pursuant to 26 U.S.C. Sec. 129 or other sections of the internal revenue code.
     (19) "Salary reduction plan" means a benefit plan whereby state and public employees may agree to a reduction of salary on a pretax basis to participate in the dependent care assistance program, medical flexible spending arrangement, or premium payment plan offered pursuant to 26 U.S.C. Sec. 125 or other sections of the internal revenue code.
     (20) "Medical flexible spending arrangement" means a benefit plan whereby state and public employees may reduce their salary before taxes to pay for medical expenses not reimbursed by insurance as provided in the salary reduction plan under this chapter pursuant to 26 U.S.C. Sec. 125 or other sections of the internal revenue code.

Sec. 2   RCW 41.56.029 and 2007 c 184 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) In addition to the entities listed in RCW 41.56.020, this chapter applies to the governor with respect to adult family home providers. Solely for the purposes of collective bargaining and as expressly limited under subsections (2) and (3) of this section, the governor is the public employer of adult family home providers who, solely for the purposes of collective bargaining, are public employees. The public employer shall be represented for bargaining purposes by the governor or the governor's designee.
     (2) There shall be collective bargaining, as defined in RCW 41.56.030, between the governor and adult family home providers, except as follows:
     (a) A statewide unit of all adult family home providers is the only unit appropriate for purposes of collective bargaining under RCW 41.56.060.
     (b) The exclusive bargaining representative of adult family home providers in the unit specified in (a) of this subsection shall be the representative chosen in an election conducted pursuant to RCW 41.56.070.
     Bargaining authorization cards furnished as the showing of interest in support of any representation petition or motion for intervention filed under this section shall be exempt from disclosure under chapter 42.56 RCW.
     (c) Notwithstanding the definition of "collective bargaining" in RCW 41.56.030(4), the scope of collective bargaining for adult family home providers under this section shall be limited solely to: (i) Economic compensation, such as manner and rate of subsidy and reimbursement, including tiered reimbursements; (ii) health and welfare benefits, including eligibility and participation in the public employees' benefits board under chapter 41.05 RCW; (iii) professional development and training; (iv) labor-management committees; (v) grievance procedures; and (vi) other economic matters. Retirement benefits shall not be subject to collective bargaining. By such obligation neither party shall be compelled to agree to a proposal or be required to make a concession unless otherwise provided in this chapter.
     (d) In addition to the entities listed in the mediation and interest arbitration provisions of RCW 41.56.430 through 41.56.470 and 41.56.480, the provisions apply to the governor or the governor's designee and the exclusive bargaining representative of adult family home providers, except that:
     (i) In addition to the factors to be taken into consideration by an interest arbitration panel under RCW 41.56.465, the panel shall consider the financial ability of the state to pay for the compensation and benefit provisions of a collective bargaining agreement.
     (ii) The decision of the arbitration panel is not binding on the legislature and, if the legislature does not approve the request for funds necessary to implement the compensation and benefit provisions of the arbitrated collective bargaining agreement, the decision is not binding on the state.
     (e) Adult family home providers do not have the right to strike.
     (3) Adult family home providers who are public employees solely for the purposes of collective bargaining under subsection (1) of this section are not, for that reason, employees of the state for any other purpose. This section applies only to the governance of the collective bargaining relationship between the employer and adult family home providers as provided in subsections (1) and (2) of this section.
     (4) This section does not create or modify:
     (a) The department's authority to establish a plan of care for each consumer or its core responsibility to manage long-term care services under chapter 70.128 RCW, including determination of the level of care that each consumer is eligible to receive. However, at the request of the exclusive bargaining representative, the governor or the governor's designee appointed under chapter 41.80 RCW shall engage in collective bargaining, as defined in RCW 41.56.030(4), with the exclusive bargaining representative over how the department's core responsibility affects hours of work for adult family home providers. This subsection shall not be interpreted to require collective bargaining over an individual consumer's plan of care;
     (b) The department's obligation to comply with the federal medicaid statute and regulations and the terms of any community-based waiver granted by the federal department of health and human services and to ensure federal financial participation in the provision of the services;
     (c) The legislature's right to make programmatic modifications to the delivery of state services under chapter 70.128 RCW, including standards of eligibility of consumers and adult family home providers participating in the programs under chapter 70.128 RCW, and the nature of services provided. The governor shall not enter into, extend, or renew any agreement under this chapter that does not expressly reserve the legislative rights described in this subsection (4)(c);
     (d) The residents', parents', or legal guardians' right to choose and terminate the services of any licensed adult family home provider; and
     (e) RCW 43.43.832, 43.20A.205, or 74.15.130.
     (5) Upon meeting the requirements of subsection (6) of this section, the governor must submit, as a part of the proposed biennial or supplemental operating budget submitted to the legislature under RCW 43.88.030, a request for funds necessary to implement the compensation and benefit provisions of a collective bargaining agreement entered into under this section or for legislation necessary to implement the agreement.
     (6) A request for funds necessary to implement the compensation and benefit provisions of a collective bargaining agreement entered into under this section shall not be submitted by the governor to the legislature unless the request has been:
     (a) Submitted to the director of financial management by October 1st prior to the legislative session at which the requests are to be considered; and
     (b) Certified by the director of financial management as financially feasible for the state or reflective of a binding decision of an arbitration panel reached under subsection (2)(d) of this section.
     (7) The legislature must approve or reject the submission of the request for funds as a whole. If the legislature rejects or fails to act on the submission, any collective bargaining agreement must be reopened for the sole purpose of renegotiating the funds necessary to implement the agreement.
     (8) If, after the compensation and benefit provisions of an agreement are approved by the legislature, a significant revenue shortfall occurs resulting in reduced appropriations, as declared by proclamation of the governor or by resolution of the legislature, both parties shall immediately enter into collective bargaining for a mutually agreed upon modification of the agreement.
     (9) After the expiration date of any collective bargaining agreement entered into under this section, all of the terms and conditions specified in the agreement remain in effect until the effective date of a subsequent agreement, not to exceed one year from the expiration date stated in the agreement.
     (10) In enacting this section, the legislature intends to provide state action immunity under federal and state antitrust laws for the joint activities of adult family home providers and their exclusive bargaining representative to the extent the activities are authorized by this chapter.

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