BILL REQ. #:  S-0626.1 

Read first time 01/21/09.   Referred to Committee on Ways & Means.

     AN ACT Relating to establishing the Washington competition council; and adding a new chapter to Title 43 RCW.

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

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   The definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter unless the context clearly requires otherwise.
     (1) "Commercial activity" means an activity performed by or for state government that is not an inherently governmental activity and that may feasibly be obtained from a commercial source at a lower cost than the activity being performed by state employees.
     (2) "Competitive contracting" has the same meaning as in RCW 41.06.142.
     (3) "Competitive process" means the process approved by the council to determine the most cost-effective privatization technique.
     (4) "Council" means the Washington competition council.
     (5) "Privatization" means a variety of techniques and activities that promote more involvement of the private sector in providing services that have traditionally been provided by government. It also includes methods of providing a portion or all of select government- provided or government-produced programs and services through the private sector.
     (6) "State agency" means any board, council, authority, department, agency, or institution of the state.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   (1) The Washington competition council is established as an advisory council within the office of financial management. The council must be composed of fifteen members to be appointed as follows: Four employees of executive branch agencies to be appointed by the governor; one member from each of the two largest caucuses in the house of representatives to be appointed by the leaders of the respective caucuses; one member from each of the two largest caucuses in the senate to be appointed by the leaders of the respective caucuses; three members of the private sector to be appointed by the governor; two members of the private sector to be appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives; and two members of the private sector to be appointed by the president of the senate.
     (2) Legislative members shall serve on the council until the expiration of their terms of office or until their successors qualify. Executive branch agency members shall serve only as long as they retain their positions. After the initial staggering of terms, all nonlegislative members of the council must be appointed for terms of three years.
     (3) Appointments to fill vacancies must be for the unexpired terms. No nonlegislative citizen member is eligible to serve more than two successive three-year terms. The remainder of any term to which a member is appointed to fill a vacancy may not constitute a term in determining the member's eligibility for reappointment.
     (4) The council shall annually elect its chair and vice-chair from among its members. A majority of the members of the council constitutes a quorum.
     (5) Legislative members of the committee are entitled to be reimbursed for travel expenses in accordance with RCW 44.04.120. Nonlegislative members are entitled to be reimbursed for travel expenses in accordance with RCW 43.03.050 and 43.03.060.
     (6) The office of financial management shall provide staffing as necessary to enable the council to perform its duties.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3   The council shall:
     (1) Examine and promote methods of providing a portion or all of select government-provided or government-produced programs and services through the private sector by a competitive contracting program, and advise the governor, the legislature, and executive branch agencies of the council's findings and recommendations;
     (2) Develop an institutional framework for a statewide competitive program to encourage innovation and competition within state government;
     (3) Establish a system to encourage the use of feasibility studies and innovation to determine where competition could reduce government costs without harming the public;
     (4) Monitor the products and services of state agencies to bring an element of competition and to ensure a spirit of innovation and entrepreneurship to compete with the private sector;
     (5) Explore methods to encourage state employees to compete for contracts;
     (6) Establish approval, planning, and reporting processes required to carry out the functions of the council;
     (7) Determine the privatization potential of a program or activity, perform cost-benefit analyses, and conduct public and private performance analyses;
     (8) Devise evaluation criteria to be used in conducting performance reviews of any program or activity that is subject to a privatization recommendation; and
     (9) Annually, by December 1st report its findings and recommendations to the governor and the legislature.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 4   (1) The council, in consultation with the office of financial management, shall conduct an examination of the commercial activities that are being performed by state employees at state agencies to ensure such activities are being accomplished in the most cost-efficient and effective manner. The commercial activities examination must be completed and updated in each even-numbered year and may be accomplished by contract with a private entity.
     (2) The council shall review the practices of state agencies that may constitute inappropriate competition with private enterprise. The council shall develop proposals for (a) preserving the traditional role of private enterprise; and (b) encouraging the expansion of existing, and the creation of new, private enterprise.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 5   (1) Upon determination by the council that outsourcing a commercial activity may result in reduced costs or otherwise provide a measurable benefit to the state and to assure the activity is being accomplished in the most cost-efficient and effective manner, the governor shall direct the appropriate agency to pursue a contract using the competitive contracting process available in RCW 41.06.142.
     (2) The director of the office of financial management shall determine the amount of the existing appropriation no longer needed by a state agency where all or a portion of the agency's function has been privatized in accordance with the recommendations of the council, and shall reduce allotments accordingly. The director shall also ensure that all appropriate reporting requirements to the governor and the legislature are met. Nothing in this section may preclude the governor from recommending in future budget submissions the restoration of a portion of the original appropriation to the state agency.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 6   Sections 1 through 5 of this act constitute a new chapter in Title 43 RCW.