BILL REQ. #:  S-4156.1 

READ FIRST TIME 01/22/10.   

     AN ACT Relating to the operations of state agencies; amending RCW 42.04.060; adding a new section to chapter 41.80 RCW; creating new sections; providing an expiration date; and declaring an emergency.

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

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   (1) From the effective date of this section, state agencies of the legislative, executive, and judicial branches, including institutions of higher education, shall achieve a reduction in employee compensation costs of $69.154 million from general fund--state and education legacy trust account expenditures for the 2009-2011 fiscal biennium.
     (2) The office of financial management shall certify to each state agency and institution of higher education that portion of the compensation reduction amount specified in subsection (1) of this section to be achieved by that agency or institution, based on the agency's proportionate share of compensation costs. By May 15, 2010, each agency and institution shall submit to the office of financial management a compensation reduction plan to achieve the cost reductions specified in this subsection. The compensation reduction plan of each agency may include, but is not limited to, employee leave without pay, including mandatory and voluntary temporary layoffs, reductions in the agency workforce, compensation reductions, and reduced work hours, as well as voluntary retirement, separation, and other incentive programs authorized by section 912, chapter 564, Laws of 2009. The amount of compensation cost reductions to be achieved by each agency or institution shall be adjusted to reflect voluntary and mandatory temporary layoffs implemented by the agency or institution during the 2009-2011 fiscal biennium and prior to the effective date of this section. It is the legislature's intent that, in developing the compensation reduction plans, agencies shall strive to preserve family wage jobs by reducing the impact of temporary layoffs on lower-wage jobs.
     (3) By June 1, 2010, the director of financial management shall review, approve, and submit to the legislative fiscal committees those agency compensation reduction plans that achieve the cost reduction required by subsection (2) of this section. For those agencies and institutions of higher education that do not have an approved compensation reduction plan by June 1, 2010, the agency or institution shall be closed on the following dates in addition to the legal holidays specified in RCW 1.16.050:
     (a) Monday, June 14, 2010;
     (b) Tuesday, July 6, 2010;
     (c) Friday, August 6, 2010;
     (d) Tuesday, September 7, 2010;
     (e) Monday, October 11, 2010;
     (f) Friday, November 12, 2010;
     (g) Monday, December 27, 2010;
     (h) Friday, January 14, 2011;
     (i) Friday, February 18, 2011;
     (j) Friday, March 11, 2011;
     (k) Friday, April 15, 2011;
     (l) Friday, May 27, 2011; and
     (m) Friday, June 10, 2011.
     (4) If the closure of an office of an agency of the state under subsection (3) of this section prevents the performance of any action, the action shall be considered timely if performed on the next business day. For any agency of the judicial branch that is closed on the dates specified in subsection (3) of this section, the dates are deemed to be nonjudicial days for the purposes of Article IV of the state Constitution.
     (5) The following activities of state agencies and institutions of higher education are exempt from subsections (2) and (3) of this section:
     (a) Direct custody, supervision, and patient care in: (i) Corrections; (ii) juvenile rehabilitation; (iii) institutional care of veterans, the mentally ill, and developmentally disabled; (iv) state hospitals, the University of Washington medical center, and Harborview medical center; (v) the special commitment center; (vi) the school for the blind; (vii) the state center for childhood deafness and hearing loss; and (viii) the Washington youth academy;
     (b) Direct protective services to children and other vulnerable populations in the department of social and health services;
     (c) Washington state patrol investigative services and field enforcement;
     (d) Hazardous materials response or emergency response and cleanup;
     (e) Emergency public health and patient safety response and the public health laboratory;
     (f) Military operations and emergency management within the military department;
     (g) Firefighting;
     (h) Enforcement officers in the department of fish and wildlife, the liquor control board, the gambling commission, department of financial institutions, and the department of natural resources;
     (i) State parks operated by the parks and recreation commission;
     (j) In institutions of higher education, classroom instruction, operations not funded from state funds or tuition, campus police and security, emergency management and response, and student health care;
     (k) Operations of liquor control board business enterprises and games conducted by the state lottery;
     (l) Agricultural commodity commissions and boards, and agricultural inspection programs operated by the department of agriculture;
     (m) The unemployment insurance program and reemployment services of the employment security department;
     (n) The workers' compensation program and workplace safety and health compliance activities of the department of labor and industries;
     (o) The operation, maintenance, and construction of state ferries and state highways;
     (p) The audit and compliance sections of the department of revenue;
     (q) Licensing service offices in the department of licensing that are open no more than two days per week, and no licensing service office closures may occur as a result of this section on Saturdays;
     (r) The governor, lieutenant governor, legislative agencies, and the office of financial management, during sessions of the legislature under Article II, section 12 of the state Constitution and the twenty-day veto period under Article IV, section 12 of the state Constitution; and
     (s) The minimal use of state employees on the specified closure dates as necessary to protect public assets, information technology systems, and maintain public safety.
     (6) The closure of an office of a state agency or institution of higher education under this section shall result in the temporary layoff of the employees of the agency or institution. The compensation of the employees shall be reduced proportionately to the duration of the temporary layoff. Temporary layoffs under this section shall not affect the employees' vacation leave accrual, seniority, or sick leave credits. For the purposes of chapter 430, Laws of 2009, the compensation reductions under this section are deemed to be an integral part of an employer's expenditure reduction efforts and shall not result in the loss of retirement benefits in any state defined benefit retirement plan for an employee whose period of average final compensation includes a portion of the period from the effective date of this section through June 30, 2011.
     (7) Except as provided in subsection (5) of this section, for employees not scheduled to work on a day specified in subsection (3) of this section, the employing agency must designate an alternative day during that month on which the employee is scheduled to work that the employee will be temporarily laid off.
     (8) To the extent that the implementation of this section is subject to collective bargaining under chapters 28B.52, 41.56, 41.76, 41.80, or 47.64 RCW, the bargaining shall be conducted pursuant to section 2 of this act.
     (9) For all or a portion of the employees of an agency of the executive branch, the office of financial management may approve the substitution of temporary layoffs on an alternative date for any date specified in subsection (3) of this section as necessary for the critical work of any agency.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   A new section is added to chapter 41.80 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) To the extent that the implementation of section 1 of this act is subject to collective bargaining:
     (a) For institutions of higher education that have elected to have negotiations conducted by the governor or governor's designee in accordance with RCW 41.80.010(4), negotiations regarding impacts of section 1 of this act shall be conducted between the governor or governor's designee and one coalition of all of the exclusive bargaining representatives subject to chapter 41.80 RCW; and
     (b) For institutions of higher education that have not elected to have negotiations conducted by the governor or governor's designee under RCW 41.80.010(4), negotiations regarding impacts of section 1 of this act shall be conducted between each institution of higher education and the exclusive bargaining representatives.
     (2) This section expires on June 30, 2011.

Sec. 3   RCW 42.04.060 and 2009 c 428 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:
     Except as provided in section 1 of this act, all state elective and appointive officers shall keep their offices open for the transaction of business for a minimum of forty hours per week, except weeks that include state legal holidays. Customary business hours must be posted on the agency or office's web site and made known by other means designed to provide the public with notice.
     ((This section shall not apply to the courts of record of this state or to their officers nor to the office of the attorney general and the lieutenant governor.))

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 4   If any part of this act is found to be in conflict with federal requirements that are a prescribed condition to the allocation of federal funds to the state, the conflicting part of this act is inoperative solely to the extent of the conflict and with respect to the agencies directly affected, and this finding does not affect the operation of the remainder of this act in its application to the agencies concerned. Rules adopted under this act must meet federal requirements that are a necessary condition to the receipt of federal funds by the state.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 5   If any provision of this act or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the remainder of the act or the application of the provision to other persons or circumstances is not affected.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 6   This act is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety, or support of the state government and its existing public institutions, and takes effect immediately.