BILL REQ. #:  S-3790.1 

Read first time 01/15/10.   Referred to Committee on Ways & Means.

     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 until June 30, 2011, state agencies of the legislative, executive, and judicial branches shall be closed on the following dates in addition to the legal holidays specified in RCW 1.16.050:
     (a) Friday, March 12, 2010;
     (b) Friday, April 9, 2010;
     (c) Friday, May 28, 2010;
     (d) Monday, June 14, 2010;
     (e) Friday, July 2, 2010;
     (f) Friday, August 6, 2010;
     (g) Friday, September 3, 2010;
     (h) Monday, October 11, 2010;
     (i) Friday, November 12, 2010;
     (j) Monday, December 27, 2010;
     (k) Friday, January 14, 2011;
     (l) Friday, February 18, 2011;
     (m) Friday, March 11, 2011;
     (n) Friday, April 15, 2011;
     (o) Friday, May 27, 2011; and
     (p) Friday, June 10, 2011.
     (2) If the closure of an office of an agency of the state under this section prevents the performance of any action, the action shall be considered timely if performed on the next business day.
     (3) The following activities of state agencies are exempt from subsection (1) of this section:
     (a) Direct custody, supervision, and patient care in corrections, juvenile rehabilitation, institutional care of veterans, the mentally ill, developmentally disabled, state hospitals, the special commitment center, and the schools for the blind and the deaf;
     (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 offices in the department of fish and wildlife, the liquor control board, the gambling commission, 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;
     (l) The unemployment insurance program of the employment security department;
     (m) The workers' compensation program of the department of labor and industries;
     (n) The operation of state ferries;
     (o) Legislative agencies and the office of financial management, during sessions of the legislature under Article II, section 12 of the state Constitution; and
     (p) The minimal use of state employees on the specified closure dates as necessary to protect public assets and maintain public safety.
     (4) The closure of an office of a state agency under this section shall result in the temporary layoff of the employees of the agency. 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.
     (5) Except as provided in subsection (3) of this section, for employees not scheduled to work on a day specified in subsection (1) 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.
     (6) To the extent that the implementation of this section is subject to collective bargaining under chapter 41.80 RCW, the bargaining shall be conducted pursuant to section 2 of this act.

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 under this chapter:
     (a) Except for institutions of higher education, negotiations regarding impacts of the temporary layoffs mandated by section 1 of this act shall be conducted between the employer and one coalition of all the exclusive bargaining representatives subject to chapter 41.80 RCW; and
     (b) 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 the temporary layoffs mandated by 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.
     (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.