BILL REQ. #:  S-4752.1 

READ FIRST TIME 02/09/10.   

     AN ACT Relating to health sciences and services authorities; amending RCW 35.104.060, 35.104.040, 82.14.480, and 42.30.110; and adding a new section to chapter 35.104 RCW.

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

Sec. 1   RCW 35.104.060 and 2009 c 564 s 921 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) The authority has all the general powers necessary to carry out its purposes and duties and to exercise its specific powers, including the authority may:
     (a) Sue and be sued in its own name;
     (b) Make and execute agreements, contracts, and other instruments, with any public or private entity or person, in accordance with this chapter;
     (c) Employ, contract with, or engage independent counsel, financial advisors, auditors, other technical or professional assistants, and such other personnel as are necessary or desirable to implement this chapter;
     (d) Establish such special funds, and control deposits to and disbursements from them, as it finds convenient for the implementation of this chapter;
     (e) Enter into contracts with public and private entities for research to be conducted in this state;
     (f) Delegate any of its powers and duties if consistent with the purposes of this chapter;
     (g) Exercise any other power reasonably required to implement the purposes of this chapter; and
     (h) Hire staff and pay administrative costs; however, such expenses shall be paid from moneys provided by the sponsoring local government and moneys received from gifts, grants, and bequests and the interest earned on the authority's accounts and investments. ((During the 2009-2011 fiscal biennium, up to)) No more than ten percent of the amounts received under RCW 82.14.480 may be used by a health sciences and services ((and sciences)) authority for the purposes of subsections (1)(c) and (h) of this section.
     (2) In addition to other powers and duties prescribed in this chapter, the authority is empowered to:
     (a) Use the authority's public moneys, leveraging those moneys with amounts received from other public and private sources in accordance with contribution agreements, to promote bioscience-based economic development, and to advance new therapies and procedures to combat disease and promote public health;
     (b) Solicit and receive gifts, grants, and bequests, and enter into contribution agreements with private entities and public entities to receive moneys in consideration of the authority's promise to leverage those moneys with the revenue generated by the tax authorized under RCW 82.14.480 and contributions from other public entities and private entities, in order to use those moneys to promote bioscience-based economic development and advance new therapies and procedures to combat disease and promote public health;
     (c) Hold funds received by the authority in trust for their use pursuant to this chapter to promote bioscience-based economic development and advance new therapies and procedures to combat disease and promote public health;
     (d) Manage its funds, obligations, and investments as necessary and consistent with its purpose, including the segregation of revenues into separate funds and accounts;
     (e) Borrow money and incur indebtedness pursuant to section 4 of this act;
     (f) Make grants to entities pursuant to contract to promote bioscience-based economic development and advance new therapies and procedures to combat disease and promote public health. Grant agreements shall specify the deliverables to be provided by the recipient pursuant to the grant. Grants to private entities may only be provided under a contractual agreement that ensures the state will receive appropriate consideration, such as an assurance of job creation or retention, or the delivery of services that provide for the public health, safety, and welfare. The authority shall solicit requests for funding and evaluate the requests by reference to factors such as: (i) The quality of the proposed research; (ii) its potential to improve health outcomes, with particular attention to the likelihood that it will also lower health care costs, substitute for a more costly diagnostic or treatment modality, or offer a breakthrough treatment for a particular disease or condition; (iii) its potential to leverage additional funding; (iv) its potential to provide health care benefits; (v) its potential to stimulate employment; and (vi) evidence of public and private collaboration;
     (((f))) (g) Create one or more advisory boards composed of scientists, industrialists, and others familiar with health sciences and services; and
     (((g))) (h) Adopt policies and procedures to facilitate the orderly process of grant application, review, and reward.
     (3) The records of the authority shall be subject to audit by the office of the state auditor.

Sec. 2   RCW 35.104.040 and 2007 c 251 s 4 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) The higher education coordinating board may approve applications submitted by local governments for an area's designation as a health sciences and services authority under this chapter. The director ((shall)) must determine the division to review applications submitted by local governments under this chapter. The application for designation ((shall)) must be in the form and manner and contain such information as the higher education coordinating board may prescribe, provided the application ((shall)):
     (a) Contains sufficient information to enable the director to determine the viability of the proposal;
     (b) Demonstrates that an ordinance or resolution has been passed by the legislative authority of a local government that delineates the boundaries of an area that may be designated an authority;
     (c) ((Be)) Is submitted on behalf of the local government, or, if that office does not exist, by the legislative body of the local government;
     (d) Demonstrates that the public funds directed to programs or facilities in the authority will leverage private sector resources and contributions to activities to be performed;
     (e) Provides a plan or plans for the development of the authority as an entity to advance as a cluster for health sciences education, health sciences research, biotechnology development, biotechnology product commercialization, and/or health care services; and
     (f) Demonstrates that the state has previously provided funds to health sciences and services programs or facilities in the applicant city, town, or county.
     (2) The director ((shall)) must determine the division to develop criteria to evaluate the application. The criteria ((shall)) must include:
     (a) The presence of infrastructure capable of spurring development of the area as a center of health sciences and services;
     (b) The presence of higher education facilities where undergraduate or graduate coursework or research is conducted; and
     (c) The presence of facilities in which health services are provided.
     (3) There ((shall)) may be no more than ((one authority)) two authorities statewide.
     (4) An authority may only be created in a county with a population of less than one million persons and is located east of the crest of the Cascade mountains.
     (5) The director may reject or approve an application. When denying an application, the director must specify the application's deficiencies. The decision regarding such designation as it relates to a specific local government is final; however, a rejected application may be resubmitted.
     (6) Applications are due by December 31, 2007, and must be processed within sixty days of submission.
     (7) The director may, at his or her discretion, amend the boundaries of an authority upon the request of the local government.
     (8) The higher education coordinating board may adopt any rules necessary to implement chapter 251, Laws of 2007 within one hundred twenty days of July 22, 2007.
     (9) The higher education coordinating board must develop evaluation and performance measures in order to evaluate the effectiveness of the programs in the authorities that are funded with public resources. A report to the legislature ((shall be)) is due on a biennial basis beginning December 1, 2009. In addition, the higher education coordinating board ((shall)) must develop evaluation criteria that enables the local governments to measure the effectiveness of the program.

Sec. 3   RCW 82.14.480 and 2007 c 251 s 11 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) The legislative authority of a local jurisdiction that has created a health sciences and services authority under RCW 35.104.030, prior to January 1, 2010, may impose a sales and use tax in accordance with the terms of this chapter. The tax is in addition to other taxes authorized by law and ((shall)) must be collected from those persons who are taxable by the state under chapters 82.08 and 82.12 RCW upon the occurrence of any taxable event within the local jurisdiction. The rate of the tax ((shall)) may not exceed 0.020 percent of the selling price in the case of a sales tax or the value of the article used in the case of a use tax.
     (2) The tax imposed under subsection (1) of this section ((shall)) must be deducted from the amount of tax otherwise required to be collected or paid over to the department under chapter 82.08 or 82.12 RCW. The department of revenue ((shall)) must perform the collection of the tax on behalf of the authority at no cost to the authority.
     (3) The amounts received under this section may only be used in accordance with RCW 35.104.060 or to finance and retire the indebtedness incurred pursuant to RCW 35.104.070, in whole or in part.
     (4) This section expires January 1, 2023.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 4   A new section is added to chapter 35.104 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) A local government that has established a health sciences and services authority under RCW 35.104.030 may, by ordinance or resolution, authorize the authority to borrow money under the conditions set forth in this section.
     (2) Moneys borrowed by an authority must be secured by funds derived from gifts or grants from any source, public or private, federal, state, or local government grants or payments, or intergovernmental transfers.
     (3) The authority shall incur no expense or liability that is an obligation, either general or special, of the state or local government, or a general obligation of the authority, and shall pay no expense or liability from funds other than funds of the authority.

Sec. 5   RCW 42.30.110 and 2005 c 424 s 13 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) Nothing contained in this chapter may be construed to prevent a governing body from holding an executive session during a regular or special meeting:
     (a) To consider matters affecting national security;
     (b) To consider the selection of a site or the acquisition of real estate by lease or purchase when public knowledge regarding such consideration would cause a likelihood of increased price;
     (c) To consider the minimum price at which real estate will be offered for sale or lease when public knowledge regarding such consideration would cause a likelihood of decreased price. However, final action selling or leasing public property shall be taken in a meeting open to the public;
     (d) To review negotiations on the performance of publicly bid contracts when public knowledge regarding such consideration would cause a likelihood of increased costs;
     (e) To consider, in the case of an export trading company, financial and commercial information supplied by private persons to the export trading company;
     (f) To receive and evaluate complaints or charges brought against a public officer or employee. However, upon the request of such officer or employee, a public hearing or a meeting open to the public shall be conducted upon such complaint or charge;
     (g) To evaluate the qualifications of an applicant for public employment or to review the performance of a public employee. However, subject to RCW 42.30.140(4), discussion by a governing body of salaries, wages, and other conditions of employment to be generally applied within the agency shall occur in a meeting open to the public, and when a governing body elects to take final action hiring, setting the salary of an individual employee or class of employees, or discharging or disciplining an employee, that action shall be taken in a meeting open to the public;
     (h) To evaluate the qualifications of a candidate for appointment to elective office. However, any interview of such candidate and final action appointing a candidate to elective office shall be in a meeting open to the public;
     (i) To discuss with legal counsel representing the agency matters relating to agency enforcement actions, or to discuss with legal counsel representing the agency litigation or potential litigation to which the agency, the governing body, or a member acting in an official capacity is, or is likely to become, a party, when public knowledge regarding the discussion is likely to result in an adverse legal or financial consequence to the agency.
     This subsection (1)(i) does not permit a governing body to hold an executive session solely because an attorney representing the agency is present. For purposes of this subsection (1)(i), "potential litigation" means matters protected by RPC 1.6 or RCW 5.60.060(2)(a) concerning:
     (((A))) (i) Litigation that has been specifically threatened to which the agency, the governing body, or a member acting in an official capacity is, or is likely to become, a party;
     (((B))) (ii) Litigation that the agency reasonably believes may be commenced by or against the agency, the governing body, or a member acting in an official capacity; or
     (((C))) (iii) Litigation or legal risks of a proposed action or current practice that the agency has identified when public discussion of the litigation or legal risks is likely to result in an adverse legal or financial consequence to the agency;
     (j) To consider, in the case of the state library commission or its advisory bodies, western library network prices, products, equipment, and services, when such discussion would be likely to adversely affect the network's ability to conduct business in a competitive economic climate. However, final action on these matters shall be taken in a meeting open to the public;
     (k) To consider, in the case of the state investment board, financial and commercial information when the information relates to the investment of public trust or retirement funds and when public knowledge regarding the discussion would result in loss to such funds or in private loss to the providers of this information;
     (l) To consider proprietary or confidential nonpublished information related to the development, acquisition, or implementation of state purchased health care services as provided in RCW 41.05.026;
     (m) To consider in the case of the life sciences discovery fund authority, the substance of grant applications and grant awards when public knowledge regarding the discussion would reasonably be expected to result in private loss to the providers of this information;
     (n) To consider in the case of a health sciences and services authority, the substance of grant applications and grant awards when public knowledge regarding the discussion would reasonably be expected to result in private loss to the providers of this information.
     (2) Before convening in executive session, the presiding officer of a governing body shall publicly announce the purpose for excluding the public from the meeting place, and the time when the executive session will be concluded. The executive session may be extended to a stated later time by announcement of the presiding officer.