BILL REQ. #:  S-2088.3 

Read first time 03/09/11.   Referred to Committee on Ways & Means.

     AN ACT Relating to rejecting the request for funds necessary to implement state collective bargaining agreements for the 2011-2013 fiscal biennium; creating new sections; and declaring an emergency.

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

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   The legislature finds and declares that, as a result of the significant fiscal crisis facing the state, the highest priority for the allocation of the state's limited fiscal resources is providing for the education of our children, preserving critical safety net programs for the most vulnerable, and protecting our valuable natural resources.
     Further, the legislature finds the collective bargaining agreements negotiated by the governor for the 2011-2013 fiscal biennium are neither financially feasible for the state nor do they give the legislature the necessary flexibility to properly prioritize competing needs within the budget.
     Specifically, the legislature finds the following provisions contrary to the needs of citizens that depend upon vital state programs and taxpayers that expect lawmakers to best prioritize existing funds:
     (1) Employee health care premiums, which limit employees to paying fifteen percent of the premium share, a percentage well below the private sector average;
     (2) Step salary increases, which provide thousands of employees up to five percent annual raises over the course of the next biennium;
     (3) Limitations on health benefit designs, which restrict innovations in health care delivery and attempts to bend the cost curve;
     (4) Temporary salary reductions, which do not carry forward savings into future biennia; and
     (5) Sick leave cash out, which costs the state budget millions of dollars at a time when those funds could be put to more urgent uses.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   Pursuant to RCW 41.80.010, the legislature, by this act, hereby rejects the governor's request for funds necessary to implement the compensation and fringe benefit provisions of all collective bargaining agreements under chapter 41.80 RCW agreed to by the governor prior to March 1, 2011, for the 2011-2013 fiscal biennium.
     The parties to the collective bargaining agreements are encouraged to reconvene to reach an agreement that takes into account the legislature's concerns and better recognizes the state's fiscal situation.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3   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.