BILL REQ. #:  H-2942.2 

Read first time 01/14/14.   Referred to Committee on Labor & Workforce Development.

     AN ACT Relating to improving the accuracy of the prevailing rate of wage; and amending RCW 39.12.010, 39.12.026, and 42.56.270.

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

Sec. 1   RCW 39.12.010 and 1989 c 12 s 6 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) The "prevailing rate of wage", for the intents and purposes of this chapter, shall be the rate of hourly wage, usual benefits, and overtime paid in the locality((, as hereinafter defined,)) to the majority of workers, laborers, or mechanics, in the same trade or occupation on nonpublic works. In the event that there is not a majority in the same trade or occupation paid at the same rate, then the average rate of hourly wage and overtime paid to such laborers, workers, or mechanics in the same trade or occupation shall be the prevailing rate. If the wage paid by any contractor or subcontractor to laborers, workers, or mechanics on any public work is based on some period of time other than an hour, the hourly wage for the purposes of this chapter shall be mathematically determined by the number of hours worked in such period of time.
     (2) The "locality" for the purposes of this chapter shall be the largest city in the county wherein the physical work is being performed.
     (3) The "usual benefits" for the purposes of this chapter shall include the amount of:
     (a) The rate of contribution irrevocably made by a contractor or subcontractor to a trustee or to a third person pursuant to a fund, plan, or program; and
     (b) The rate of costs to the contractor or subcontractor which may be reasonably anticipated in providing benefits to workers, laborers, and mechanics pursuant to an enforceable commitment to carry out a financially responsible plan or program which was communicated in writing to the workers, laborers, and mechanics affected, for medical or hospital care, pensions on retirement or death, compensation for injuries or illness resulting from occupational activity, or insurance to provide any of the foregoing, for unemployment benefits, life insurance, disability and sickness insurance, or accident insurance, for vacation and holiday pay, for defraying costs of apprenticeship or other similar programs, or for other bona fide fringe benefits, but only where the contractor or subcontractor is not required by other federal, state, or local law to provide any of such benefits.
     (4) An "interested party" for the purposes of this chapter shall include a contractor, subcontractor, an employee of a contractor or subcontractor, an organization whose members' wages, benefits, and conditions of employment are affected by this chapter, and the director of labor and industries or the director's designee.
     (5) "Nonpublic work" means all work, construction, alteration, repair, or improvement other than ordinary maintenance, that is not "public work" as defined in RCW 39.04.010.

Sec. 2   RCW 39.12.026 and 2003 c 363 s 206 are each amended to read as follows:
     (((1))) In establishing the prevailing rate of wage under RCW 39.12.010, 39.12.015, and 39.12.020((,)):
     (1) The department may use only data from nonpublic works; and
     (2) All data collected by the department may be used only in the county for which the work was performed.
     (((2) This section applies only to prevailing wage surveys initiated on or after August 1, 2003.))

Sec. 3   RCW 42.56.270 and 2013 c 305 s 14 are each amended to read as follows:
     The following financial, commercial, and proprietary information is exempt from disclosure under this chapter:
     (1) Valuable formulae, designs, drawings, computer source code or object code, and research data obtained by any agency within five years of the request for disclosure when disclosure would produce private gain and public loss;
     (2) Financial information supplied by or on behalf of a person, firm, or corporation for the purpose of qualifying to submit a bid or proposal for (a) a ferry system construction or repair contract as required by RCW 47.60.680 through 47.60.750 or (b) highway construction or improvement as required by RCW 47.28.070;
     (3) Financial and commercial information and records supplied by private persons pertaining to export services provided under chapters 43.163 and 53.31 RCW, and by persons pertaining to export projects under RCW 43.23.035;
     (4) Financial and commercial information and records supplied by businesses or individuals during application for loans or program services provided by chapters 43.325, 43.163, 43.160, 43.330, and 43.168 RCW, or during application for economic development loans or program services provided by any local agency;
     (5) Financial information, business plans, examination reports, and any information produced or obtained in evaluating or examining a business and industrial development corporation organized or seeking certification under chapter 31.24 RCW;
     (6) Financial and commercial information supplied to the state investment board by any person when the information relates to the investment of public trust or retirement funds and when disclosure would result in loss to such funds or in private loss to the providers of this information;
     (7) Financial and valuable trade information under RCW 51.36.120;
     (8) Financial, commercial, operations, and technical and research information and data submitted to or obtained by the clean Washington center in applications for, or delivery of, program services under chapter 70.95H RCW;
     (9) Financial and commercial information requested by the public stadium authority from any person or organization that leases or uses the stadium and exhibition center as defined in RCW 36.102.010;
     (10)(a) Financial information, including but not limited to account numbers and values, and other identification numbers supplied by or on behalf of a person, firm, corporation, limited liability company, partnership, or other entity related to an application for a horse racing license submitted pursuant to RCW 67.16.260(1)(b), liquor license, gambling license, or lottery retail license;
     (b) Internal control documents, independent auditors' reports and financial statements, and supporting documents: (i) Of house-banked social card game licensees required by the gambling commission pursuant to rules adopted under chapter 9.46 RCW; or (ii) submitted by tribes with an approved tribal/state compact for class III gaming;
     (11) Proprietary data, trade secrets, or other information that relates to: (a) A vendor's unique methods of conducting business; (b) data unique to the product or services of the vendor; or (c) determining prices or rates to be charged for services, submitted by any vendor to the department of social and health services for purposes of the development, acquisition, or implementation of state purchased health care as defined in RCW 41.05.011;
     (12)(a) When supplied to and in the records of the department of commerce:
     (i) Financial and proprietary information collected from any person and provided to the department of commerce pursuant to RCW 43.330.050(8); and
     (ii) Financial or proprietary information collected from any person and provided to the department of commerce or the office of the governor in connection with the siting, recruitment, expansion, retention, or relocation of that person's business and until a siting decision is made, identifying information of any person supplying information under this subsection and the locations being considered for siting, relocation, or expansion of a business;
     (b) When developed by the department of commerce based on information as described in (a)(i) of this subsection, any work product is not exempt from disclosure;
     (c) For the purposes of this subsection, "siting decision" means the decision to acquire or not to acquire a site;
     (d) If there is no written contact for a period of sixty days to the department of commerce from a person connected with siting, recruitment, expansion, retention, or relocation of that person's business, information described in (a)(ii) of this subsection will be available to the public under this chapter;
     (13) Financial and proprietary information submitted to or obtained by the department of ecology or the authority created under chapter 70.95N RCW to implement chapter 70.95N RCW;
     (14) Financial, commercial, operations, and technical and research information and data submitted to or obtained by the life sciences discovery fund authority in applications for, or delivery of, grants under chapter 43.350 RCW, to the extent that such information, if revealed, would reasonably be expected to result in private loss to the providers of this information;
     (15) Financial and commercial information provided as evidence to the department of licensing as required by RCW 19.112.110 or 19.112.120, except information disclosed in aggregate form that does not permit the identification of information related to individual fuel licensees;
     (16) Any production records, mineral assessments, and trade secrets submitted by a permit holder, mine operator, or landowner to the department of natural resources under RCW 78.44.085;
     (17)(a) Farm plans developed by conservation districts, unless permission to release the farm plan is granted by the landowner or operator who requested the plan, or the farm plan is used for the application or issuance of a permit;
     (b) Farm plans developed under chapter 90.48 RCW and not under the federal clean water act, 33 U.S.C. Sec. 1251 et seq., are subject to RCW 42.56.610 and 90.64.190;
     (18) Financial, commercial, operations, and technical and research information and data submitted to or obtained by a health sciences and services authority in applications for, or delivery of, grants under RCW 35.104.010 through 35.104.060, to the extent that such information, if revealed, would reasonably be expected to result in private loss to providers of this information;
     (19) Information gathered under chapter 19.85 RCW or RCW 34.05.328 that can be identified to a particular business;
     (20) Financial and commercial information submitted to or obtained by the University of Washington, other than information the university is required to disclose under RCW 28B.20.150, when the information relates to investments in private funds, to the extent that such information, if revealed, would reasonably be expected to result in loss to the University of Washington consolidated endowment fund or to result in private loss to the providers of this information;
     (21) Financial, commercial, operations, and technical and research information and data submitted to or obtained by innovate Washington in applications for, or delivery of, grants and loans under chapter 43.333 RCW, to the extent that such information, if revealed, would reasonably be expected to result in private loss to the providers of this information; ((and))
     (22) Market share data submitted by a manufacturer under RCW 70.95N.190(4); and
     (23) Responses to wage and hour surveys used by the department of labor and industries to establish the prevailing rate of wage under chapter 39.12 RCW.