AN ACT Relating to requiring a state resident preference for all newly hired state classified employees and lower level Washington management service employees; adding new sections to chapter 41.06 RCW; and creating new sections.

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

(1) Unemployment and underemployment among state residents is unacceptably high;

(2) Recruitment and advertisement normally attract an abundance of qualified applicants who are state residents;

(3) State jobs are funded by taxpayer money;

(4) Washington state has an excellent system of universities, colleges, community colleges, and technical schools;

(5) Immigration to the state of Washington is environmentally damaging because the state is already overpopulated, creating dangerous levels of water pollution, especially in Puget Sound, and will further stress an increasingly dysfunctional transportation system;

(6) The current hiring system does not have any type of state resident preference; and

(7) The state of Washington has the opportunity to be a model employer in terms of using and developing local people to fill most job openings.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2.  A new section is added to chapter 41.06 RCW to read as follows:

(1) Beginning January 31, 2016, and each December 31st thereafter, state agencies employing one hundred or more people must submit a report to the human resources director within the office of financial management, with copies to the superintendent of public instruction and state university and college administrators.

(2) The report must include the following information:

(a) The number of employees hired during the previous calendar year;

(b) The number of employees hired from outside Washington state;

(c) A list of reasons why the jobs could not be filled by a resident of Washington state;

(d) The number of planned hires for the current year; and

(e) Opportunities for internships for job types with a history of being filled by out-of-state residents.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3.  A new section is added to chapter 41.06 RCW to read as follows:

(1) Recruitment may proceed as done before the effective date of this section by the human resources director within the office of financial management and individual state agencies.

(2) When recruitment is complete, job applications must be divided into two groups: State residents and nonstate residents.

(3) Review activities shall occur only for the state resident applicants.

(4) If fewer than three state applicants meet the minimum requirements or have an unsatisfactory work record or a significant recent criminal record, the agency may add nonstate residents to the pool of employees to be considered.

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