AN ACT Relating to administrative efficiencies in Washington state public higher education; and amending RCW 28B.10.027, 28B.10.029, 39.26.110, 42.48.010, and 43.88.110.

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

Sec. 1.  RCW 28B.10.027 and 2005 c 36 s 3 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) All universities and colleges shall allocate as a nondeductible item, out of any moneys appropriated for the original construction or any major renovation or remodel work exceeding two hundred thousand dollars of any building, an amount of one-half of one percent of the construction appropriation to be expended by the Washington state arts commission with the approval of the board of regents or trustees for the acquisition of works of art.

(3) The works of art may be placed on public lands of institutions of higher education, integral to or attached to a public building or structure of institutions of higher education, detached within or outside a public building or structure of institutions of higher education, part of a portable exhibition or collection, part of a temporary exhibition, or loaned or exhibited in other public facilities.

(4) In addition to the cost of the works of art, the one-half of one percent of the appropriation shall be used to provide for the administration of the visual arts program, including conservation of the state art collection, by the Washington state arts commission and all costs for installation of the work of art. For the purpose of this section building shall not include sheds, warehouses, and other buildings of a temporary nature.

Sec. 2.  RCW 28B.10.029 and 2015 c 79 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:

(1)(a) An institution of higher education may, consistent with RCW 28B.10.925 and 28B.10.926, exercise independently those powers otherwise granted to the director of enterprise services in chapters 43.19 and 39.26 RCW in connection with the purchase and disposition of all material, supplies, services, and equipment needed for the support, maintenance, and use of the respective institution of higher education.

(b) Property disposition policies followed by institutions of higher education shall be consistent with policies followed by the department of enterprise services.

(c)(i) Except as provided in (c)(ii) and (iii) of this subsection and elsewhere as provided by law, purchasing policies and procedures followed by institutions of higher education shall be in compliance with chapters 39.19, 39.26, and 43.03 RCW, and RCW 43.19.1917, 43.19.685, and 43.19.560 through 43.19.637.

(ii) Institutions of higher education may use all appropriate means for making and paying for travel arrangements including, but not limited to, electronic booking and reservations, advance payment and deposits for tours, lodging, and other necessary expenses, and other travel transactions based on standard industry practices and federal accountable plan requirements. Such arrangements shall support student, faculty, staff, and other participants' travel, by groups and individuals, both domestic and international, in the most cost-effective and efficient manner possible, regardless of the source of funds.

(iii) Formal sealed, electronic, or web-based competitive bidding is not necessary for purchases or personal services contracts by institutions of higher education for less than one hundred thousand dollars. However, for purchases and personal services contracts of ten thousand dollars or more and less than one hundred thousand dollars, quotations must be secured from at least three vendors to assure establishment of a competitive price and may be obtained by telephone, electronic, or written quotations, or any combination thereof. As part of securing the three vendor quotations, institutions of higher education must invite at least one quotation each from a certified minority and a certified woman-owned vendor that otherwise qualifies to perform the work. A record of competition for all such purchases and personal services contracts of ten thousand dollars or more and less than one hundred thousand dollars must be documented for audit purposes.

(d) Purchases under chapter 39.26, 43.19, or 43.105 RCW by institutions of higher education may be made by using contracts for materials, supplies, services, or equipment negotiated or entered into by, for, or through group purchasing organizations.

(e) The community and technical colleges shall comply with RCW 43.19.450.

(f) Except for the University of Washington, institutions of higher education shall comply with RCW 43.19.769, 43.19.763, and 43.19.781.

(g) If an institution of higher education can satisfactorily demonstrate to the director of the office of financial management that the cost of compliance is greater than the value of benefits from any of the following statutes, then it shall be exempt from them: RCW 43.19.685 and 43.19.637.

(2) The council of presidents and the state board for community and technical colleges shall convene its correctional industries business development advisory committee, and work collaboratively with correctional industries, to:

(a) Reaffirm purchasing criteria and ensure that quality, service, and timely delivery result in the best value for expenditure of state dollars;

(b) Update the approved list of correctional industries products from which higher education shall purchase; and

(c) Develop recommendations on ways to continue to build correctional industries' business with institutions of higher education.

(3) Higher education and correctional industries shall develop a plan to build higher education business with correctional industries to increase higher education purchases of correctional industries products, based upon the criteria established in subsection (2) of this section. The plan shall include the correctional industries' production and sales goals for higher education and an approved list of products from which higher education institutions shall purchase, based on the criteria established in subsection (2) of this section. Higher education and correctional industries shall report to the legislature regarding the plan and its implementation no later than January 30, 2005.

(4)(a) Institutions of higher education shall set as a target to contract, beginning not later than June 30, 2006, to purchase one percent of the total goods and services required by the institutions each year produced or provided in whole or in part from class II inmate work programs operated by the department of corrections. Institutions of higher education shall set as a target to contract, beginning not later than June 30, 2008, to purchase two percent of the total goods and services required by the institutions each year produced or provided in whole or in part from class II inmate work programs operated by the department of corrections.

(b) Institutions of higher education shall endeavor to assure the department of corrections has notifications of bid opportunities with the goal of meeting or exceeding the purchasing target in (a) of this subsection.

Sec. 3.  RCW 39.26.110 and 2012 c 224 s 12 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) The department must provide expertise and training on best practices for state procurement.

(2) The department must establish either training or certification programs, or both, to ensure consistency in procurement practices for employees authorized to perform procurement functions under the provisions of this chapter. When establishing training or certification programs, the department may approve existing training or certification programs at state agencies. When establishing programs or approving existing programs, the department shall work with agencies with existing training programs to ensure coordination and minimize additional costs associated with training requirements.

(3) Beginning July 1, 2013, state agencies must require agency employees responsible for developing, executing, or managing procurements or contracts, or both, to complete department-approved training or certification programs, or both. Beginning July 1, 2015, no agency employee may execute or manage contracts unless the employee has met the training or certification requirements or both as set by the department. Any request for exception to this requirement must be submitted to the director for approval before the employee or group of employees executes or manages contracts.

Sec. 4.  RCW 42.48.010 and 2007 c 17 s 6 are each amended to read as follows:

For the purposes of this chapter, the following definitions apply:

(1) "Individually identifiable" means that a record contains information which reveals or can likely be associated with the identity of the person or persons to whom the record pertains.

(2) "Legally authorized representative" means a person legally authorized to give consent for the disclosure of personal records on behalf of a minor or a legally incompetent adult.

(3) "Personal record" means any information obtained or maintained by a state agency which refers to a person and which is declared exempt from public disclosure, confidential, or privileged under state or federal law.

(4) "Research" means a planned and systematic sociological, psychological, epidemiological, biomedical, or other scientific investigation carried out by a state agency, by a scientific research professional associated with a bona fide scientific research organization, or by a graduate student currently enrolled in an advanced academic degree curriculum, with an objective to contribute to scientific knowledge, the solution of social and health problems, or the evaluation of public benefit and service programs. This definition excludes methods of record analysis and data collection that are subjective, do not permit replication, and are not designed to yield reliable and valid results.

(5) "Research record" means an item or grouping of information obtained for the purpose of research from or about a person or extracted for the purpose of research from a personal record.

(6) "State agency" means: (a) The department of social and health services; (b) the department of corrections; (c) ((an institution of higher education as defined in RCW 28B.10.016; (d))) the department of health; or (((e))) (d) the department of early learning.

Sec. 5.  RCW 43.88.110 and 2014 c 162 s 4 are each amended to read as follows:

This section sets forth the expenditure programs and the allotment and reserve procedures to be followed by the executive branch for public funds.

(1) Allotments of an appropriation for any fiscal period shall conform to the terms, limits, or conditions of the appropriation.

(2) The director of financial management shall provide all agencies with a complete set of operating and capital instructions for preparing a statement of proposed expenditures at least thirty days before the beginning of a fiscal period. The set of instructions need not include specific appropriation amounts for the agency.

(3) Within forty-five days after the beginning of the fiscal period or within forty-five days after the governor signs the omnibus biennial appropriations act, whichever is later, all agencies shall submit to the governor a statement of proposed expenditures at such times and in such form as may be required by the governor.

(4) The office of financial management shall develop a method for monitoring capital appropriations and expenditures that will capture at least the following elements:

(a) Appropriations made for capital projects including transportation projects;

(b) Estimates of total project costs including past, current, ensuing, and future biennial costs;

(c) Comparisons of actual costs to estimated costs;

(d) Comparisons of estimated construction start and completion dates with actual dates;

(e) Documentation of fund shifts between projects.

This data may be incorporated into the existing accounting system or into a separate project management system, as deemed appropriate by the office of financial management.

(5) The office of financial management, prior to approving allotments for major capital construction projects valued over five million dollars, with the exception of projects at institutions of higher education as defined in RCW 28B.10.016, which may be valued up to ten million dollars, shall institute procedures for reviewing such projects at the predesign stage that will reduce long-term costs and increase facility efficiency. The procedures shall include, but not be limited to, the following elements:

(a) Evaluation of facility program requirements and consistency with long-range plans;

(b) Utilization of a system of cost, quality, and performance standards to compare major capital construction projects; and

(c) A requirement to incorporate value-engineering analysis and constructability review into the project schedule.

(6) No expenditure may be incurred or obligation entered into for such major capital construction projects including, without exception, land acquisition, site development, predesign, design, construction, and equipment acquisition and installation, until the allotment of the funds to be expended has been approved by the office of financial management. This limitation does not prohibit the continuation of expenditures and obligations into the succeeding biennium for projects for which allotments have been approved in the immediate prior biennium.

(7) Minor works projects, as defined by the office of financial management, may be valued up to five million dollars for institutions of higher education as defined in RCW 28B.10.016.

(8) If at any time during the fiscal period the governor projects a cash deficit in a particular fund or account as defined by RCW 43.88.050, the governor shall make across-the-board reductions in allotments for that particular fund or account so as to prevent a cash deficit, unless the legislature has directed the liquidation of the cash deficit over one or more fiscal periods. Except for the legislative and judicial branches and other agencies headed by elective officials, the governor shall review the statement of proposed operating expenditures for reasonableness and conformance with legislative intent. The governor may request corrections of proposed allotments submitted by the legislative and judicial branches and agencies headed by elective officials if those proposed allotments contain significant technical errors. Once the governor approves the proposed allotments, further revisions may at the request of the office of financial management or upon the agency's initiative be made on a quarterly basis and must be accompanied by an explanation of the reasons for significant changes. However, changes in appropriation level authorized by the legislature, changes required by across-the-board reductions mandated by the governor, changes caused by executive increases to spending authority, and changes caused by executive decreases to spending authority for failure to comply with the provisions of chapter 36.70A RCW may require additional revisions. Revisions shall not be made retroactively. However, the governor may assign to a reserve status any portion of an agency appropriation withheld as part of across-the-board reductions made by the governor and any portion of an agency appropriation conditioned on a contingent event by the appropriations act. The governor may remove these amounts from reserve status if the across-the-board reductions are subsequently modified or if the contingent event occurs. The director of financial management shall enter approved statements of proposed expenditures into the state budgeting, accounting, and reporting system within forty-five days after receipt of the proposed statements from the agencies. If an agency or the director of financial management is unable to meet these requirements, the director of financial management shall provide a timely explanation in writing to the legislative fiscal committees.

(((8))) (9) It is expressly provided that all agencies shall be required to maintain accounting records and to report thereon in the manner prescribed in this chapter and under the regulations issued pursuant to this chapter. Within ninety days of the end of the fiscal year, all agencies shall submit to the director of financial management their final adjustments to close their books for the fiscal year. Prior to submitting fiscal data, written or oral, to committees of the legislature, it is the responsibility of the agency submitting the data to reconcile it with the budget and accounting data reported by the agency to the director of financial management.

(((9))) (10) The director of financial management may exempt certain public funds from the allotment controls established under this chapter if it is not practical or necessary to allot the funds. Allotment control exemptions expire at the end of the fiscal biennium for which they are granted. The director of financial management shall report any exemptions granted under this subsection to the legislative fiscal committees.

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