BySenators Brown, Hasegawa, Kuderer, Nguyen, Rolfes, Short, Wilson, L., Das, and Wellman

Prefiled 12/11/19.Read first time 01/13/20.Referred to Committee on Environment, Energy & Technology.

AN ACT Relating to establishing the Washington blockchain work group; creating a new section; and providing an expiration date.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. (1) Subject to the availability of amounts appropriated for this specific purpose, the Washington blockchain work group is established. The purpose of the work group is to examine various potential applications for blockchain technology including, but not limited to, applications in computing, banking and other financial services, the real estate transaction process, health care, and public recordkeeping.

(a) One senator from each of the two largest caucuses of the senate, appointed by the leader of each respective caucus;

(b) One representative from each of the two largest caucuses of the house of representatives, appointed by the leader of each respective caucus;

(d) The director of the department of financial institutions, or the director's designee;

(e) The director of Washington technology solutions, the consolidated technology services agency, or the director's designee;

(f) An individual representing a trade association for technology companies that do business in Washington;

(g) An individual representing a trade association for financial services companies that do business in Washington;

(h) An individual representing a trade association for title insurance companies that do business in Washington;

(i) An individual representing a trade association for health care companies that do business in Washington; and

(j) An individual representing an association for county government officials in Washington.

(3) The individuals appointed under subsection (2)(f) through (j) of this section must be appointed by the governor, subject to senate confirmation in accordance with RCW 43.06.092.

(4) A majority of the work group members constitutes a quorum. If a member has not been designated for a position set forth in this section, that position may not be counted for the purpose of determining a quorum.

(5) The work group shall hold its inaugural meeting by August 1, 2020. The work group shall elect a chair from among its members at the inaugural meeting. The election of the chair must be by a majority vote of the work group members who are present at the inaugural meeting. The chair of the work group is responsible for arranging subsequent meetings and developing meeting agendas.

(6) Staff support for the work group, including arranging the inaugural meeting of the work group and assisting the chair of the work group in arranging subsequent meetings, must be provided by senate committee services and the house of representatives office of program research.

(7) The expenses of the work group must be paid jointly by the senate and the house of representatives. Work group expenditures are subject to approval by the senate facilities and operations committee and the house of representatives executive rules committee, or their successor committees.

(8) Legislative members of the work group may be reimbursed for travel expenses in accordance with RCW 44.04.120. Nonlegislative members are not entitled to be reimbursed for travel expenses if they are elected officials or are participating on behalf of an employer, governmental entity, or other organization. Any reimbursement for other nonlegislative members is subject to chapter 43.03 RCW.

(11) The work group shall submit a report on recommended policies that will facilitate the development of blockchain applications in Washington to the governor and the appropriate committees of the legislature by December 1, 2021.

(12) This section expires January 1, 2022. The work group is dissolved upon the expiration of this section.