AN ACT Relating to youth employment; adding new sections to chapter 50.65 RCW; making appropriations; and providing an expiration date.

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

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The Washington conservation corps is created to exercise the powers under this chapter.

(1) There is created within the employment security department an employment and conservation program which shall direct and administer a year-round conservation employment rehabilitation and improvement program which shall be known as the Washington conservation corps.

(2) The commissioner shall appoint a corps director for the program and other personnel as necessary to carry out the purposes of this chapter.

(3) The commissioner of employment security shall report annually to the governor and the legislature on the activities undertaken by the employment and conservation program in the preceding fiscal year, including a cost-effectiveness analysis of all completed, ongoing, and proposed projects. The commissioner shall promulgate from time to time all necessary rules to carry out the purposes and objectives of the program and to regulate the standards of conduct and other operating guidelines for corps members and other personnel. The commissioner may take, but is not limited, to the following actions: (a) Recruiting and employing staff and corps member leaders and specialists; (b) adopting criteria for the selection of applicants to the program from among the enrollees of the youth employment exchange program; (c) executing agreements for furnishing the services of the employment conservation program to any federal, state, or local public agency, any local or state-wide private organization, or any private-for-profit organization as specified in this chapter in concern with the overall objectives of the conservation corps; (d) applying for and accepting grants or contributions of funds from any public or private source; and (e) purchasing or contracting for necessary private services, equipment, materials, and property if needed to carry out the projects approved for and undertaken by the program.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. The commissioner shall determine a preference for those projects which will provide long-term benefits to the public; will provide productive training and work experiences to the members involved; will be labor-intensive; may result in payments to the state for services performed; and can be promptly completed. The program established under this chapter may include, but shall not be limited to, projects such as:

(1) Forestry and nursery operations, including firewood distribution and reforestation;

(2) Rangeland conservation, rehabilitation, and improvement;

(3) Endangered species and other wildlife habitat conservation and rehabilitation;

(4) Urban revitalization;

(5) Historical and cultural site preservation;

(6) Recreational area development, maintenance, improvement, and beautification;

(7) Road and trail maintenance and improvement;

(8) Soil conservation work, including erosion control;

(9) Flood, drought, and storm drainage assistance relief;

(10) Stream, lake, waterfront, harbor, and port improvement and pollution control;

(11) Fish culture and habitat maintenance and improvement;

(12) Insect, disease, rodent, and other pest control;

(13) Improvement of abandoned railroad beds and rights of ways;

(14) Land reclamation and improvement, including volcano-scarred lands, public landscape work, and tree planting programs;

(15) Energy conservation projects, including assistance in the performance of energy efficient audits, recycling, and renewable resources enhancement;

(16) Emergency assistance in times of natural or other disaster; and

(17) Fire prevention and suppression.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. The commissioner may enter into income-generating projects with public or private organizations to further the purposes of this chapter. Moneys received from contractual projects qualifying under this chapter shall be deposited in the state general fund.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. Except for corps member leaders or specialists, enrollment in the conservation corps shall be limited to individuals who at the time of enrollment are: (1) Lawful permanent residents of the state; (2) unemployed; and (3) at least eighteen but not more than twenty-five years of age. However, summer programs in the months of June, July, and August may include individuals at least sixteen years but not more than twenty-two years of age at the time of their enrollment. Individuals who at the time of applying for enrollment have reached sixteen years of age but have not reached eighteen years of age and who are no longer enrolled in secondary school are not eligible to participate in the conservation corps unless they provide adequate and verifiable written assurance that they did not leave school for the expressed purpose of enrolling in the program.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. In the selection of corps members, preference shall be given to youths residing in areas, both urban and rural, in which there exists substantial unemployment above the state average. Efforts shall be made to enroll youths who are economically, socially, physically, or educationally disadvantaged. Once selected and enrolled in the corps, the following terms and conditions of service apply:

(1) Corps members shall be paid the minimum wage as established by federal law. Corps member leaders and specialists may be paid up to fifty percent above the federal minimum wage.

(2) Corps members may serve in the corps for one year and may be extended an additional six months by mutual consent.

(3) Corps member leaders and specialists may serve in the corps for a period of up to two years, inclusive of any period of prior service as a corps member.

(4) Corps members shall not be considered state employees.

Other provisions of law relating to civil service, hours of work, rate of compensation, sick leave, unemployment compensation, state retirement plans, and vacation leave do not apply to the Washington conservation corps except for the crew leaders, who shall be project employees, and the administrative and supervisory personnel.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. Corps members and enrollees shall be required to spend sixteen hours during each work month searching for employment, developing resumes, completing general education development requirements, attending appropriate job training programs or classes, working on environmental awareness projects, or performing other similar tasks. A training plan shall be developed for each corps member for effective use of time and to facilitate employment after corps work.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 7. If any provision of this act or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the remainder of the act or the application of the provision to other persons or circumstances is not affected.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 8. This act expires on June 30, 1987.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 9. There is hereby appropriated from the general fund to the employment security department for the biennium ending June 30, 1987, the sum of three million dollars for the youth employment exchange program, and the sum of four million dollars for the Washington conservation corps, or so much thereof as may be necessary, to carry out the purposes of this act.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 10. Sections 1 through 8 of this act shall be added to chapter 50.65 RCW.