H-3960              _______________________________________________

                                                   HOUSE BILL NO. 1402

                        _______________________________________________

State of Washington                              50th Legislature                              1988 Regular Session

By Representatives Locke, Prince, Wineberry, Patrick, Cantwell, Winsley, Grant, Belcher, Brough, Spanel, Cooper, Sprenkle, Fisher, Sanders, Rust, Silver, Moyer and Unsoeld

Read first time 1/15/88 and referred to Committee on Ways & Means.

AN ACT Relating to an appropriation for a study of the state economy; creating new sections; and making an appropriation.

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

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1.     The legislature finds that:

          (1) Expenditures for defense form a major portion of the state's primary economy and have substantial impact on employment of state citizens;

          (2) The combination of recent financial turmoil, the trade deficit, and the federal deficit have combined to increase stress on federal spending.  This is likely to result in major cuts in federal expenditures with defense expenditures being a significant component of likely expenditure reductions;

          (3) Previous sudden shifts in federal expenditures related to defense have produced major economic consequences for the state, the most significant being the deep decline in employment in aerospace in the early 1970's; and

          (4) State government has responsibility for evaluating the character and scale of the impacts of likely federal defense expenditure reductions and to identify state actions which would ameliorate or reduce such impacts.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2.     (1) The Washington institute for public policy shall initiate a study to investigate the impact of the state's dependence on the military economy and to investigate the state's role in the diversification of the state's economy away from military dependence.

          (2) The study shall focus on:

          (a) Methods of utilizing the assets of military-dependent companies and their workforce to diversify such companies and workers away from military dependence.  The study shall examine alternative production technologies and occupations which could easily be converted from military use such as light rail mass transit, alternative energy, low-cost housing, and new product development.

          (b) Potential markets for new nonmilitary technologies and products.

          (c) Retraining and reemployment opportunities for the highly skilled work force now engaged in military production throughout the state.

          (d) The development of a plan to diversify the industrial base of the state's economy away from the military.

          (3) The following shall provide whatever assistance is needed in the completion of the study:  The department of employment security, the department of trade and economic development, and the state economic development board.

          (4) The institute shall submit a final report to the legislature no later than January 1, 1989.

          (5) The institute may solicit from public or private sources any funds needed, in addition to appropriated funds, to complete the study.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3.     The sum of forty thousand dollars, or so much thereof as may be necessary, is appropriated for the biennium ending June 30, 1989, from the general fund to the Washington institute for public policy for the purposes of section 2 of this act.  The institute shall contract with Washington State University for the study.