H-4734              _______________________________________________

                                          SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL NO. 1685

                        _______________________________________________

State of Washington                              50th Legislature                              1988 Regular Session

By House Committee on Ways & Means (originally sponsored by Representatives Grimm, Holland, Locke, Silver, H. Sommers, Pruitt, Brough, May and Ferguson)

Read first time 2/8/88 and passed to Committee on Rules.

AN ACT Relating to fiscal matters; adding new sections to chapter 43.88 RCW; and declaring an emergency.

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

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1.     To promote the free flow of information and legislative review of caseload forecasts, the caseload forecast work group is hereby created.  The caseload forecast work group shall consist of (1) the chairs and ranking minority members of the ways and means committees of the house of representatives and the senate, or their designees and (2) the executive heads of the office of financial management, the department of social and health services, the department of corrections, the higher education coordinating board, the state board for community college education, and the superintendent of public instruction, or their designees.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2.     The office of financial management shall be responsible for the determination of caseload forecasts.  The department of social and health services, the department of corrections, the higher education coordinating board, the state board for community college education, and the superintendent of public instruction shall assist the office of financial management in determining caseload forecasts.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3.     "Caseload," as used in sections 1 through 6 of this act, means the state population and the number of persons expected to meet eligibility requirements or require services from the aid to families with dependent children program, the community mental health and involuntary treatment program, the medicaid program, the nursing home program, state correctional institutions, state institutions for the mentally ill, developmentally disabled, and juvenile offenders, kindergarten through twelfth grade and higher education, and other state-funded programs as determined by the office of financial management.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4.     Prior to every regular session of the legislature, the office of financial management shall:  (1) Determine a forecast of each caseload; and (2) meet with the caseload forecast work group to review written documentation that (a) describes the methods, assumptions, and any policy or program changes upon which each caseload forecast is based and (b) identifies the caseload forecast levels by month or another appropriate time period.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 5.     The office of financial management may update a caseload forecast whenever actual caseloads deviate significantly from a forecast.  Whenever a forecast update is made, the office of financial management shall meet with the caseload forecast work group to review the information described in section 4(2) of this act.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 6.     The office of financial management, with the assistance of the department of social and health services, the department of corrections, the higher education coordinating board, the state board for community college education, and the superintendent of public instruction, shall prepare monthly monitoring reports for each caseload forecast used to support a biennial or supplemental budget that has been enacted into law.

          Such caseload monitoring reports shall identify:  (1) Each caseload forecast by month or another appropriate time period; (2) the most recent actual caseload by month or another appropriate time period; and (3) the variance between all forecast and actual caseloads that are listed.

          Every month the office of financial management shall submit caseload monitoring reports to the caseload forecast work group.  Caseload monitoring reports may be submitted by the office of financial management on paper or electronically through the legislative evaluation and accountability program committee.

          Every quarter the office of financial management shall meet with the caseload forecast work group to review the caseload monitoring reports.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 7.     Sections 1 through 6 of this act are each added to chapter 43.88 RCW.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 8.     This act is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, and safety, the support of the state government and its existing public institutions, and shall take effect immediately.