AN ACT Relating to the financing of pollution control facilities, systems, and activities; amending RCW 43.88.160, 43.99F.020, 43.99F.040, 43.99F.050, 70.146.020, 70.146.030, and 70.146.060; adding a new section to chapter 35.22 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 36.32 RCW; and declaring an emergency.

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

Sec. 1. Section 11, chapter 10, Laws of 1982 as amended by section 5, chapter 215, Laws of 1986 and RCW 43.88.160 are each amended to read as follows:

This section sets forth the major fiscal duties and responsibilities of officers and agencies of the executive branch. The regulations issued by the governor pursuant to this chapter shall provide for a comprehensive, orderly basis for fiscal management and control, including efficient accounting and reporting therefor, for the executive branch of the state government and may include, in addition, such requirements as will generally promote more efficient public management in the state.

(1) Governor; director of financial management. The governor, through the director of financial management, shall devise and supervise a modern and complete accounting system for each agency to the end that all revenues, expenditures, receipts, disbursements, resources and obligations of the state shall be properly and systematically accounted for. The accounting system shall include the development of accurate, timely records and reports of all financial affairs of the state. The system shall also provide for central accounts in the office of financial management at the level of detail deemed necessary by the director to perform central financial management. The director of financial management shall adopt and periodically update an accounting procedures manual. Any agency maintaining its own accounting and reporting system shall comply with the updated accounting procedures manual and the rules of the director adopted under this chapter. An agency may receive a waiver from complying with this requirement if the waiver is approved by the director. Waivers expire at the end of the fiscal biennium for which they are granted. The director shall forward notice of waivers granted to the legislative fiscal committees. The director of financial management may require such financial, statistical, and other reports as the director deems necessary from all agencies covering any period.

The director of financial management is responsible for quarterly reporting of primary budget drivers such as applicable workloads, caseload estimates, and appropriate unit cost data. These reports shall be transmitted to the legislative fiscal committees. Quarterly reports shall include actual monthly data and the variance between actual and estimated data to date. The reports shall also include estimates of these items for the remainder of the budget period.

In addition, the director of financial management, as agent of the governor, shall:

(a) Make surveys and analyses of agencies with the object of determining better methods and increased effectiveness in the use of manpower and materials; and the director shall authorize expenditures for employee training to the end that the state may benefit from training facilities made available to state employees;

(b) Report to the governor with regard to duplication of effort or lack of coordination among agencies;

(c) Review any pay and classification plans, and changes thereunder, developed by any agency for their fiscal impact: PROVIDED, That none of the provisions of this subsection shall affect merit systems of personnel management now existing or hereafter established by statute relating to the fixing of qualifications requirements for recruitment, appointment, or promotion of employees of any agency. The director shall advise and confer with agencies including appropriate standing committees of the legislature as may be designated by the speaker of the house and the president of the senate regarding the fiscal impact of such plans and may amend or alter said plans, except that for the following agencies no amendment or alteration of said plans may be made without the approval of the agency concerned: Agencies headed by elective officials;

(d) Fix the number and classes of positions or authorized man years of employment for each agency and during the fiscal period amend the determinations previously fixed by the director except that the director shall not be empowered to fix said number or said classes for the following: Agencies headed by elective officials;

(e) Provide for transfers and repayments between the budget stabilization account and the general fund as directed by appropriation and RCW 43.88.525 through 43.88.540;

(f) Promulgate regulations to effectuate provisions contained in subsections (a) through (e) hereof.

(2) The treasurer shall:

(a) Receive, keep and disburse all public funds of the state not expressly required by law to be received, kept and disbursed by some other persons: PROVIDED, That this subsection shall not apply to those public funds of the institutions of higher learning which are not subject to appropriation;

(b) Disburse public funds under the treasurer's supervision or custody by warrant or check;

(c) Keep a correct and current account of all moneys received and disbursed by the treasurer, classified by fund or account;

(d) Perform such other duties as may be required by law or by regulations issued pursuant to this law.

It shall be unlawful for the treasurer to issue any warrant or check for public funds in the treasury except upon forms duly prescribed by the director of financial management. Said forms shall provide for authentication and certification by the agency head or his designee that the services have been rendered or the materials have been furnished; or, in the case of loans or grants, that the loans or grants are authorized by law; or, in the case of payments for periodic maintenance services to be performed on state owned equipment, that a written contract for such periodic maintenance services is currently in effect and copies thereof are on file with the office of financial management; and the treasurer shall not be liable under the treasurer's surety bond for erroneous or improper payments so made: PROVIDED, That when services are lawfully paid for in advance of full performance by any private individual or business entity other than as provided for by RCW 42.24.035, such individual or entity other than central stores rendering such services shall make a cash deposit or furnish surety bond coverage to the state as shall be fixed in an amount by law, or if not fixed by law, then in such amounts as shall be fixed by the director of the department of general administration but in no case shall such required cash deposit or surety bond be less than an amount which will fully indemnify the state against any and all losses on account of breach of promise to fully perform such services: AND PROVIDED FURTHER, That no payments shall be made in advance for any equipment maintenance services to be performed more than three months after such payment. Any such bond so furnished shall be conditioned that the person, firm or corporation receiving the advance payment will apply it toward performance of the contract. The responsibility for recovery of erroneous or improper payments made under this section shall lie with the agency head or the agency head's designee in accordance with regulations issued pursuant to this chapter. Nothing in this section shall be construed to permit a public body to advance funds to a private service provider pursuant to a grant or loan before services have been rendered or material furnished.

(3) The state auditor shall:

(a) Report to the legislature the results of current post audits that have been made of the financial transactions of each agency; to this end he may, in the auditor's discretion, examine the books and accounts of any agency, official or employee charged with the receipt, custody or safekeeping of public funds. The current post audit of each agency may include a section on recommendations to the legislature as provided in subsection (3)(c) of this section.

(b) Give information to the legislature, whenever required, upon any subject relating to the financial affairs of the state.

(c) Make the auditor's official report on or before the thirty-first of December which precedes the meeting of the legislature. The report shall be for the last complete fiscal period and shall include at least the following:

Determinations as to whether agencies, in making expenditures, complied with the laws of this state: PROVIDED, That nothing in this act shall be construed to grant the state auditor the right to perform performance audits. A performance audit for the purpose of this act shall be the examination of the effectiveness of the administration, its efficiency and its adequacy in terms of the programs of departments or agencies as previously approved by the legislature. The authority and responsibility to conduct such an examination shall be vested in the legislative budget committee as prescribed in RCW 44.28.085 as now or hereafter amended.

(d) Be empowered to take exception to specific expenditures that have been incurred by any agency or to take exception to other practices related in any way to the agency's financial transactions and to cause such exceptions to be made a matter of public record, including disclosure to the agency concerned and to the director of financial management. It shall be the duty of the director of financial management to cause corrective action to be taken promptly, such action to include, as appropriate, the withholding of funds as provided in RCW 43.88.110.

(e) Promptly report any irregularities to the attorney general.

(4) The legislative budget committee may:

(a) Make post audits of the financial transactions of any agency and management surveys and program reviews as provided for in RCW 44.28.085 as now or hereafter amended. To this end the committee may in its discretion examine the books, accounts, and other records of any agency, official, or employee.

(b) Give information to the legislature or any legislative committee whenever required upon any subject relating to the performance and management of state agencies.

(i) Determinations as to the extent to which agencies in making expenditures have complied with the will of the legislature and in this connection, may take exception to specific expenditures or financial practices of any agencies; and

(ii) Such plans as it deems expedient for the support of the state's credit, for lessening expenditures, for promoting frugality and economy in agency affairs and generally for an improved level of fiscal management.

Sec. 2. Section 2, chapter 159, Laws of 1980 and RCW 43.99F.020 are each amended to read as follows:

For the purpose of providing funds to public bodies for the planning, design, acquisition, construction, and improvement of public waste disposal and management facilities, or for purposes of assisting a public body to obtain an ownership interest in waste disposal and management facilities and/or to defray a part of the payments made by a public body to a service provider under a service agreement entered into pursuant to RCW 70.150.060, in this state, the state finance committee is authorized to issue, at any time prior to January 1, 1990, general obligation bonds of the state of Washington in the sum of four hundred fifty million dollars, or so much thereof as may be required, to finance the improvements defined in this chapter and all costs incidental thereto. The department may not use or permit the use of any funds derived from the sale of bonds authorized by this chapter for: (1) the support of a solid waste recycling activity or service in a locale if the department determines that the activity or service is reasonably available to persons within that locale from private enterprise; or (2) the construction of municipal wastewater facilities unless said facilities have been approved by a general purpose unit of local government in accordance with chapter 36.94 RCW, chapter 35.67 RCW, or RCW 56.08.020. These bonds shall be paid and discharged within thirty years of the date of issuance. No bonds authorized by this chapter shall be offered for sale without prior legislative appropriation of the proceeds of the bonds to be sold.

Sec. 3. Section 4, chapter 159, Laws of 1980 and RCW 43.99F.040 are each amended to read as follows:

The proceeds from the sale of the bonds deposited in the state and local improvements revolving account, Waste Disposal Facilities, 1980 of the general fund under the terms of this chapter shall be administered by the state department of ecology subject to legislative appropriation. The department may use or permit the use of any funds derived from the sale of bonds authorized under this chapter to accomplish the purpose for which the bonds are issued by direct expenditures and by grants or loans to public bodies, including grants to public bodies as cost-sharing funds in any case where federal, local, or other funds are made available on a cost-sharing basis for improvements within the purposes of this chapter. The department shall ensure that funds derived from the sale of bonds authorized under this chapter do not constitute more than seventy-five percent of the total cost of any waste disposal or management facility. Not more than two percent of the proceeds of the bond issue may be used by the department of ecology in relation to the administration of the expenditures, grants, and loans.

At least one hundred fifty million dollars of the proceeds of the bonds authorized by this chapter shall be used exclusively for waste management systems capable of producing renewable energy or energy savings as a result of the management of the wastes. "Renewable energy" means, but is not limited to, the production of steam, hot water for steam heat, electricity, cogeneration, gas, or fuel through the use of wastes by incineration, refuse-derived fuel processes, pyrolysis, hydrolysis, or bioconversion, and energy savings through material recovery from waste source separation and/or recycling.

The department of ecology shall present a progress report of actual projects committed by the department to the senate committee on ways and means and the house of representatives committee on appropriations no later than November 30th of each year.

Integration of the management and operation of systems for solid waste disposal with systems of liquid waste disposal holds promise of improved waste disposal efficiency and greater environmental protection and restoration. To encourage the planning for and development of such integration, the department may provide for special grant incentives to public bodies which plan for or operate integrated waste disposal management systems.

Funds provided for waste disposal and management facilities under this chapter may be used for payments to a service provider under a service agreement pursuant to RCW 70.150.060. If funds are to be used for such payments, the department may make periodic disbursements to a public body or may make a single lump sum disbursement. Disbursements of funds with respect to a facility owned or operated by a service provider shall be equivalent in value to disbursements that would otherwise be made if that facility were owned or operated by a public body. Payments under this chapter for waste disposal and management facilities made to public bodies entering into service agreements pursuant to RCW 70.150.060 shall not exceed amounts paid to public bodies not entering into service agreements.

Sec. 4. Section 5, chapter 159, Laws of 1980 and RCW 43.99F.050 are each amended to read as follows:

Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, the definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter.

(1) "Waste disposal and management facilities" means any facilities or systems ((~~owned or operated by a public body~~)) for the control, collection, storage, treatment, disposal, recycling, or recovery of nonradioactive liquid wastes or nonradioactive solid wastes, or a combination thereof, including but not limited to, sanitary sewage, storm water, residential, industrial, commercial, and agricultural wastes, and concentrations of organic sediments waste, inorganic nutrients, and toxic materials which are causing environmental degradation and loss of the beneficial use of the environment, and material segregated into recyclables and nonrecyclables. Waste disposal and management facilities may include all equipment, utilities, structures, real property, and interest in and improvements on real property necessary for or incidental to such purpose. As used in this chapter, the phrase "waste disposal and management facilities" shall not include the acquisition of equipment used to collect residential or commercial garbage.

(2) "Public body" means the state of Washington or any agency, political subdivision, taxing district, or municipal corporation thereof, an agency of the federal government, and those Indian tribes now or hereafter recognized as such by the federal government.

(3) "Control" means those measures necessary to maintain and/or restore the beneficial uses of polluted land and water resources including, but not limited to, the diversion, sedimentation, flocculation, dredge and disposal, or containment or treatment of nutrients, organic waste, and toxic material to restore the beneficial use of the state's land and water resources and prevent the continued pollution of these resources.

(4) "Planning" means the development of comprehensive plans for the purpose of identifying state-wide or regional needs for specific waste disposal facilities as well as the development of plans specific to a particular project.

(5) "Department" means the department of ecology.

Sec. 5. Section 2, chapter 3, Laws of 1986 and RCW 70.146.020 are each amended to read as follows:

Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, the definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter.

(1) "Account" means the water quality account in the state treasury.

(2) "Department" means the department of ecology.

(3) "Eligible cost" means the cost of that portion of a water pollution control facility that can be financed under this chapter excluding any portion of a facility's cost attributable to capacity that is in excess of that reasonably required to address one hundred ten percent of the applicant's needs for water pollution control existing at the time application is submitted for assistance under this chapter.

(4) "Water pollution control facility" or "facilities" means any facilities or systems ((~~owned or operated by a public body~~)) for the control, collection, storage, treatment, disposal, or recycling of wastewater, including but not limited to sanitary sewage, storm water, residential, commercial, industrial, and agricultural wastes, which are causing water quality degradation due to concentrations of conventional, nonconventional, or toxic pollutants. Water pollution control facilities include all equipment, utilities, structures, real property, and interests in and improvements on real property necessary for or incidental to such purpose. Water pollution control facilities also include such facilities, equipment, and collection systems as are necessary to protect federally designated sole source aquifers.

(5) "Water pollution control activities" means actions taken by a public body for the following purposes: (a) To prevent or mitigate pollution of underground water; (b) to control nonpoint sources of water pollution; (c) to restore the water quality of fresh water lakes; and (d) to maintain or improve water quality through the use of water pollution control facilities or other means.

(6) "Public body" means the state of Washington or any agency, county, city or town, conservation district, other political subdivision, municipal corporation, quasi-municipal corporation, and those Indian tribes now or hereafter recognized as such by the federal government.

(7) "Water pollution" means such contamination, or other alteration of the physical, chemical, or biological properties of any waters of the state, including change in temperature, taste, color, turbidity, or odor of the waters, or such discharge of any liquid, gaseous, solid, radioactive, or other substance into any waters of the state as will or is likely to create a nuisance or render such waters harmful, detrimental, or injurious to the public health, safety, or welfare, or to domestic, commercial, industrial, agricultural, recreational, or other legitimate beneficial uses, or to livestock, wild animals, birds, fish, or other aquatic life.

(8) "Nonpoint source water pollution" means pollution that enters any waters of the state from any dispersed water-based or land-use activities, including, but not limited to, atmospheric deposition, surface water runoff from agricultural lands, urban areas, and forest lands, subsurface or underground sources, and discharges from boats or other marine vessels.

(9) "Sole source aquifer" means the sole or principal source of public drinking water for an area designated by the administrator of the environmental protection agency pursuant to Public Law 93-523, Sec. 1424(b).

Sec. 6. Section 3, chapter 3, Laws of 1986 and RCW 70.146.030 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) The water quality account is hereby created in the state treasury. Moneys in the account may be used only in a manner consistent with this chapter. Moneys deposited in the account shall be administered by the department of ecology and shall be subject to legislative appropriation. Moneys placed in the account shall include tax receipts as provided in RCW 82.24.027, 82.26.025, and 82.32.390, principal and interest from the repayment of any loans granted pursuant to this chapter, and any other moneys appropriated to the account by the legislature. All earnings from investment of balances in the water quality account, except as provided in RCW 43.84.090, shall be credited to the water quality account.

(2) The department may use or permit the use of any moneys in the account to make grants or loans to public bodies, including grants to public bodies as cost-sharing moneys in any case where federal, local, or other funds are made available on a cost-sharing basis, for water pollution control facilities and activities, or for purposes of assisting a public body to obtain an ownership interest in water pollution control facilities and/or to defray a part of the payments made by a public body to a service provider under a service agreement entered into pursuant to RCW 70.150.060, within the purposes of this chapter and for related administrative expenses. No more than three percent of the moneys deposited in the account may be used by the department to pay for the administration of the grant and loan program authorized by this chapter.

(3) The department shall present a progress report on the use of moneys from the account to the legislature no later than November 30th of each year.

Sec. 7. Section 9, chapter 3, Laws of 1986 and RCW 70.146.060 are each amended to read as follows:

During the period from July 1, 1987, until June 30, 1995, the following limitations shall apply to the department's total distribution of funds appropriated from the water quality account:

(1) Not more than fifty percent for water pollution control facilities which discharge directly into marine waters;

(2) Not more than twenty percent for water pollution control activities that prevent or mitigate pollution of underground waters and facilities that protect federally designated sole source aquifers with at least two-thirds for the Spokane-Rathdrum Prairie Aquifer;

(3) Not more than ten percent for water pollution control activities that protect freshwater lakes and rivers including but not limited to Lake Chelan and the Yakima and Columbia rivers;

(4) Not more than ten percent for activities which control nonpoint source water pollution;

(5) Ten percent and such sums as may be remaining from the categories specified in subsections (1) through (4) of this section for water pollution control activities or facilities as determined by the department; and

(6) Not more than two and one-half percent of the total amounts of moneys under subsections (1) through (5) of this section from February 21, 1986, until December 31, 1995, may be transferred by the department to the state conservation commission for the purposes of this chapter.

The distribution under this section shall not be required to be met in any single fiscal year.

Funds provided for facilities and activities under this chapter may be used for payments to a service provider under a service agreement pursuant to RCW 70.150.060. If funds are to be used for such payments, the department may make periodic disbursements to a public body or may make a single lump sum disbursement. Disbursements of funds with respect to a facility owned or operated by a service provider shall be equivalent in value to disbursements that would otherwise be made if that facility were owned or operated by a public body. Payments under this chapter for waste disposal and management facilities made to public bodies entering into service agreements pursuant to RCW 70.150.060 shall not exceed amounts paid to public bodies not entering into service agreements.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 8. A new section is added to chapter 35.22 RCW to read as follows:

RCW 35.22.620 does not apply to agreements entered into under authority of chapter 70.150 RCW if there is compliance with the procurement procedure under RCW 70.150.040.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 9. A new section is added to chapter 36.32 RCW to read as follows:

RCW 36.32.240, 36.32.250, and 36.32.260 do not apply to agreements entered into under the authority of chapter 70.150 RCW if there is compliance with the procurement procedure under RCW 70.150.040.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 10. 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.