H-2302              _______________________________________________

                                           SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL NO. 576

                        _______________________________________________

State of Washington                              50th Legislature                              1987 Regular Session

By House Committee on Trade & Economic Development (originally sponsored by Representatives Jacobsen, Unsoeld, Wang, P. King and Wineberry)

Read first time 3/6/87 and passed to Committee on Rules.

AN ACT Relating to employee-owned business; adding a new section to chapter 43.63A RCW; creating a new section; and making an appropriation.

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

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1.     The legislature finds and declares that business closures, especially in traditional industries, have detrimentally affected the well-being of Washington's citizens.  Employee cooperatives have long been a tradition in Washington with many forest product companies, agricultural concerns, and other businesses being run on a cooperative basis. Effective use of employee-owned businesses can reduce the unemployment caused by plant closures, increase the income and financial security of the state's citizens, assure citizens greater control of their economic future, strengthen productivity, produce more efficient businesses, strengthen labor-management relations, and contribute to a more vital state economy.  It is the state's policy to encourage and facilitate the establishment of employee-owned businesses as one method of creating and retaining needed jobs.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2.  A new section is added to chapter 43.63A RCW to read as follows:

          (1) The department shall establish an employee ownership program which shall:

         (a) Conduct educational programs involving the collection and dissemination of information concerning employee-owned businesses.

          (b) Establish a technical assistance program to assist in the formation, development, and management of employee-owned businesses.  Technical assistance may include but not be limited to conducting feasibility studies, coordinating financial assistance, and providing labor and management training regarding employee ownership.

         (c)  Maintain a listing of firms and individuals with expertise in the field of employee ownership.

          (2) The department shall publicize the programs under subsection (1) of this section throughout the state on a continuous basis through state agencies responsible for economic development, including the department of trade and economic development, the employment security department, and the small business development center established pursuant to RCW 28B.30.530.

          (3)  The department shall report annually on December 31 to the governor and the legislature on activities undertaken by the employee ownership program.

          (4) As used in this section:

          (a) "Department" means the department of community development.

          (b) "Employee-owned businesses" means employee cooperatives and employee stock ownership plans.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3.     There is appropriated from the general fund to the department of community development for the biennium ending June 30, 1989, the sum of one hundred fifty thousand dollars, or so much thereof as may be necessary, to carry out the purposes of this act.