AN ACT Relating to the Washington employment futures act; adding a new chapter to Title 50 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 50.16 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 50.24 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 50.29 RCW; adding new sections to chapter 43.131 RCW; creating a new section; making an appropriation; and declaring an emergency.

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

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The legislature finds that the economy of Washington, like that of the nation, has shifted to an international economic arena. To meet this growing competition from other countries, businesses in the state need a skilled and flexible work force. Because of the increased technical nature of the new jobs and the tightening of labor markets, employers will be hard pressed to find skilled workers to meet world market competition. Approximately eighty-five percent of the workforce for the year 2000 is already employed. Many of the workers currently employed will encounter problems adapting to the needs of the future labor market. A large share of the workers will need improved technical skills. Action is needed to retrain workers to keep up with emerging technology and to provide the necessary skills to workers reentering the work force. To assist workers in need of skills and employers in need of skilled workers, an increase in training opportunities in the state is necessary.

The legislature further finds that by directing additional job training and retraining to those individuals who are recipients of unemployment insurance benefits, recent exhaustees of benefits, or employees who are soon likely to claim benefits due to economic dislocation, the state can reduce pressure on the unemployment insurance system and at the same time promote the economic development of the state.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, the definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter.

(1) "Council" means the Washington council on employment futures.

(2) "Commissioner" means the commissioner of the employment security department.

(3) "Department" means the employment security department.

(4) "Program" means the Washington employment futures program.

(5) "Fund" means the employment futures fund established in section 10 of this act for the deposit and expenditure of funds acquired for the implementation of the Washington employment futures program.

(6) "Training" means any education or skill training or retraining activity that is needed by an individual to begin or continue full participation in the Washington work force.

(7) "Training providers" includes agencies and institutions of secondary education, vocational technical institutes, community colleges, higher education, adult education, vocational education, apprenticeship programs, and private and public nonprofit organizations that are representative of communities or significant segments of communities and provide job training services.

(8) "Eligible participant" means a person who, prior to beginning training pursuant to this chapter, was:

(a) Unemployed and claiming unemployment insurance benefits;

(b) An individual who had exhausted eligibility for unemployment insurance benefits within the previous twenty-four months;

(c) Employed, but had been determined by the department to be likely to be displaced and therefore claim unemployment insurance benefits subsequent to notice given under the federal worker adjustment and retraining notification act, P.L. 100-379, 102 Stat. 890, or any state law requiring advance notification of workplace closures or mass layoffs or after voluntary notice by an employer of likely displacement not to exceed one hundred twenty days in advance of such displacement; or

(d) A displaced homemaker as defined in RCW 28B.04.030. Displaced homemakers shall constitute no less than two percent of program participants.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. (1) There is created the Washington employment futures program.

(2) The program shall include:

(a) The provision of training and related services; and

(b) Evaluation of the effectiveness of the program.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. (1) There is created the Washington council on employment futures. The council shall consist of six voting members, seven nonvoting members, and a nonvoting chairperson. The governor shall appoint the members of the council. Three of the voting members shall be representatives of business, at least one of whom shall be from east of the Cascades, and three of the voting members shall be representatives of labor, at least one of whom shall be from east of the Cascades. Three of the nonvoting members shall be the state superintendent of public instruction, the executive director of the state board for vocational education, and the executive director of the state board for community college education. Four legislators shall serve as nonvoting members. The president of the senate shall appoint a senator from each of the major caucuses to serve on the council, and the speaker of the house of representatives shall appoint a representative from each of the major caucuses to serve on the council. The commissioner of employment security shall serve as the nonvoting chairperson of the council. At least two of the labor representatives shall be selected from a list of not less than five names, submitted to the governor by a state-wide organization, which through its affiliates embraces a cross section and a majority of organized labor in the state. At least two of the business representatives shall be selected from a list of not less than five names, submitted to the governor by a recognized state-wide organization of employers, which represents a majority of employers in the state.

(2) The council shall be responsible for the overall administration of the program. The council shall meet as necessary to carry out the purposes of this chapter, and council members shall be reimbursed for travel expenses in accordance with RCW 43.03.050 and 43.03.060. Each voting member of the council shall be compensated in accordance with RCW 43.03.240.

(3) The department shall provide staff to the council as necessary to carry out the purposes of this chapter.

(4) No more than fifteen percent of the total program appropriation shall be used for administration by the council, the department, or any regional review panels established by the council. Administrative costs may include costs for linkage between eligible participants and the program.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. Contract proposals for training shall be submitted to the council for approval. Proposals shall not be approved except by a majority of the voting members of the council. The council may establish regional review panels to review and recommend proposals to the council for final approval. Contracts shall not be subject to bid requirements. Proposal specifications shall be developed by the council and established by rule.

(1) The council may agree to contracts for training with any one or more of the following:

(a) A provider of training services;

(b) An employer submitting a proposal jointly with one or more eligible training providers or private industry councils;

(c) An organization representing employees submitting a proposal jointly with one or more eligible training providers or private industry councils; or

(d) A private industry council authorized under the federal job training partnership act, P.L. 97-300.

(2) Proposals for training under the program shall demonstrate the provider's past success in training and job placement, and must demonstrate the employment demand for the proposed trainees.

(3) Training providers under the program shall be reimbursed for the full cost of training, except indirect costs shall be limited to no more than ten percent of the total, and twenty-five percent of the cost of training shall not be paid to the provider until the trainee is placed and employed in a job for a period of at least ninety days.

(4) Contracts may include the cost of facilitating the applications of small businesses and groups of small businesses as part of the cost of providing training.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. The delivery of program services shall be accomplished through the existing education and training system. Services delivered through the program shall include:

(1) Vocational training to provide workers with skills required in the labor market;

(2) Upgrading skills in areas that are necessary to keep pace with technology and the global economy;

(3) Workplace literacy training, including English as a second language, and training to improve math, reading, and computational skills for workers who need advanced skills because of technological changes in the marketplace;

(4) Other training that assists workers and employers in supporting economic development in the state; and

(5) Support services approved by the council.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 7. (1) The council shall only approve proposals for training that facilitate the employment of participants in jobs with definite career potential and long-term job security for which an adequate force of workers does not already exist. At least seventy-five percent of the funds for training under the program shall be expended for training that is linked to specific job openings.

(2) The council may develop minimum standards for length of training, wage levels of jobs for which training shall be provided, and costs per trainee. No proposal shall be considered that proposes training for employment covered by a collective bargaining agreement unless the signatory labor organization agrees in writing.

(3) The council shall give priority to proposals for training:

(a) In areas of critical skill shortages;

(b) For jobs in businesses that would likely fail were it not for the provision of the training;

(d) For jobs in distressed areas of the state.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 8. Proposals developed pursuant to this chapter shall not replace, supplant, compete with, or duplicate in any way already existing education or training programs.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 9. Evaluation is an integral part of the Washington employment futures program and shall give useful, policy-relevant information about the effectiveness of program strategies and training provided in the program.

(1) Evaluation of the program shall be performed by the department in conjunction with a research organization with expertise in program analysis selected by the office of financial management. The role of the research organization shall be limited to assisting the department in setting evaluation parameters and verifying the department's analysis of the data. The evaluation shall have three major components:

(a) An analysis of program implementation and operation with a focus on the linkages among the organizations providing services;

(b) An analysis to show the impact of the different services on program participants and short-term and long-term benefits to employers, including comparisons with control groups of similar make-up not engaged in the program; and

(2) The department shall develop and test an integrated state-wide education, training, and employment tracking system by following the postprogram employment history of program participants. The system shall:

(a) Identify all employers since training for each former program participant and his or her rates of compensation; and

(b) Determine whether the former program participant's employment is related to prior education or training.

(3) All providers participating in the program shall provide enrollment and completion data on program participants by social security number to facilitate the matching necessary for identification, tracking, and accountability.

(4) All employers participating in the program or hiring program trainees shall supply the department with the occupational title of the participants.

(5) An interim report shall be prepared by January 1, 1990. Yearly evaluations shall be prepared by January 1, 1991, and January 1, 1992. A detailed evaluation report shall be prepared by January 1, 1993. That evaluation shall contain recommendations about continuation of the program.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 10. A new section is added to chapter 50.16 RCW to read as follows:

The employment futures fund is established to be administered by the commissioner as a separate and identifiable fund. The employment futures fund shall consist of contributions paid under section 11 of this act, public and private grants for the purposes of chapter 50.-- RCW (sections 1 through 9 of this act), and other funds provided for the employment futures program. Money in the employment futures fund may be expended only for the purposes of chapter 50.-- RCW (sections 1 through 9 of this act) and money from contributions paid under section 11 of this act must be appropriated.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 11. A new section is added to chapter 50.24 RCW to read as follows:

(1) Beginning January 1, 1989, contributions to the employment futures fund established in section 10 of this act shall accrue and become payable by each employer, except employers as described in RCW 50.04.010 and 50.44.030 who have properly elected to make payments in lieu of contributions, taxable local government employers as described in RCW 50.44.035, and those employers who are required to make payments in lieu of contributions, at the rate of six one-hundredths of one percent.

(2) The amount of wages subject to tax shall be determined under RCW 50.24.010.

(3) Contributions under this section shall become due and be paid by each employer pursuant to rules prescribed by the commissioner and shall not be deducted, in whole or in part, from the remuneration of individuals in the employ of the employer. Any deduction in violation of this section is unlawful.

(4) In the payment of any contributions under this section, a fractional part of a cent shall be disregarded unless it amounts to one-half cent or more, in which case it shall be increased to one cent.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 12. A new section is added to chapter 50.29 RCW to read as follows:

Tax rates for rate classes 1 through 19, described in RCW 50.29.025, shall be reduced by six one-hundredths of one percent for rate years 1989 through 1993.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 13. If any part of this act is found to be in conflict with federal requirements which are a prescribed condition to the allocation of federal funds to the state or the eligibility of employers in this state for federal unemployment tax credits, the conflicting part of this act is hereby declared to be inoperative solely to the extent of the conflict, and such finding or determination shall not affect the operation of the remainder of this act. The rules under this act shall meet federal requirements which are a necessary condition to the receipt of federal funds by the state or the granting of federal unemployment tax credits to employers in this state.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 14. 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. 15. Sections 1 through 9 of this act shall constitute a new chapter in Title 50 RCW.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 16. The sum of twenty-one million one hundred thousand dollars, or as much thereof as may be necessary, is appropriated from the employment futures fund to the employment security department for the biennium ending June 30, 1991, to carry out the purposes of this act. In no fiscal year shall funds expended for the program exceed eleven million dollars.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 17. This act is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety, or support of the state government and its existing public institutions, and shall take effect immediately.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 18. A new section is added to chapter 43.131 RCW to read as follows:

The Washington employment futures program shall be terminated on December 31, 1993, as provided in section 19 of this act.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 19. A new section is added to chapter 43.131 RCW to read as follows:

The following acts or parts of acts, as now existing or hereafter amended, are each repealed, effective June 30, 1994:

(1) Section 1, chapter ---, Laws of 1989 and RCW 50.--.--- (section 1 of this act);

(2) Section 2, chapter ---, Laws of 1989 and RCW 50.--.--- (section 2 of this act);

(3) Section 3, chapter ---, Laws of 1989 and RCW 50.--.--- (section 3 of this act);

(4) Section 4, chapter ---, Laws of 1989 and RCW 50.--.--- (section 4 of this act);

(5) Section 5, chapter ---, Laws of 1989 and RCW 50.--.--- (section 5 of this act);

(6) Section 6, chapter ---, Laws of 1989 and RCW 50.--.--- (section 6 of this act);

(7) Section 7, chapter ---, Laws of 1989 and RCW 50.--.--- (section 7 of this act);

(8) Section 8, chapter ---, Laws of 1989 and RCW 50.--.--- (section 8 of this act);

(9) Section 9, chapter ---, Laws of 1989 and RCW 50.--.--- (section 9 of this act);

(10) Section 10, chapter ---, Laws of 1989 and RCW 50.16.--- (section 10 of this act);

(11) Section 11, chapter ---, Laws of 1989 and RCW 50.24.--- (section 11 of this act); and

(12) Section 12, chapter ---, Laws of 1989 and RCW 50.29.--- (section 12 of this act).