Statutes Authorizing the Agency to Adopt Rules on this Subject: RCW 26.23.040.

Reasons Why Rules on this Subject may be Needed and What They Might Accomplish: Under the former version of RCW 26.23.040, employers assigned certain standard industrial classification (SIC) codes were exempt from the requirements of the employer reporting program. The federal requirements for employer reporting mandate that Washington state remove those exemptions and require every employer to report new hires. However, for employer convenience, the Division of Child Support will accept a copy of the employee's W-4 form as sufficient information under the employer reporting program.

Process for Developing New Rule: Those persons wishing to participate in developing the new rules are encouraged to contact Nancy Koptur at the DSHS Division of Child Support (DCS) Headquarters as soon as possible. DCS will post information regarding this rule development project and others on its web site, which can be found at www.wa.gov/dshs/dcs/csrc.html, or on the DSHS Economic Services Administration's regulatory improvement web site, which can be found at www.wa.gov/dshs/esarules. DSHS/DCS encourages the public to take part in developing the rules. After the rules are drafted, DSHS will file a copy with the Office of the Code Reviser with a notice of proposed rule making, and will send a copy to everyone currently on the mailing list and to anyone else who requests a copy.

Interested parties can participate in the decision to adopt the new rule and formulation of the proposed rule before publication by contacting the DCS Rules Coordinator, Nancy Koptur, Division of Child Support, P.O. Box 9162, Mailstop 45860, Olympia, WA 98507-9162, phone (360) 664-5065, fax (360) 664-5055, TTY/TDD (360) 664-5011, e-mail nkoptur@dshs.wa.gov.

August 4, 1998

Marie Myerchin-Redifer, Manager

Rules and Policies Assistance Unit