BP BHEAD INT S

AN ACT Relating to unemployment; and adding a new chapter to Title 43 RCW.

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

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The legislature finds that:

(1) Structural changes in the state's economy have resulted in the permanent loss of industrial jobs as a result of plant closures, business failures, and layoffs.

(2) These permanent job losses and major changes in the state's industries and occupations have led to a large increase in the number of unemployment compensation claimants who exhaust their benefits without finding a job.

(3) High levels of permanent job losses and unemployed workers exhausting their unemployment benefits have resulted in large increases in social costs such as unemployment compensation, public assistance, health programs, and lost taxes normally paid by workers and businesses. Local communities also suffer from increased social costs resulting from rising demands for services by long-term unemployed workers and their families.

(4) A significant percentage of the increase in the public assistance caseloads results from unemployed workers who exhaust their unemployment benefits without finding employment.

(5) Rising long-term unemployment increases the number of families with social, medical, emotional, and financial problems which require outside assistance and intervention.

(6) Many communities in the state have inadequate and poorly coordinated resources and programs to assist the unemployed in coping with their problems that are associated with unemployment.

(7) The lack of coordinated and effective services for the unemployed seriously hampers their ability to conduct an effective work search and may have the effect of prolonging their unemployment and increasing the possibility of exhausting their unemployment benefits and entering the public assistance caseloads.

(8) Businesses also suffer from rising levels of long-term unemployment as many of their customers are forced into bankruptcy and mortgage foreclosures.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. It is the intent of the legislature to develop a comprehensive, state-wide policy to reduce the levels of permanent job losses and the number of unemployment compensation exhaustees. It is the purpose of this act to:

(1) Authorize and fund the creation of a state-wide business and job retention program that places primary reliance on locally based business and job retention teams to assist businesses that are likely to close, fail, or experience a permanent mass layoff. The state's primary role in the business and job retention program is to provide continuing financial and technical assistance and training to the locally based business and job retention teams to ensure their success; and

(2) Develop a comprehensive policy to reduce the number of unemployment compensation exhaustees and the long-term unemployed. This goal can be achieved by providing an array of services to the long-term unemployed and older unemployed workers as defined in RCW 50.62.020.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. There is established within the department of community development the business and job retention program. An exempt position is hereby created at the division director level within the department of community development for the managing director of the business and job retention program. The managing director shall be appointed by the governor and shall serve under the direction of the director of trade and economic development at the governor's pleasure. In carrying out the purposes of this chapter, the managing director shall solicit volunteer assistance; work with the business assistance center, the small business development centers, the department's employee ownership program, local early warning programs, local reemployment centers, labor representatives, and other appropriate public and private agencies and organizations; and contract with private consultants for such services as the managing director deems advisable.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. The managing director shall appoint an advisory committee having equal representation from local businesses, local government, and local labor organizations, and representatives of work force training and education programs, associate development organizations, community-based economic development organizations, local early warning programs, local reemployment centers, and other advocates for dislocated and unemployed workers. The managing director shall consult with the advisory committee in developing implementation plans for carrying out this chapter and shall monitor implementation and operations of the state and regional components of the program. Members of the advisory committee shall receive no compensation but shall be reimbursed for travel expenses under RCW 43.03.050 and 43.03.060.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. The managing director, after consultation with the advisory committee, shall:

(1) Designate no more than fifteen service delivery regions in the state, each of which shall have no less than one county and no more than six counties;

(2) Put out requests for proposals for the operation of business and job retention teams for each region. The managing director shall evaluate the proposals and select a team for each region based on the proposed teams':

(a) Inclusion of representatives of business, labor, training institutions, and local government;

(b) Plan for administration of surveys of businesses, utilities, employees, financial institutions, and community groups to gather information about business needs, expansion plans, relocation decisions, training needs, potential layoffs, financing needs, the availability of financing and other appropriate information about economic trends, and specific employer and employee needs in the region; and

(c) Plan for delivery of job retention and business retention and expansion services including entrepreneurial training, job skills training, production process analysis, product development assistance, marketing, and financial and other management services;

(3) Develop a model local economic survey and assist the regional business and job retention team in administering a survey in each region;

(4) Designate proposed criteria for receipt of services offered by the regional teams to businesses, labor unions, employee groups, community groups, local governments, and port districts. Such criteria shall include the number of employees affected, the type of business involved, reemployment potential of employees, severity of problems affecting the business or work force, skill level of the work force, availability of financing, and the social and economic costs of layoffs or closure;

(5) Be responsible for the development and implementation of training programs for the regional business and job retention team coordinators and teams. The training programs shall be designed to assist the teams in administering economic surveys, developing and coordinating local resources, assessing the need for outside resources, and locating other public and private resources needed to assist firms; and

(6) Shall provide or coordinate the delivery of technical and managerial assistance upon request from the local business and job retention team coordinator in the areas of financial management, marketing, product development, production process analysis, training, and other business services.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. The business and job retention teams shall provide marketing, technical, managerial, and training assistance appropriate to client businesses, unions, employee groups, and work forces. The teams shall initiate contact with those firms or employees indicating, through the economic surveys or otherwise, the potential for closure, mass layoff, or relocation. For firms or employees not indicating such potential, the provision of services from the teams shall be in response to direct requests from firms, labor unions, employee groups, community groups, local governments, and port districts. The team coordinator shall be responsible for conducting an initial assessment of firms or work forces to determine viability, problems, and skill levels, in cooperation with any early warning programs, reemployment centers, and associate development organizations. The assessment shall include but not be limited to the public and private costs of any potential closure or layoff, the potential for preventing a closure, business failure, business relocation, or mass lay-off, the potential for a change in ownership, including worker and community buy-outs of the firm, and the costs of keeping the facility in operation. Where appropriate, team coordinators shall assist local governments or organizations in applying for local development matching funds from the department of community development.

After the initial assessment, the team coordinator shall coordinate the delivery of technical, managerial, financial training, and other assistance. The team coordinator shall work with the employment security department, private industry councils, and local reemployment centers to assess the need for and to ensure the provision of training services to client businesses, prelayoff services, and the establishment of programs for dislocated workers such as job clubs, retraining counseling, and the referral and delivery of social services.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 7. In addition to the responsibilities set forth in sections 3 through 6 of this act, the department of community development shall draw upon its existing resources, employment and economic data from the employment security department, and data from the department of licensing and the department of revenue and other sources, to do nonduplicative analyses of trends in the state's industries and work forces. The department shall make such analyses available to relevant businesses, labor organizations or work forces, local governments, economic development organizations, early warning programs, and business and job retention teams, and shall work with them to develop long-term strategies for economic growth and revitalization.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 8. The employment security department shall:

(1) Track numbers of dislocated workers and part-time workers in the state;

(2) Assess the number and causes of permanent mass layoffs and closures using a modified permanent mass layoff and plant closure data base that is presently funded by the federal government;

(3) Supply the managing director with data under subsections (1) and (2) of this section, which will allow the state and local components of the program to prioritize delivery of service to distressed, mature, and cyclical industries;

(4) Provide information and assistance to the program on training resources available through the department;

(5) Offer any businesses assisted by the program its first source hiring services; and

(6) Work with the department of social and health services to track dislocated workers who exhaust their unemployment compensation benefits and begin collecting public assistance.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 9. The department of trade and economic development shall provide resources to the business and job retention teams through its business assistance center, small business development centers, and other appropriate programs.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 10. The managing director shall publish an annual report that shall be made available to the appropriate committees of the senate and the house of representatives. The report shall include the following:

(1) The number of businesses, labor unions, employee groups, local governments, and port districts assisted under this chapter;

(2) The types of assistance provided; and

(3) The number of businesses and jobs retained through assistance rendered under this chapter.

These reporting requirements shall be disaggregated by county, standard industrial classification, and size of firm.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 11. Sections 1 through 10 of this act shall constitute a new chapter in Title 43 RCW.