HOUSE BILL REPORT

                  HB 2558

             As Reported By House Committee On:

                      State Government

Title:  An act relating to state employees' suggestion awards and incentive pay.

Brief Description:  Changing statutes that effect the productivity board.

Sponsors:  Representatives Romero, McMorris and Wolfe; by request of Secretary of State.

Brief History:

  Committee Activity:

State Government:  1/28/00, 2/1/00 [DP].

                 Brief Summary of Bill

$Increases the Productivity Board's membership from eight to 10.

$Eliminates the limit of consecutive terms for certain board members.

$Provides an alternative name for the board.

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON STATE GOVERNMENT

Majority Report:  Do pass.  Signed by 8 members:  Representatives McMorris, Republican Co-Chair; Romero, Democratic Co-Chair; Campbell, Republican Vice Chair; Miloscia, Democratic Vice Chair; Dunshee; Haigh; Lambert and D. Schmidt.

Staff:  Andrea Leder, (786-7093); and Jim Morishima (786-7191).

Background:

The Productivity Board administers the statewide employee suggestion program and adopts rules allowing for agency-unique suggestion programs.  Rules governing the statewide program provide for a payment award schedule that establishes the criteria for determining the amounts of any financial or other awards.

Members of the board include the Secretary of State, directors of the Department of Personnel, Office of Financial Management, and Department of General Administration, one appointed person to represent agencies and their employees, and three individuals experienced in administering incentive programs.  These three individuals are appointed, one each, by the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and Speaker of the House of Representatives.  The Governor's appointee must be a representative of an employee organization certified as an exclusive representative of at least one bargaining unit of classified employees.  No one organization may be represented for two consecutive terms.

During the 1999 session, laws pertaining to the Productivity Board were rewritten.  One of the changes decreased the number of board members by two.  The two positions eliminated were the personnel director of the Higher Education Personnel Board and the Governor appointee representing institutions of higher education and their employees.

Summary of Bill:

Two members are added to the board, increasing its membership from eight to 10.  One new member must represent institutions of higher education and their employees.  The other new member increases the number of individuals representing state agency employees from one to two.  Both positions are appointed by the Governor.

The bill eliminates the requirement regarding the number of terms one organization may be represented on the board.

The board may either be referred to as the Productivity Board or as the Employee Involvement and Recognition Board.

Appropriation:  None.

Fiscal Note:  Not requested.

Effective Date:  Ninety days after adjournment of session in which bill is passed.

Testimony For:  The bill fine-tunes legislation passed last year, restores two members who were accidentally omitted, and provides continuity to the board.  The new name more accurately describes what the board is about.

Testimony Against:  None.

Testified:  Michelle Wilson, Office of the Secretary of State, Productivity Board.