8407 AMS SHIN MEND 0302
SCR 8407 - S AMD 640
By Senators Shin and Kohl-Welles
PULLED 4/23/05
Strike everything after the enacting clause and insert the following:
WHEREAS, Offshore outsourcing of public sector jobs has an impact on Washington's economy; and
WHEREAS, Some contracts entered into by state agencies are being performed, in whole or in part, outside the United States; and
WHEREAS, The legislature has invested public resources in business development, recruitment, and retention, and wants to ensure that corporations that benefit from these investments are responsive to the legislature and the citizens of Washington state; and
WHEREAS, Reliable data are only now emerging to accurately assess the impacts of outsourcing on a local and national level; and
WHEREAS, Balanced and impartial collection, study, and evaluation of such data are necessary to ensure adequate legislative oversight of state agency outsourcing data; and
WHEREAS, The legislature is concerned about and wants to examine the impact of offshore outsourcing;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, By the Senate of the state of Washington, the House of Representatives concurring, That a study of offshore outsourcing be conducted to evaluate the following issues:
A full survey of state contracts, and any subcontracts awarded under such contracts, that are being performed in whole or in part at locations outside the United States;
The degree to which awarding of such contracts where work is performed offshore implicates the competitive contracting provisions of the Personnel System Reform Act of 2002 and rules developed and implemented thereto;
With regard to state agency contracts in which all or a portion of the work is performed in a country other than the United States: (1) The relative capacity and ability of each agency to assess its need to contract for services, prepare a request for proposal, select a vendor, assess the market, award a contract, supervise a vendor while administering the contract, continually assess risk of exposure to the state, enforce the contract and provide services if the vendor refuses or fails to perform under the terms of the contract; (2) The manner in which agencies screen vendors to determine if they are responsible bidders; and (3) Whether or not agencies are renewing contracts with vendors without making renewal subject to a competitive bidding process;
The extent of legislative authority over state procurement and the degree to which the following are adequate to protect such authority: The process for making and extending the state's commitments under the agreement on government procurement of the world trade organization and other international trade agreements; and the exceptions in the agreement on government procurement of the world trade organization and other international trade agreements;
The applicability of international trade agreements to state procurement policies;
The extent to which work performed under state contracts is performed in countries that are not signatories to applicable international trade agreements;
The effects of such agreements on domestic preferences adopted by signatories to such agreements;
The full range of economic impacts of awarding personal services, purchased services, civil service, and public works contracts to Washington headquartered or domiciled companies including, the creation or retention of jobs and any multiplier effect on state and local tax or employment levels;
The cost and benefits to the state of retraining workers who are separated from employment because their positions were outsourced to locations outside the United States, and issues relative to their eligibility for training benefits under RCW 50.22.150;
The extent to which state contracts performed at locations outside the United States involve a risk of unauthorized use or disclosure of personal information as well as a review of applicable state and federal laws regarding the privacy of personal information and the applicability of such laws to state contracts performed offshore;
The relationship between state labor market conditions, including unemployment rate and implications for trade-dependent industries, and offshore outsourcing decisions;
The economic costs and benefits of awarding personal services, purchased services, civil service, and public works contracts to Washington companies or United States companies where some or all work is performed in a country other than the United States, including a comparison of the availability and cost of contracts using only Washington or United States labor;
The impact of performing work on state agency contracts in a country other than the United States on the development and furthering of relationships with new and existing trading partners;
The number of workers in Washington whose jobs are dependent on work from foreign companies or governments;
To what extent, if any, Washington’s trading partners have retaliated historically in response to legislative actions that limited trading opportunities;
The impact, if any, on Washington headquartered or domiciled companies of best interest or domestic preference criteria enacted by other states; and
The impact, if any, of state-based regulation of offshore outsourcing on the ability of companies headquartered or resident in Washington to do business in the global marketplace, including trade with the governments of other countries and states.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the study be conducted by a joint task force of the Senate and the House of Representatives consisting of the following: Two senators to be appointed by the majority leader of the Senate, two senators to be appointed by the minority leader of the Senate; two representatives to be appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and two representatives to be appointed by the minority leader of the House of Representatives. The task force shall be governed by cochairs, one to be selected by the majority leader of the Senate, and the other to be selected by the Speaker of the House of Representatives; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the joint task force, in conjunction with the private sector, shall consult with and be advised by an advisory committee consisting of eight members: Three members representing labor, appointed jointly by the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, from a list of names recommended by a statewide organization representing a cross-section of organized labor in the state, one of whom shall represent a public sector union; three members representing business, one of whom shall represent small business, appointed jointly by the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, from a list of names recommended by a statewide organization of employers representing a cross-section of employers of the state; one member representing the office of the Washington state trade representative; and one member representing the public, who is not a member of any of the above listed groups. Advisory committee membersare not to be reimbursed for travel expenses incurred; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the findings and recommendations of the joint task force be reported to the legislature by January 1, 2006.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, The joint task force should seek the cooperation of the office of financial management, on state contracts and first and second tier subcontracts in which services are performed by workers or businesses outside the United States, to obtain information regarding:
(1) The number and nature of contracts awarded to vendors that use or subcontract the use of workers in other countries to perform services under state contracts; and
(2) Estimates or other conclusions that state agencies can reasonably draw regarding the costs or other benefits of state contracts employing workers in the United States compared to those using workers in other countries.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the joint task force should seek the cooperation of the office of financial management to obtain information about the amount and location of all contracts awarded in which services were performed by workers outside the United States.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that consistent with state and federal law, the joint task force, in consultation with the office of financial management, the Departments of General Administration, Information Services, Personnel, and other affected agencies, should recommend policies to the legislature regarding appropriate disclosure of offshore outsourcing by all parties seeking to enter into any contract or subcontract with the State of Washington or one of its agencies for the provision of services, including but not limited to the following:
(1) Whether or not the party should disclose the country, if outside the United States, where any of the services under the contract will be provided;
(2) Whether or not the party should disclose any subcontracting of services under the contract and the country; if outside the United States, where any subcontracted services will be performed;
(3) Whether or not the party should commit that during the course of the state contract the country in which services are performed will not be changed, except with the written consent of the agency; and
(4) Whether or not the party should disclose, if applicable, why the only practicable location where the services may be performed is clearly and justifiably a location outside the United States. This factor need not apply, by way of illustration, and not as a limitation, to services related to the establishment and operation of foreign offices created for the purpose of promoting overseas trade and commerce, research projects conducted by faculty at state institutions of higher education, and study-abroad programs offered by state institutions of higher education.
Renumber the sections consecutively and correct any internal references accordingly.
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EFFECT: An eight member joint task force of the Legislature is to study offshoring outsourcing. An eight member advisory board is to consult with and advise the task force. The board is not entitled to reimbursement for their travel costs. The findings and recommendations of the joint task force is due to the Legislature by January 1, 2006.
Some of the issues the task force is to evaluate include:
1. The degree to which state contracts, and subcontracts, are being
performed, in whole or in part, at locations outside the United States.
2. The applicability of international trade agreements to state procurement policies.
3. The economic impact of awarding certain state contracts to Washington companies.
4. The cost to the state of retraining workers who are separated from
employment because their positions were outsourced to locations outside the United States.
5. The number of workers in Washington whose jobs are dependent on work from overseas companies of governments.
6. The extent to which state contracts performed at locations outside the United States involve risk of unauthorized use or disclosure of personal information as well as a review of applicable state and federal laws regarding the privacy of personal information and the applicability of such laws to state contracts performed offshore.
The joint task force should seek the cooperation of the office of financial management (OFM) to obtain information regarding: 1) the number and nature of state contracts that use workers outside of the United States 2) estimates regarding the costs or other benefits of state contracts employing workers outside of the United States and 3)information about the amount and location of all contracts awarded in which services were performed by workers from outside the United States.
The joint task force, in consultation with OFM, and the Departments of General Administration, Information Services, Personnel, and other affected agencies, should recommend policies regarding the appropriate level of disclosure of offshore outsourcing by all parties seeking to enter into a contract or subcontract with the state for services including, but not limited to: 1)whether the party should disclose the country, if outside the United States, where any services under a state contract or subcontract are being performed, 2) whether or not the party should be restricted from changing the country in which the service is performed, and 3) whether or not the party should disclose why the only practicable location where the services may be performed is a location outside the United States.