BILL REQ. #:  S-0669.1 

Read first time 01/18/2007.   Referred to Committee on Economic Development, Trade & Management.

     AN ACT Relating to supporting industry clusters as an economic development tool; amending RCW 43.330.090; and adding new sections to chapter 43.330 RCW.

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

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   A new section is added to chapter 43.330 RCW to read as follows:
     The legislature finds that workforce investment is an indispensable economic development strategy in a global economy but the connections between workforce and economic development programs have not been strong enough. The legislature further finds that workforce agencies and the department of community, trade, and economic development operate a number of programs, which award grants with the ultimate goal of increasing the competitiveness of industry clusters and that it is in the state's interest that workforce development and economic development agencies establish coordinated mechanisms for disbursing these state funds.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   A new section is added to chapter 43.330 RCW to read as follows:
     The workforce training and education coordinating board and the economic development commission shall convene a working group, consisting of the department of community, trade, and economic development, the employment security department, the state board for community and technical colleges, a representative of local economic development councils and local workforce development councils to create a framework for the identification of economic clusters, as well as service and resource delivery to the clusters. The working group shall:
     (1) Specify the process for identification of substate geographic concentrations of firms or employment in an industry and their customers, suppliers, supporting businesses, and institutions, which process will include the use of labor market information from the employment security department and local labor markets;
     (2) Establish criteria for identifying strategic clusters, which are important to economic prosperity in the state, considering cluster size, growth rate, and wage levels among other factors;
     (3) Identify the public resources available which could be more intensively devoted to assist clusters;
     (4) Identify mechanisms by which public resources can be coordinated and more efficiently delivered to support the growth and competitiveness of clusters, including the consistent timing of grant applications, the development of common criteria for receipt of grants, and the establishment of grant review committees with overlapping membership.

Sec. 3   RCW 43.330.090 and 2006 c 105 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) The department shall work with private sector organizations, industry and cluster associations, federal agencies, state agencies that use a cluster-based approach to service delivery, local governments, local associate development organizations, and higher education and training institutions in the development of industry cluster-based strategies to diversify the economy, facilitate technology transfer and diffusion, and increase value-added production. The industry clusters targeted by the department may include, but are not limited to, aerospace, agriculture, food processing, forest products, marine services, health and biomedical, software, digital and interactive media, transportation and distribution, and microelectronics. The department shall, on a continuing basis, evaluate the potential return to the state from devoting additional resources to an industry cluster-based approach to economic development and identifying and assisting additional clusters consistent with the process and criteria in section 2 of this act. The department shall use information gathered in each service delivery region in formulating its industry cluster-based strategies and shall assist local communities in identifying regional industry clusters and developing industry cluster-based strategies.
     (2) The department shall pursue a coordinated program to expand the tourism industry throughout the state in cooperation with the public and private tourism development organizations. The department, in operating its tourism program, shall:
     (a) Promote Washington as a tourism destination to national and international markets to include nature-based and wildlife viewing tourism;
     (b) Provide information to businesses and local communities on tourism opportunities that could expand local revenues;
     (c) Assist local communities to strengthen their tourism partnerships, including their relationships with state and local agencies;
     (d) Provide leadership training and assistance to local communities to facilitate the development and implementation of local tourism plans;
     (e) Coordinate the development of a statewide tourism and marketing plan. The department's tourism planning efforts shall be carried out in conjunction with public and private tourism development organizations including the department of fish and wildlife and other appropriate agencies. The plan shall specifically address mechanisms for: (i) Funding national and international marketing and nature-based tourism efforts; (ii) interagency cooperation; and (iii) integrating the state plan with local tourism plans.
     (3) The department may, in carrying out its efforts to expand the tourism industry in the state:
     (a) Solicit and receive gifts, grants, funds, fees, and endowments, in trust or otherwise, from tribal, local or other governmental entities, as well as private sources, and may expend the same or any income therefrom for tourism purposes. All revenue received for tourism purposes shall be deposited into the tourism development and promotion account created in RCW 43.330.094;
     (b) Host conferences and strategic planning workshops relating to the promotion of nature-based and wildlife viewing tourism;
     (c) Conduct or contract for tourism-related studies;
     (d) Contract with individuals, businesses, or public entities to carry out its tourism-related activities under this section;
     (e) Provide tourism-related organizations with marketing and other technical assistance;
     (f) Evaluate and make recommendations on proposed tourism-related policies.
     (4)(a) The department shall promote, market, and encourage growth in the production of films and videos, as well as television commercials within the state; to this end the department is directed to assist in the location of a film and video production studio within the state.
     (b) The department may, in carrying out its efforts to encourage film and video production in the state, solicit and receive gifts, grants, funds, fees, and endowments, in trust or otherwise, from tribal, local, or other governmental entities, as well as private sources, and may expend the same or any income therefrom for the encouragement of film and video production. All revenue received for such purposes shall be deposited into the film and video promotion account created in RCW 43.330.092.
     (5) In assisting in the development of regional and statewide industry cluster-based strategies, the department's activities shall include, but are not limited to:
     (a) Facilitating regional focus group discussions and conducting studies to identify industry clusters consistent with the process and criteria in section 2 of this act, appraise the current information linkages within a cluster, and identify issues of common concern within a cluster;
     (b) Supporting industry and cluster associations, publications of association and cluster directories, and related efforts to create or expand the activities of industry and cluster associations;
     (c) Administering a competitive grant program to fund activities designed to further regional cluster growth. In administering the program, the department shall work with an industry cluster advisory committee with equal representation from the work force training and education coordinating board, the state board for community and technical colleges, the employment security department, business, and labor.
     (i) The industry cluster advisory committee shall recommend criteria for evaluating applications for grant funds and recommend applicants for receipt of grant funds.
     (ii) Applicants must include organizations from at least two counties and participants from the local business community. Eligible organizations include, but are not limited to, local governments, economic development councils, chambers of commerce, federally recognized Indian tribes, work force development councils, and educational institutions.
     (iii) Applications must evidence financial participation of the partner organizations.
     (iv) Priority shall be given to applicants which will use the grant funds to build linkages and joint projects, to develop common resources and common training, and to develop common research and development projects or facilities.
     (v) The maximum amount of a grant is one hundred thousand dollars.
     (vi) A maximum of one hundred thousand dollars total can go to King, Pierce, Kitsap, and Snohomish counties combined.
     (vii) No more than ten percent of funds received for the grant program may be used by the department for administrative costs.
     (6) As used in subsection (5) of this section, "industry cluster" means a geographic concentration of interdependent competitive firms that do business with each other. "Industry cluster" also includes firms that sell inside and outside of the geographic region as well as support firms that supply raw materials, components, and business services.