BILL REQ. #:  S-4317.1 

Read first time 01/17/08.   Referred to Committee on Economic Development, Trade & Management.

     AN ACT Relating to staffing and operational costs of the economic development commission; and amending RCW 43.330.250.

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

Sec. 1   RCW 43.330.250 and 2005 c 427 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) The economic development strategic reserve account is created in the state treasury to be used only for the purposes of this section.
     (2) One-third of the amount deposited in the account annually shall be reserved for and expended on the staffing and operational costs of the economic development commission created in chapter 43.162 RCW.
     (3) Only the governor, with the recommendation of the director of the department of community, trade, and economic development and the economic development commission, may authorize expenditures from the nonreserved funds in the account.
     (((3) Expenditures from the account shall be made in an amount sufficient to fund a minimum of one staff position for the economic development commission and to cover any other operational costs of the commission.))
     (4) Expenditures from the account may be made to prevent closure of a business or facility, to prevent relocation of a business or facility in the state to a location outside the state, or to recruit a business or facility to the state. Expenditures may be authorized for:
     (a) Workforce development;
     (b) Public infrastructure needed to support or sustain the operations of the business or facility; and
     (c) Other lawfully provided assistance, including, but not limited to, technical assistance, environmental analysis, relocation assistance, and planning assistance. Funding may be provided for such assistance only when it is in the public interest and may only be provided under a contractual arrangement ensuring that the state will receive appropriate consideration, such as an assurance of job creation or retention.
     (5) The nonreserved funds shall not be expended from the account unless:
     (a) The circumstances are such that time does not permit the director of the department of community, trade, and economic development or the business or facility to secure funding from other state sources;
     (b) The business or facility produces or will produce significant long-term economic benefits to the state, a region of the state, or a particular community in the state;
     (c) The business or facility does not require continuing state support;
     (d) The expenditure will result in new jobs, job retention, or higher incomes for citizens of the state;
     (e) The expenditure will not supplant private investment; and
     (f) The expenditure is accompanied by private investment.
     (6) No more than three million dollars per year may be expended from the account for the purpose of assisting an individual business or facility pursuant to the authority specified in this section.
     (7) If the account balance in the strategic reserve account exceeds fifteen million dollars at any time, the amount in excess of fifteen million dollars shall be transferred to the education construction account.