BILL REQ. #:  H-1506.1 

Read first time 02/10/11.   Referred to Committee on Community Development & Housing.

     AN ACT Relating to using a web-based business services system; and amending RCW 43.330.060, 43.330.080, and 43.330.082.

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

Sec. 1   RCW 43.330.060 and 2010 c 165 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) The department ((shall)) must:
     (a) Assist in expanding the state's role as an international center of trade, culture, and finance;
     (b) Promote and market the state's products and services both nationally and internationally;
     (c) Work in close cooperation with other private and public international trade efforts;
     (d) Act as a centralized location for the assimilation and distribution of trade information; and
     (e) Establish and operate foreign offices promoting overseas trade and commerce.
     (2) The department ((shall)) must identify and work with Washington businesses that can use local, state, and federal assistance to increase domestic and foreign exports of goods and services.
     (3) The department ((shall)) must work generally with small businesses and other employers to facilitate resolution of siting, regulatory, expansion, and retention problems. This assistance ((shall)) must include but not be limited to assisting in workforce training and infrastructure needs, identifying and locating suitable business sites, and resolving problems with government licensing and regulatory requirements. The department ((shall)) must identify gaps in needed services and develop steps to address them including private sector support and purchase of these services.
     (4) The department ((shall)) must work to increase the availability of capital to small businesses by developing new and flexible investment tools; by assisting in targeting and improving the efficiency of existing investment mechanisms; and by assisting in the procurement of managerial and technical assistance necessary to attract potential investors.
     (5) The department ((shall)) must assist women and minority-owned businesses in overcoming barriers to entrepreneurial success. The department ((shall)) must contract with public and private agencies, institutions, and organizations to conduct entrepreneurial training courses for minority and women-owned businesses. The instruction ((shall)) must be intensive, practical training courses in financing, marketing, managing, accounting, and recordkeeping for a small business, with an emphasis on federal, state, local, or private programs available to assist small businesses. Instruction ((shall)) must be offered in major population centers throughout the state at times and locations that are convenient for minority and women small business owners.
     (6)(a) Subject to the availability of amounts appropriated for this specific purpose, by December 1, 2010, the department, in conjunction with the small business development center, must prepare and present to the governor and appropriate legislative committees a specific, actionable plan to increase access to capital and technical assistance to small businesses and entrepreneurs beginning with the 2011-2013 biennium. In developing the plan, the department and the center may consult with the Washington state microenterprise association, and with other government, nonprofit, and private organizations as necessary. The plan must identify:
     (i) Existing sources of capital and technical assistance for small businesses and entrepreneurs;
     (ii) Critical gaps and barriers to availability of capital and delivery of technical assistance to small businesses and entrepreneurs;
     (iii) Workable solutions to filling the gaps and removing barriers identified in (a)(ii) of this subsection; and
     (iv) The financial resources and statutory changes necessary to put the plan into effect beginning with the 2011-2013 biennium.
     (b) With respect to increasing access to capital, the plan must identify specific, feasible sources of capital and practical mechanisms for expanding access to it.
     (c) The department and the center must include, within the analysis and recommendations in (a) of this subsection, any specific gaps, barriers, and solutions related to rural and low-income communities and small manufacturers interested in exporting.
     (7) By January 1, 2013, the department must use a web-based information system to coordinate work with other economic development partners on business recruitment, retention, expansion, and trade. The department must make the system available, provide training, and require the system's use by associate development organizations. The department may also make the system available to other economic development partners. The web-based information system is to be used to input data, track outcomes, and provide accurate and verifiable information from which the department will create comprehensive reports.

Sec. 2   RCW 43.330.080 and 2009 c 151 s 10 are each amended to read as follows:
     The department shall contract with county-designated associate development organizations to increase the support for and coordination of community and economic development services in communities or regional areas. The organizations contracted within each community or regional area shall be broadly representative of community and economic interests. The organization shall be capable of identifying key economic and community development problems, developing appropriate solutions, and mobilizing broad support for recommended initiatives. The contracting organization shall work with and include local governments, local chambers of commerce, workforce development councils, port districts, labor groups, institutions of higher education, community action programs, and other appropriate private, public, or nonprofit community and economic development groups. The scope of services delivered under these contracts ((shall)) must include two broad areas of work:
     (1) Direct assistance, including business planning, to companies who need support to stay in business, expand, or relocate to Washington from out of state or other countries. Assistance includes:
     (a) Working with the appropriate partners, including but not limited to, local governments, workforce development councils, port districts, community and technical colleges and higher education institutions, export assistance providers, the Washington manufacturing services, the Washington state quality award council, small business assistance programs, and other federal, state, and local programs to facilitate the alignment of planning efforts and the seamless delivery of business support services in the county;
     (b) Providing information on state and local permitting processes, tax issues, and other essential information for operating, expanding, or locating a business in Washington;
     (c) Marketing Washington and local areas as excellent locations to expand or relocate a business and positioning Washington as a globally competitive place to grow business, which may include developing and executing regional plans to attract companies from out of state;
     (d) Working with businesses on site location and selection assistance;
     (e) Providing business retention and expansion services, including business outreach and monitoring efforts to identify and address challenges and opportunities faced by businesses; ((and))
     (f) Participating in economic development system-wide discussions regarding gaps in business start-up assistance in Washington; and
     (g) Using, by January 1, 2013, a web-based business information system to track data and coordinate work with other economic development partners on business recruitment, retention, expansion, and trade; and
     (2) Support for regional economic research and regional planning efforts to implement target industry sector strategies and other economic development strategies, including cluster-based strategies, that support increased living standards and increase foreign direct investment throughout Washington. Activities include:
     (a) Participation in regional planning efforts with workforce development councils involving coordinated strategies around workforce development and economic development policies and programs. Coordinated planning efforts shall include, but not be limited to, assistance to industry clusters in the region;
     (b) Participation between the contracting organization and the state board for community and technical colleges as created in RCW 28B.50.050, and any community and technical colleges in providing for the coordination of the job skills training program and the customized training program within its region;
     (c) Collecting and reporting data as specified by the contract with the department for statewide systemic analysis. The department ((shall)) must consult with the Washington state economic development commission in the establishment of such uniform data as is needed to conduct a statewide systemic analysis of the state's economic development programs and expenditures. In cooperation with other local, regional, and state planning efforts, contracting organizations may provide insight into the needs of target industry clusters, business expansion plans, early detection of potential relocations or layoffs, training needs, and other appropriate economic information;
     (d) In conjunction with other governmental jurisdictions and institutions, participate in the development of a countywide economic development plan, consistent with the state comprehensive plan for economic development developed by the Washington state economic development commission.

Sec. 3   RCW 43.330.082 and 2009 c 518 s 15 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) Contracting associate development organizations ((shall)) must provide the department with measures of their performance. Annual reports shall include information on the impact of the contracting organization on employment, wages, tax revenue, and capital investment. Specific measures ((shall)) must be developed in the contracting process between the department and the contracting organization every two years and data must be input into a common web-based business information system managed by the department. Performance measures should be consistent across regions to allow for statewide evaluation.
     (2)(a) The department and contracting organizations ((shall)) must use a common web-based business information system and agree upon specific target levels for the performance measures in subsection (1) of this section. Comparison of agreed thresholds and actual performance ((shall)) must occur annually.
     (b) Contracting organizations that fail to provide the specified data in the web-based business information system or achieve the agreed performance targets in more than one-half of the agreed measures ((shall)) must develop remediation plans to address performance gaps. For failure to meet agreed performance targets, the remediation plans ((shall)) must include revised performance thresholds specifically chosen to provide evidence of progress in making the identified service changes.
     (c) Contracts and state funding ((shall be)) is terminated for one year for organizations that fail to achieve the agreed upon progress toward improved performance defined under (b) of this subsection. During the year in which termination for nonperformance is in effect, organizations ((shall)) must review alternative delivery strategies to include reorganization of the contracting organization, merging of previous efforts with existing regional partners, and other specific steps toward improved performance. At the end of the period of termination, the department may contract with the associate development organization or its successor as it deems appropriate.
     (3) The department ((shall)) must report to the legislature and the Washington economic development commission by December 31st of each even-numbered year on the performance results of the contracts with associate development organizations.