Creating a labor and industries ombuds within the department of commerce.

Creates the ombuds for employers in the department of commerce.

Authorizes the ombuds to: (1) Act as an advocate for employers in interactions with the department of labor and industries;

(2) Offer and provide information on department of labor and industries programs as appropriate to employers;

(3) Identify, investigate, and facilitate resolution of employer complaints relating to department of labor and industries programs; and

(4) Maintain a statewide toll-free telephone number for the receipt of complaints and inquiries.

Concerning vehicular homicide sentencing.

Concerning the reimbursement rate primary care providers receive to participate in medicaid.

Concerning designated disaster area financing.

Concerning vapor products in respect to youth substance use prevention associated with vapor products, amending and renaming the youth tobacco prevention account, provisions concerning certain child-resistant packaging, definitions related to "vapor product," signage requirements prohibiting vapor product sales to minors, prohibition of the sale of cannabinoids by vapor product retailers, prohibition of the purchase and possession of vapor products by minors, the liquor and cannabis board's enforcement authority over vapor products, preemption of certain local regulation of vapor products,labeling and advertisement requirements, and a requirement for vendor-assisted sales of vapor products in retail establishments.

Providing for fire protection district formation by the legislative authority of a city or town subject to voter approval.

Authorizes the legislative authority of a city or town, as an alternative to the petition method of formation for fire protection districts provided in chapter 52.02 RCW and subject to approval of the voters, to establish a fire protection district with boundaries that are the same as the corporate boundaries of the city or town for the provision of fire prevention services, fire suppression services, and emergency medical services, and for the protection of life and property within the city or town.

Addresses the inclusion of a municipal airport and the establishment of an ambulance service within a proposed fire protection district.

Modifying certain land capacity review and evaluation requirements.

Clarifying the role of physician assistants in the delivery of mental health services.

Revises certain statutes in Title 71 RCW (mental illness) to clarify the role of physician assistants in the delivery of mental health services.

Allows physician assistants and osteopathic physician assistants to: (1) Provide services that they are competent to perform based on their education, training, and experience and that are consistent with their commission-approved or board-approved delegation agreement; and

Permitting pharmacists to prescribe and dispense contraceptive patches, contraceptive rings, and oral contraception.

Allows the prescription and dispensing of contraceptive patches, contraceptive rings, and oral contraceptives by a pharmacist.

Concerning filing documents with the corporations division of the secretary of state's office.

Revises secretary of state provisions with regard to: (1) Electronic signatures on and transmission of certified documents required or authorized to be filed;

(2) Summary face sheets and cover sheets and expedited review of a document filed by a limited liability company; and

Increasing access to adequate and appropriate mental health services for children and youth.

Creates the children's mental health work group to identify barriers to accessing mental health services for children and families and to advise the legislature on statewide mental health services for this population.

Requires the state health care authority and the department of social and health services to report to the appropriate legislative committees on the status of access to behavioral health services for children from birth through age seventeen.

Requires the state health care authority to: (1) Expand the partnership access line service by selecting a rural inclusive region of the state to offer an additional level of child mental health care support services for primary care, to be referred to as the PAL plus pilot program;

(2) For purposes of the pilot program, work in collaboration with faculty from the University of Washington working on the integration of mental health and medical care; and

(3) Require universal annual screening and provider payment for depression for children ages eleven through twenty-one as recommended by the bright futures guidelines of the American academy of pediatrics.

Requires the joint legislative audit and review committee to conduct an inventory of the mental health service models available to students in schools, school districts, and educational service districts.

Strengthening opportunities for the rehabilitation and reintegration of juvenile offenders.

Revises the juvenile justice act of 1977 to provide for the rehabilitation and reintegration of juvenile offenders.

Authorizes the juvenile court, if a juvenile offender is charged with animal cruelty in the first degree, to deny granting a deferred disposition to the juvenile, even if the juvenile otherwise may qualify for a deferred disposition.

Requires the judge to consider whether the community will benefit from granting a deferred disposition to the juvenile offender.

Addresses fines, community service, and electronic monitoring for juveniles adjudicated of taking a motor vehicle without permission in the first or second degree, theft of a motor vehicle, or possession of a stolen vehicle.

Authorizes a police officer, under certain circumstances, to arrest a person who: (1) Is sixteen or seventeen years old; and

(2) Within the preceding four hours has assaulted a family or household member.

Authorizes a prosecuting agency, upon receiving an offense report, to choose not to file the information as a domestic violence offense if the offense was committed against a sibling, parent, stepparent, or grandparent.

Improving the accuracy and transparency of the reporting and calculation of the fuel mix information to retail electric customers.

Expanding distribution dates for supplemental nutrition assistance program benefits.

Requires the department of social and health services to: (1) Expand the dates that it distributes supplemental nutrition assistance program benefits; and

Addressing the filing and rating of group health benefit plans other than small group plans, all stand-alone dental plans, and stand-alone vision plans by disability insurers, health care service contractors, and health maintenance organizations.

Directs the office of the insurance commissioner to establish uniformity in all aspects of the filing and regulatory review of group health benefit plans other than small group health benefit plans, stand-alone dental plans, and stand-alone vision plans. Uniformity shall apply to the content and requirements for the forms as well as rating, loss ratio, and actuarial requirements.

Simplifying behavioral health regulations and aligning them with other health regulations to support clinical integration.

Requires the department of social and health services and the state health care authority to convene a task force, including participation by a representative cross-section of behavioral health organizations and behavioral health providers, to align regulations between behavioral health and primary health care settings and simplify regulations for behavioral health providers.

Requires the department of social and health services to collaborate with the department of health, the state health care authority, and other appropriate government partners to reduce unneeded costs and burdens to health plans and providers associated with excessive audits, the licensing process, and contracting.

Concerning patients' access to investigational medical products.

Allows a manufacturer of an investigational drug, biological product, or device to make the drug, product, or device available for treatment to eligible patients.

Allowing a hospital pharmacy license to include individual practitioner offices and multipractitioner clinics owned and operated by a hospital and ensuring such offices and clinics are inspected according to the level of service provided.

Declares an intent to make clear: (1) The legislature's directive to the pharmacy quality assurance commission to allow hospital pharmacy licenses to include individual practitioner offices and multipractitioner clinics owned, operated, or under common control with a hospital; and

(2) That the offices and clinics are regulated, inspected, and investigated according to the level of service provided.

Creating a task force on patient out-of-pocket costs.

Creates the task force on patient out-of-pocket costs.

Requires the department of health to convene the task force and coordinate task force meetings.

Requires the task force to: (1) Evaluate factors contributing to the out-of-pocket costs for patients including prescription drug cost trends and plan benefit design; and

Prioritizing the expenditure of funds associated with the model toxics control act for the cleanup of toxic pollution.

Manages the decline in revenue from the hazardous substance tax to the state toxics control account, the local toxics control account, and the environmental legacy stewardship account by setting a policy that prioritizes cleanup of toxic sites.

Concerning elder justice centers.

Changing provisions relating to services and activities fees at institutions of higher education.

Concerning reserve studies and special assessments for homeowners' associations.

Concerning wildfire management.

Requires the department of enterprise services, in coordination with the department of natural resources, to use: (1) A request for information to a broad base of wildfire insurance carriers to gain an understanding of insurance requirements and data needed for an accurate quote; and

(2) A request for quote to a broad base of wildfire insurance carriers to discern how each carrier would meet the needs of the state and the cost of annual premiums.

Requires the department of natural resources to: (1) Develop a twenty-year strategic plan to treat the 2.7 million acres of state forestland identified by the department as being in poor forest health condition;

(2) Create a prescribed burn manager certification program for those who practice prescribed burning in the state;

(3) Update the smoke management plan, through a science-based stakeholder process that balances forest health and public health interests, and in consultation with the department of ecology, other relevant state and federal agencies, participating tribes, and public and private landowners engaged in silvicultural forest burning; and

(4) Provide water storage containers and hoses to local fire-prone communities and landowners to use to put out embers or fire brands that fall on their property.

Authorizes a local suppression entity that has satisfied certain prerequisites to contact the department of natural resources or the state fire marshal and request prepositioned fire suppression resources be provided in the jurisdiction of the requesting local suppression entity if a severity condition is declared for the area of request.

Allowing a city, town, code city, or county to request mediation in the event of a conflict with another city, town, code city, or county.

Enacting the Washington voting rights act.

Relating to retirement from public service.

Relating to state government.

Relating to fiscal matters.

Relating to fiscal matters.

Introduced by title and introductory section only, relating to fiscal matters.

-- 2016 REGULAR SESSION --
Feb 24	First reading, referred to Ways & Means.