Many state agencies are statutorily required to submit reports on a variety of topics to the Legislature, the Governor, or both.  A very small sampling of these reports include:

• a semiannual report by the Washington State Patrol, to the Legislature, about the statewide sexual assault kit tracking system;
• annual recommendations by the Department of Commerce (Commerce), to the Legislature and the Office of Financial Management, about the best use of under-utilized, state-owned land and property suitable for the development of affordable housing;
• an annual report by Commerce, to the Legislature, about the amount of revenue collected by local jurisdictions for additional conviction fees for crimes related to commercial sexual abuse of a minor, indecent exposure, and prostitution, and for fees from vehicle impoundment for prostitution-related offenses;
• an annual report by Commerce, to the Legislature, about the performance of the foreclosure mediation program and related information;
• a biennial report by Commerce, to the Legislature, about the status and costs of the state program for worker training and certification related to lead-based paint;
• an annual report by the Department of Corrections (Corrections), to the Legislature, about various statistics related to extraordinary medical placement for offenders;
• reports no less than every 10 days by the Director of the Department of Fish and Wildlife, to the Governor, about the effect of measures taken in response to an aquatic invasive species emergency;
• a biennial report by the Washington Student Achievement Council, to the Legislature, about the development of transfer associate degrees that satisfy lower division requirements at public four-year colleges;
• an annual report by the Department of Revenue (Revenue), to the Legislature, about the progress of its efforts to partner with all cities that impose a general business license requirement;
• a one-time report due December 15, 2021, by the Department of Veterans Affairs (Veterans Affairs), to the Legislature and the Governor, about the implementation and status of the LGBTQ coordinator position;
• an annual report by Veterans Affairs, to the Governor, about the department's activities;
• a biennial update by the Children of Incarcerated Parents Advisory Committee, to the Legislature and the Governor, about their activities;
• a report at least every four years by the Office of Privacy and Data Protection, to the Legislature, about telecommunications inequality in tribal, rural, or economically distressed areas;
• a quarterly report by the Office of Transit Mobility, to the Legislature and the Secretary of Transportation, about the office's progress in fulfilling its duties;
• an annual report by Revenue, to the Legislature, about payments made by Public Utility Districts in lieu of paying property taxes on property that has broadband infrastructure;
• an annual report by Corrections, to the Legislature and the Governor, about contracts for telecommunication services and electronic media services to inmates;
• an annual letter by the Department of Health and the University of Washington, to the Legislature, about the status of their expenditures of moneys collected from a surcharge on recreational shellfish licenses to fund biotoxin testing for monitoring beaches;
• an annual report by Revenue, to the Legislature and the public, about public improvements undertaken by local governments that are financed by hospital benefit zone financing;
• an annual report by Revenue, to the Legislature and the public, that includes a summary of information the department receives from local governments about local revitalization projects;
• a report by Commerce, to the Legislature, aggregating data from consumer-owned and investor-owned utility plans, and assessing the overall adequacy of Washington's electricity supply;
• an annual report by Commerce, to the Legislature, about the impact fee deferral process for single-family residential construction;
• a one-time report due December 31, 2018, by Veterans Affairs, to the Legislature, about the veteran peer-to-peer training and support program; and
• an annual report by the Department of Licensing, to the Governor, on the operation of the filing office, i.e., a place designated to file a financing statement to perfect a security interest or agricultural lien.

State agencies may also be statutorily required to provide certain information to the Legislature or other agencies in an unspecified format.  A very small sampling of such requirements includes:

• the Department of Children, Youth, and Families must make certain data available to the Legislature annually about the use of family reconciliation services; and

• agencies required to participate in the implementation of the Business License Center Act must provide Revenue with certain information about business licenses issued by the agency.

State agencies are often also statutorily required to post certain information on their websites.  A very small sampling of such requirements includes:  a requirement for the Department of Ecology to list online the interagency agreements to which the department is a party or participant; and a requirement for the Office of the Insurance Commissioner to post online a report about geographic access to gender-affirming treatment across the state, to be updated biannually.

Repealed Reporting Requirements.

The following reporting requirements are repealed:

• a biennial report by the Washington Student Achievement Council, to the Legislature, about the development of transfer associate degrees that satisfy lower division requirements at public four-year colleges;
• an annual report by the Department of Revenue (Revenue), to the Legislature, about the progress of its efforts to partner with all cities that impose a general business license requirement;
• a one-time report due December 15, 2021, by the Department of Veterans Affairs (Veterans Affairs), to the Legislature and the Governor, about the implementation and status of the LGBTQ coordinator position;
• an annual report by Veterans Affairs, to the Governor, about the department's activities;
• a biennial update by the Children of Incarcerated Parents Advisory Committee, to the Legislature and the Governor, about their activities;
• a report at least every four years by the Office of Privacy and Data Protection, to the Legislature, about telecommunications inequality in tribal, rural, or economically distressed areas;
• a quarterly report by the Office of Transit Mobility, to the Legislature and the Secretary of Transportation, about the office's progress in fulfilling its duties;
• an annual report by Revenue, to the Legislature, about payments made by Public Utility Districts in lieu of paying property taxes on property that has broadband infrastructure;
• an annual report by the Department of Corrections (Corrections), to the Legislature and the Governor, about contracts for telecommunication services and electronic media services to inmates;
• an annual letter by the Department of Health and the University of Washington, to the Legislature, about the status of their expenditures of moneys collected from a surcharge on recreational shellfish licenses to fund biotoxin testing for monitoring beaches;
• an annual report by Revenue, to the Legislature and the public, about public improvements undertaken by local governments that are financed by hospital benefit zone financing;
• an annual report by Revenue, to the Legislature and the public, that includes a summary of information the department receives from local governments about local revitalization projects;
• a report by the Department of Commerce (Commerce), to the Legislature, aggregating data from consumer-owned and investor-owned utility plans, and assessing the overall adequacy of Washington's electricity supply;
• an annual report by Commerce, to the Legislature, about the impact fee deferral process for single-family residential construction;
• a one-time report due December 31, 2018, by Veterans Affairs, to the Legislature, about the veteran peer-to-peer training and support program; and
• an annual report by the Department of Licensing, to the Governor, on the operation of the filing office, i.e., a place designated to file a financing statement to perfect a security interest or agricultural lien.

Relatedly, the following other information-sharing provisions are repealed:

• the requirement for the Department of Children, Youth, and Families to make certain data available to the Legislature annually about the use of family reconciliation services;

• the requirement for agencies required to participate in the implementation of the Business License Center Act to provide Revenue with certain information about business licenses issued by the agency; and
• the requirement for the Department of Ecology to list online the interagency agreements to which the department is a party or participant.

Reporting Frequency Modified.

The reporting frequency is modified for the following reports:

• The semiannual report by the Washington State Patrol, to the Legislature, about the statewide sexual assault kit tracking system, is now required annually.

• The reports by the Director of the Department of Fish and Wildlife to the Governor evaluating the effect of measures taken in response to an aquatic invasive species emergency, required at least every 10 days, are now required at least monthly if the report relates to the green crab infestation emergency.
• The online report by the Office of the Insurance Commissioner about geographic access to gender-affirming treatment across the state is now required to be updated biennially, rather than biannually.

Certain Reports to Be Posted Online Rather Than Submitted to the Legislature.

The following reports or information are now required to be posted to the agency's website, rather than submitted to the Legislature:

• annual recommendations by Commerce about the best use of under-utilized, state-owned land and property suitable for the development of affordable housing; 
• an annual report by Commerce about the amount of revenue collected by local jurisdictions for additional conviction fees for crimes related to commercial sexual abuse of a minor, indecent exposure, and prostitution, and for fees from vehicle impoundment for prostitution-related offenses;
• an annual report by Commerce about the performance of the foreclosure mediation program and related information;
• a biennial report by Commerce about the status and costs of the state program for worker training and certification related to lead-based paint; and
• an annual report by Corrections about various statistics related to extraordinary medical placement for offenders.

(In support) This is a straightforward bill that is intended to clean up and streamline outdated and underutilized statutory reports.  It will help agencies operate more efficiently.  The Legislature creates numerous reports each year, and over time some of them need to be reviewed.  The reports repealed in this bill were no longer necessary or of little value to the Legislature.  Some information is already available on agency websites, accessible to anyone who wants to read them.

(Opposed) None.