HOUSE BILL REPORT
2ESHB 1362
As Passed House:
January 31, 2024
Title: An act relating to improving government efficiency related to reports by state agencies by eliminating reports, changing the frequency of reports, and providing an alternative method for having information publicly available in place of reports.
Brief Description: Improving government efficiency related to reports by state agencies by eliminating reports, changing the frequency of reports, and providing an alternative method for having information publicly available in place of reports.
Sponsors: House Committee on State Government & Tribal Relations (originally sponsored by Representatives Stearns, Reeves, Abbarno, Gregerson, Lekanoff and Tharinger; by request of Office of Financial Management).
Brief History:
Committee Activity:
State Government & Tribal Relations: 1/25/23, 2/1/23 [DPS].
Floor Activity:
Passed House: 3/7/23, 95-0.
Floor Activity:
Passed House: 1/31/24, 97-0.
Brief Summary of Second Engrossed Substitute Bill
  • Repeals the requirement for state agencies to submit certain reports to the Legislature and/or Governor.
  • Modifies the frequency of certain reports from state agencies to the Legislature and/or Governor.
  • Permits state agencies to place certain information online rather than submit a report to the Legislature.
HOUSE COMMITTEE ON STATE GOVERNMENT & TRIBAL RELATIONS
Majority Report: The substitute bill be substituted therefor and the substitute bill do pass.Signed by 7 members:Representatives Ramos, Chair; Stearns, Vice Chair; Abbarno, Ranking Minority Member; Christian, Assistant Ranking Minority Member; Gregerson, Low and Mena.
Staff: Jason Zolle (786-7124).
Background:

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.

Summary of Second Engrossed Substitute Bill:

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;
  • two reports due December 31, 2018, and September, 30, 2024, by Veterans Affairs, to the Legislature, about the veteran peer-to-peer training and support program;
  • 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;
  • an annual report by the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) about the implementation of essential academic learning requirements;
  • an annual report by OSPI of the number of staff trained through a dyslexia pilot program;
  • an annual report by OSPI, to the Legislature, about the demographics of students earning dual credits in schools receiving Duel Credit Academic Acceleration Incentive Program grants; and
  • an annual joint report by the State Board of Education and the Professional Educator Standards Board, the Legislature and Governor, about progress toward achieving the state's basic education goals.

 

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 or Due Date Modified.

The reporting frequency or due date 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.
  • The annual report by OSPI regarding the Transitional Bilingual Instruction Program is due March 1, rather than February 1.
  • The annual report by OSPI regarding progress on achieving its goal for new voter registrations of 17- and 18-year-olds is due May 1, rather than March 1.
  • The annual report by OSPI, to the Legislature, regarding metrics related to physical, social, and emotional support staff in schools is due March 1, rather than February 1.
  • The annual report by OSPI, to the Legislature, regarding graduation pathways available to students is due March 10, rather than January 10.
  • The annual report from OSPI, to school districts, about the statewide student assessment results is due October 1, rather than September 10.
  • The annual report from school districts, to OSPI, about various issues related to hiring and compensating substitute teachers, is due March 1, rather than October 1, and OSPI must post this information online by May 1, rather than January 1.

 

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.
Appropriation: None.
Fiscal Note: Available.
Effective Date: The bill takes effect 90 days after adjournment of the session in which the bill is passed.
Staff Summary of Public Testimony:

(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.

Persons Testifying: Representative Chris Stearns, prime sponsor; and K.D. Chapman-See, Office of Financial Management.
Persons Signed In To Testify But Not Testifying: None.