Bill Summary – FastDemocracy

Z-0136.3
                                 SENATE BILL 5323
     State of Washington         67th Legislature           2021 Regular Session
     By Senators Rolfes,    Braun,   and   Padden;   by   request   of   Office   of
     Financial Management
     Read first time 01/21/21.   Referred to Committee on Ways & Means.
      AN ACT Relating to freezing wage     and salaries and providing          for
  furlough days during the 2021-2023       fiscal biennium; amending           RCW
  28B.50.465,   28B.50.468,   41.06.070,     41.06.500,   43.03.030,           and
  43.03.040; reenacting and amending        RCW 41.06.133; creating            new
  sections; providing an effective date;   and declaring an emergency.
 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
     NEW SECTION.   Sec. 1.   (1) Except as provided in this section,
 from July 1, 2021, through June 30, 2023, all state employees of the
 executive branch, including employees of state agencies, boards and
 commissions, and state institutions of higher education, are subject
 to mandatory furloughs as follows:
     (a) 12 days of furlough from July 1, 2021, through June 30, 2022;
 and
     (b) 12 days of furlough from July 1, 2022, through June 30, 2023.
     (2) For purposes of subsection (1) of this section, furloughs are
 required for all state employees in positions designated by the
 employing entity as not requiring backfill. State employees include:
     (a) Employees in classified service, as defined in RCW 41.06.020;
     (b) Managers, as defined in RCW 41.06.022; and
     (c) Employees in positions exempt from state civil service law,
 as provided in chapter 41.06 RCW.
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     (3) Furloughs shall be applied as follows:
     (a) For full-time employees, one furlough day is equal to eight
 hours.
     (b) For part-time employees, furloughs are prorated according to
 the employee's full-time equivalent percentage.
     (4) The following employees are not subject to subsection (1) of
 this section:
     (a) Employees who are in agency or higher education institution
 designated backfill positions;
     (b) Employees of the University of Washington medical center and
 Harborview medical center;
     (c) Elected officials whose salaries are set by the citizens'
 commission on salaries for elected officials; and
     (d) Employees in positions covered by a collective bargaining
 agreement if the collective bargaining agreement prevents the
 implementation of subsection (1) of this section.
     (5) The office of financial management may adopt        rules, if
 needed, to implement this section and to address any        employment
 impacts.
     Sec. 2.    RCW 28B.50.465 and 2013 2nd sp.s. c 5 s 2 are each
 amended to read as follows:
      (1) Academic employees of community and technical college
 districts shall be provided an annual salary cost-of-living increase
 in accordance with this section. For purposes of this section,
 "academic employee" has the same meaning as defined in RCW
 28B.52.020.
      (a) Beginning with the 2001-2002 fiscal year, and for each
 subsequent fiscal year, except as provided in (d) of this subsection,
 each college district shall receive a cost-of-living allocation
 sufficient   to   increase    academic  employee   salaries,  including
 mandatory salary-related benefits, by the rate of the yearly increase
 in the cost-of-living index.
     (b) A college district shall distribute its cost-of-living
 allocation for salaries and salary-related benefits in accordance
 with    the  district's    salary   schedules,   collective  bargaining
 agreements, and other compensation policies. No later than the end of
 the fiscal year, each college district shall certify to the college
 board that it has spent funds provided for cost-of-living increases
 on salaries and salary-related benefits.
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     (c) The college board shall include any funded cost-of-living
 increase in the salary base used to determine cost-of-living
 increases for academic employees in subsequent years.
     (d) Beginning with the 2001-2002 fiscal year, and for each
 subsequent fiscal year except for the 2013-2014 and 2014-2015 fiscal
 years, the state shall fully fund the cost-of-living increase set
 forth in this section.
     (2) For the purposes of this section, "cost-of-living index"
 means, for any fiscal year, the previous calendar year's annual
 average consumer price index, using the official current base,
 compiled by the bureau of labor statistics, United States department
 of labor for the state of Washington. If the bureau of labor
 statistics develops more than one consumer price index for areas
 within the state, the index covering the greatest number of people,
 covering areas exclusively within the boundaries of the state, and
 including all items shall be used for the cost-of-living index in
 this section.
     (3) Subsection (1) of this section is suspended for the 2021-2023
 fiscal biennium, and no cost-of-living increases under this section
 will be accrued or provided between July 1, 2021, and June 30, 2023.
     Sec. 3.    RCW 28B.50.468 and 2013 2nd sp.s. c 5 s 3 are each
 amended to read as follows:
     (1) Classified employees of technical colleges shall be provided
 an annual salary cost-of-living increase in accordance with this
 section. For purposes of this section, "technical college" has the
 same meaning as defined in RCW 28B.50.030. This section applies to
 only those classified employees under the jurisdiction of chapter
 41.56 RCW.
     (a) Beginning with the 2001-2002 fiscal year, and for each
 subsequent fiscal year, except as provided in (d) of this subsection,
 each technical college board of trustees shall receive a cost-of-
 living   allocation  sufficient   to   increase  classified  employee
 salaries, including mandatory salary-related benefits, by the rate of
 the yearly increase in the cost-of-living index.
     (b) A technical college board of trustees shall distribute its
 cost-of-living allocation for salaries and salary-related benefits in
 accordance with the technical college's salary schedules, collective
 bargaining agreements, and other compensation policies. No later than
 the end of the fiscal year, each technical college shall certify to
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 the college board that it has spent funds provided for cost-of-living
 increases on salaries and salary-related benefits.
     (c) The college board shall include any funded cost-of-living
 increase in the salary base used to determine cost-of-living
 increases for technical college classified employees in subsequent
 years.
     (d) Beginning with the 2001-2002 fiscal year, and for each
 subsequent fiscal year except for the 2013-2014 and 2014-2015 fiscal
 years, the state shall fully fund the cost-of-living increase set
 forth in this section.
     (2) For the purposes of this section, "cost-of-living index"
 means, for any fiscal year, the previous calendar year's annual
 average consumer price index, using the official current base,
 compiled by the bureau of labor statistics, United States department
 of labor for the state of Washington. If the bureau of labor
 statistics develops more than one consumer price index for areas
 within the state, the index covering the greatest number of people,
 covering areas exclusively within the boundaries of the state, and
 including all items shall be used for the cost-of-living index in
 this section.
     (3) Subsection (1) of this section is suspended for the 2021-2023
 fiscal biennium, and no cost-of-living increases under this section
 will be accrued or provided between July 1, 2021, and June 30, 2023.
     Sec. 4.   RCW 41.06.070 and 2019 c 146 s 3 are each amended to
 read as follows:
     (1) The provisions of this chapter do not apply to:
     (a) The members of the legislature or to any employee of, or
 position in, the legislative branch of the state government including
 members, officers, and employees of the legislative council, joint
 legislative audit and review committee, statute law committee, and
 any interim committee of the legislature;
     (b) The justices of the supreme court, judges of the court of
 appeals, judges of the superior courts or of the inferior courts, or
 to any employee of, or position in the judicial branch of state
 government;
     (c) Officers, academic personnel, and employees of technical
 colleges;
     (d) The officers of the Washington state patrol;
     (e) Elective officers of the state;
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     (f) The chief executive officer of each agency;
     (g) In the departments of employment security and social and
 health services, the director and the director's confidential
 secretary; in all other departments, the executive head of which is
 an individual appointed by the governor, the director, his or her
 confidential secretary, and his or her statutory assistant directors;
     (h) In the case of a multimember board, commission, or committee,
 whether the members thereof are elected, appointed by the governor or
 other authority, serve ex officio, or are otherwise chosen:
     (i) All members of such boards, commissions, or committees;
     (ii) If the members of the board, commission, or committee serve
 on a part-time basis and there is a statutory executive officer: The
 secretary of the board, commission, or committee; the chief executive
 officer of the board, commission, or committee; and the confidential
 secretary of the chief executive officer of the board, commission, or
 committee;
     (iii) If the members of the board, commission, or committee serve
 on a full-time basis: The chief executive officer or administrative
 officer as designated by the board, commission, or committee; and a
 confidential secretary to the chair of the board, commission, or
 committee;
     (iv) If all members of the board, commission, or committee serve
 ex officio: The chief executive officer; and the confidential
 secretary of such chief executive officer;
     (i) The confidential secretaries and administrative assistants in
 the immediate offices of the elective officers of the state;
     (j) Assistant attorneys general;
     (k) Commissioned and enlisted personnel in the military service
 of the state;
     (l) Inmate, student, and temporary employees, and part-time
 professional consultants, as defined by the director;
     (m) Officers and employees of the Washington state fruit
 commission;
     (n) Officers and employees of the Washington apple commission;
     (o) Officers and employees of the Washington state dairy products
 commission;
     (p) Officers and employees of the Washington tree fruit research
 commission;
     (q) Officers and employees of the Washington state beef
 commission;
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     (r) Officers and employees of the Washington grain commission;
     (s) Officers and employees of any commission formed under chapter
 15.66 RCW;
     (t) Officers and employees of agricultural commissions formed
 under chapter 15.65 RCW;
     (u) Executive assistants for personnel administration and labor
 relations in all state agencies employing such executive assistants
 including but not limited to all departments, offices, commissions,
 committees, boards, or other bodies subject to the provisions of this
 chapter and this subsection shall prevail over any provision of law
 inconsistent herewith unless specific exception is made in such law;
     (v) In each agency with fifty or more employees: Deputy agency
 heads, assistant directors or division directors, and not more than
 three principal policy assistants who report directly to the agency
 head or deputy agency heads;
     (w) Staff employed by the department of commerce to administer
 energy policy functions;
     (x) The manager of the energy facility site evaluation council;
     (y) A maximum of ten staff employed by the department of commerce
 to administer innovation and policy functions, including the three
 principal policy assistants exempted under (v) of this subsection;
     (z) Staff employed by Washington State University to administer
 energy education, applied research, and technology transfer programs
 under RCW 43.21F.045 as provided in RCW 28B.30.900(5);
     (aa) Officers and employees of the consolidated technology
 services agency created in RCW 43.105.006 that perform the following
 functions or duties: Systems integration; data center engineering and
 management; network systems engineering and management; information
 technology contracting; information technology customer relations
 management; and network and systems security;
     (bb) The executive director of the Washington statewide reentry
 council.
     (2) The following classifications, positions, and employees of
 institutions of higher education and related boards are hereby
 exempted from coverage of this chapter:
     (a) Members of the governing board of each institution of higher
 education and related boards, all presidents, vice presidents, and
 their   confidential   secretaries,   administrative,   and   personal
 assistants; deans, directors, and chairs; academic personnel; and
 executive heads of major administrative or academic divisions
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 employed by institutions of higher education; principal assistants to
 executive heads of major administrative or academic divisions; other
 managerial or professional employees in an institution or related
 board having substantial responsibility for directing or controlling
 program operations and accountable for allocation of resources and
 program results, or for the formulation of institutional policy, or
 for carrying out personnel administration or labor relations
 functions, legislative relations, public information, development,
 senior computer systems and network programming, or internal audits
 and investigations; and any employee of a community college district
 whose place of work is one which is physically located outside the
 state of Washington and who is employed pursuant to RCW 28B.50.092
 and assigned to an educational program operating outside of the state
 of Washington;
     (b) The governing board of each institution, and related boards,
 may also exempt from this chapter classifications involving research
 activities, counseling of students, extension or continuing education
 activities, graphic arts or publications activities requiring
 prescribed academic preparation or special training as determined by
 the board: PROVIDED, That no nonacademic employee engaged in office,
 clerical, maintenance, or food and trade services may be exempted by
 the board under this provision;
     (c) Printing craft employees in the department of printing at the
 University of Washington.
     (3) In addition to the exemptions specifically provided by this
 chapter, the director may provide for further exemptions pursuant to
 the following procedures. The governor or other appropriate elected
 official may submit requests for exemption to the office of financial
 management stating the reasons for requesting such exemptions. The
 director shall hold a public hearing, after proper notice, on
 requests submitted pursuant to this subsection. If the director
 determines that the position for which exemption is requested is one
 involving substantial responsibility for the formulation of basic
 agency or executive policy or one involving directing and controlling
 program operations of an agency or a major administrative division
 thereof, or is a senior expert in enterprise information technology
 infrastructure, engineering, or systems, the director shall grant the
 request. The total number of additional exemptions permitted under
 this subsection shall not exceed one percent of the number of
 employees in the classified service not including employees of
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 institutions of higher education and related boards for those
 agencies not directly under the authority of any elected public
 official other than the governor, and shall not exceed a total of
 twenty-five for all agencies under the authority of elected public
 officials other than the governor.
     (4) The salary and fringe benefits of all positions presently or
 hereafter exempted except for the chief executive officer of each
 agency, full-time members of boards and commissions, administrative
 assistants and confidential secretaries in the immediate office of an
 elected state official, and the personnel listed in subsections
 (1)(j) through (t) and (2) of this section, shall be determined by
 the director. Changes to the classification plan affecting exempt
 salaries must meet the same provisions for classified salary
 increases resulting from adjustm