CERTIFICATION OF ENROLLMENT
ENGROSSED SECOND SUBSTITUTE SENATE BILL 6194
Chapter 333, Laws of 2024
68th Legislature
2024 Regular Session
LEGISLATIVE EMPLOYEE COLLECTIVE BARGAINING—VARIOUS PROVISIONS
EFFECTIVE DATE: May 1, 2024
Passed by the Senate March 7, 2024 CERTIFICATE
Yeas 29 Nays 18
I, Sarah Bannister, Secretary of
the Senate of the State of
DENNY HECK Washington, do hereby certify that
President of the Senate the attached is ENGROSSED SECOND
SUBSTITUTE SENATE BILL 6194 as
passed by the Senate and the House
of Representatives on the dates
Passed by the House March 7, 2024 hereon set forth.
Yeas 58 Nays 39
SARAH BANNISTER
LAURIE JINKINS
Secretary
Speaker of the House of
Representatives
Approved March 28, 2024 10:55 AM FILED
March 29, 2024
Secretary of State
JAY INSLEE State of Washington
Governor of the State of Washington
 ENGROSSED SECOND SUBSTITUTE SENATE BILL 6194
AS AMENDED BY THE HOUSE
Passed Legislature - 2024 Regular Session
State of Washington 68th Legislature 2024 Regular Session
By Senate Ways & Means (originally sponsored by Senators Stanford,
Saldaña, Cleveland, Conway, Dhingra, Hasegawa, Hunt, Kuderer, Liias,
Lovelett, Nobles, Randall, Trudeau, Valdez, Van De Wege, and C.
Wilson)
READ FIRST TIME 02/05/24.
1 AN ACT Relating to state legislative employee collective
2 bargaining; amending RCW 44.90.020, 44.90.030, 44.90.050, 44.90.060,
3 44.90.070, 44.90.080, 44.90.090, 41.58.010, 41.58.015, 42.52.020, and
4 42.52.160; adding new sections to chapter 44.90 RCW; adding a new
5 section to chapter 41.58 RCW; providing an effective date; and
6 declaring an emergency.
7 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
8 Sec. 1. RCW 44.90.020 and 2022 c 283 s 3 are each amended to
9 read as follows:
10 The definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter
11 unless the context clearly requires otherwise.
12 (1) "Collective bargaining" means the performance of the mutual
13 obligations of the employer and the exclusive bargaining
14 representative to meet at reasonable times, except that neither party
15 may be compelled to negotiate during a legislative session or on
16 committee assembly days, to confer and negotiate in good faith, and
17 to execute a written agreement with respect to the subjects of
18 bargaining specified under RCW 44.90.090. The obligation to bargain
19 does not compel either party to agree to a proposal or to make a
20 concession unless otherwise provided in this chapter.
p. 1 E2SSB 6194.SL
 1 (2) "Commission" means the legislative commission created in
2 section 17 of this act at the public employment relations commission,
3 until the legislative commission expires on December 31, 2027. After
4 December 31, 2027, "commission" means the public employment relations
5 commission created under RCW 41.58.010(1).
6 (((2))) (3) "Confidential employee" means an employee designated
7 by the employer: (a) To assist in a confidential capacity, or serve
8 as counsel to, persons who formulate, determine, and effectuate
9 employer policies with regard to labor relations and personnel
10 matters; or (b) who as part of the employee's job duties has
11 authorized access to information that contributes to the development
12 of, or relates to the effectuation or review of, the employer's
13 collective bargaining policies, strategies, or process; or (c) who
14 assists or aids an employee with managerial authority.
15 (4) "Director" means the director of the office of state
16 legislative labor relations.
17 (((3))) (5)(a) "Employee" means:
18 (i) Any regular partisan employee of the house of representatives
19 or the senate who is covered by this chapter; and
20 (ii) Any regular employee who is staff of the:
21 (A) Office of legislative support services;
22 (B) Legislative service center;
23 (C) Office of the code reviser who, during any legislative
24 session, does not work full time on drafting and finalizing
25 legislative bills to be included in the Revised Code of Washington;
26 and
27 (D) House of representatives and senate administrations.
28 (b) "Employee" also includes temporary staff hired to perform
29 substantially similar work to that performed by employees included
30 under (a) of this subsection.
31 (c) All other regular employees and temporary employees,
32 including casual employees, interns, and pages, and employees in the
33 office of program research and senate committee services work groups
34 of the house of representatives and the senate are excluded from the
35 definition of "employee" for the purposes of this chapter.
36 (6) "Employee organization" means any organization, union, or
37 association in which employees participate and that exists for the
38 purpose, in whole or in part, of collective bargaining with
39 employers.
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 1 (((4))) (7) "Employee with managerial authority" means any
2 employee designated by the employer who, regardless of job title: (a)
3 Directs the staff who work for a legislative chamber, caucus, agency,
4 or subdivision thereof; (b) has substantial responsibility in
5 personnel administration, or the preparation and administration of
6 the employer's budgets; and (c) exercises authority that is not
7 merely routine or clerical in nature and requires the use of
8 independent judgment.
9 (8) "Employer" means:
10 (a) The chief clerk of the house of representatives, or the chief
11 clerk's designee, for employees of the house of representatives;
12 (b) The secretary of the senate, or the secretary's designee, for
13 employees of the senate; and
14 (c) The chief clerk of the house of representatives and the
15 secretary of the senate, acting jointly, or their designees, for the
16 regular employees who are staff of the office of legislative support
17 services, the legislative service center, and the office of the code
18 reviser.
19 (9) "Exclusive bargaining representative" means any employee
20 organization that has been certified under this chapter as the
21 representative of the employees in an appropriate bargaining unit.
22 (((5))) (10) "Labor dispute" means any controversy concerning
23 terms, tenure, or conditions of employment, or concerning the
24 association or representation of persons in negotiating, fixing,
25 maintaining, changing, or seeking to arrange terms or conditions of
26 employment with respect to the subjects of bargaining provided in
27 this chapter, regardless of whether the disputants stand in the
28 proximate relation of employer and employee.
29 (11) "Legislative agencies" means the joint legislative audit and
30 review committee, the statute law committee, the legislative ethics
31 board, the legislative evaluation and accountability program
32 committee, the office of the state actuary, the legislative service
33 center, the office of legislative support services, the joint
34 transportation committee, and the redistricting commission.
35 (((6))) (12) "Office" means the office of state legislative labor
36 relations.
37 (13) "Supervisor" means an employee designated by the employer to
38 provide supervision to legislative employees as part of the
39 employee's regular and usual job duties. Supervision includes
40 directing employees, approving and denying leave, and participating
p. 3 E2SSB 6194.SL
1 in decisions to hire, transfer, suspend, lay off, recall, promote,
2 discharge, direct, reward, or discipline employees, or to adjust
3 employee grievances, when the exercise of the authority is not of a
4 merely routine nature but requires the exercise of individual
5 judgment, regardless of whether such duties are the employee's
6 primary duties and regardless of whether the employee spends a
7 preponderance of the employee's time exercising such duties. However,
8 "supervisor" does not include a legislative assistant to a legislator
9 of the senate or house of representatives.
10 NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. A new section is added to chapter 44.90
11 RCW to read as follows:
12 (1) This chapter does not apply to any legislative employee who
13 has managerial authority, is a confidential employee, or who does not
14 meet the definition of employee for the purpose of collective
15 bargaining.
16 (2) This chapter also does not apply to:
17 (a) Elected or appointed members of the legislature;
18 (b) Any person appointed to office under statute, ordinance, or
19 resolution for a specific term of office as a member of a multimember
20 board, commission, or committee;
21 (c) The deputy secretary of the senate and the deputy chief clerk
22 of the house of representatives;
23 (d) The senate human resources officer, the human resources
24 director of the house of representatives, and the human resources
25 officers or directors of the legislative support services,
26 legislative service center, and office of the code reviser;
27 (e) The senate director of accounting and the director of
28 accounting for the house of representatives, and the directors of
29 accounting for the legislative support services, legislative service
30 center, and office of the code reviser;
31 (f) Caucus chiefs of staff and caucus deputy chiefs of staff;
32 (g) The speaker's attorney, house counsel, and leadership counsel
33 to the minority caucus of the house of representatives;
34 (h) The counsels for the senate that provide direct legal advice
35 to the administration of the senate; and
36 (i) Any employee who provides direct administrative support to
37 the office of the secretary of the senate or chief clerk of the house
38 of representatives, or who conducts accounting, payroll, labor
39 management, collective bargaining, or human resources activities.
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 1 Sec. 3. RCW 44.90.030 and 2022 c 283 s 2 are each amended to
2 read as follows:
3 (1) The office of state legislative labor relations is created to
4 assist the house of representatives, the senate, and legislative
5 agencies in implementing and managing the process of collective
6 bargaining for employees of the legislative branch of state
7 government.
8 (2)(a) Subject to (b) of this subsection, the secretary of the
9 senate and the chief clerk of the house of representatives shall
10 employ a director of the office. The director serves at the pleasure
11 of the secretary of the senate and the chief clerk of the house of
12 representatives, who shall fix the director's salary.
13 (b) The secretary of the senate and the chief clerk of the house
14 of representatives shall, before employing a director, consult with
15 legislative employees, the senate facilities and operations
16 committee, the house executive rules committee, and the human
17 resources officers of the house of representatives, the senate, and
18 legislative agencies.
19 (c) The director serves as the executive and administrative head
20 of the office and may employ additional employees to assist in
21 carrying out the duties of the office. The duties of the office
22 include, but are not limited to, establishing bargaining teams and
23 conducting negotiations on behalf of the employer.
24 (((d) The director shall contract with an external consultant for
25 the purposes of gathering input from legislative employees, taking
26 into consideration RCW 42.52.020 and rules of the house of
27 representatives and the senate. The gathering of input must be in the
28 form of, at a minimum, surveys.
29 (3) The director, in consultation with the secretary of the
30 senate, the chief clerk of the house of representatives, and the
31 administrative heads of legislative agencies shall:
32 (a) Examine issues related to collective bargaining for employees
33 of the house of representatives, the senate, and legislative
34 agencies; and
35 (b) After consultation with the external consultant, develop best
36 practices and options for the legislature to consider in implementing
37 and administering collective bargaining for employees of the house of
38 representatives, the senate, and legislative agencies.
p. 5 E2SSB 6194.SL
 1 (4)(a) By December 1, 2022, the director shall submit a
2 preliminary report to the appropriate committees of the legislature
3 that provides a progress report on the director's considerations.
4 (b) By October 1, 2023, the director shall submit a final report
5 to the appropriate committees of the legislature. At a minimum, the
6 final report must address considerations on the following issues:
7 (i) Which employees of the house of representatives, the senate,
8 and legislative agencies for whom collective bargaining may be
9 appropriate;
10 (ii) Mandatory, permissive, and prohibited subjects of
11 bargaining;
12 (iii) Who would negotiate on behalf of the house of
13 representatives, the senate, and legislative agencies, and which
14 entity or entities would be considered the employer for purposes of
15 bargaining;
16 (iv) Definitions for relevant terms;
17 (v) Common public employee collective bargaining agreement
18 frameworks related to grievance procedures and processes for
19 disciplinary actions;
20 (vi) Procedures related to the commission certifying exclusive
21 bargaining representatives, determining bargaining units,
22 adjudicating unfair labor practices, determining representation
23 questions, and coalition bargaining;
24 (vii) The efficiency and feasibility of coalition bargaining;
25 (viii) Procedures for approving negotiated collective bargaining
26 agreements;
27 (ix) Procedures for submitting requests for funding to the
28 appropriate legislative committees if appropriations are necessary to
29 implement provisions of the collective bargaining agreements; and
30 (x) Approaches taken by other state legislatures that have
31 authorized collective bargaining for legislative employees.
32 (5) The report must include a summary of any statutory changes
33 needed to address the considerations listed in subsection (4) of this
34 section related to the collective bargaining process for legislative
35 employees.))
36 NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. A new section is added to chapter 44.90
37 RCW to read as follows:
38 (1) As provided by this chapter, the commission or the court
39 shall determine all questions described by this chapter as under the
p. 6 E2SSB 6194.SL
 1 commission's authority. However, such authority may not result in an
2 order or rule that intrudes upon or interferes with the legislature's
3 core function of efficient and effective law making or the essential
4 operation of the legislature, including that an order or rule may
5 not:
6 (a) Modify any matter relating to the qualifications and
7 elections of members of the legislature, or the holding of office of
8 members of the legislature;
9 (b) Modify any matter relating to the legislature or each house
10 thereof choosing its officers, adopting rules for its proceedings,
11 selecting committees necessary for the conduct of business,
12 considering or enacting legislation, or otherwise exercising the
13 legislative power of this state;
14 (c) Modify any matter relating to legislative calendars,
15 schedules, and deadlines of the legislature; or
16 (d) Modify laws, rules, policies, or procedures regarding ethics
17 or conflicts of interest.
18 (2) No member of the legislature may be compelled by subpoena or
19 other means to attend a proceeding related to matters covered by this
20 chapter during a legislative session, committee assembly days, or for
21 15 days before commencement of each session.
22 Sec. 5. RCW 44.90.050 and 2022 c 283 s 5 are each amended to
23 read as follows:
24 (1) Except as may be specifically limited by this chapter,
25 legislative employees shall have the right to self-organization, to
26 form, join, or assist employee organizations, and to bargain
27 collectively through representatives of their own choosing for the
28 purpose of collective bargaining free from interference, restraint,
29 or coercion. Legislative employees shall also have the right to
30 refrain from any or all such activities.
31 (2) Except as may be specifically limited by this chapter, the
32 commission shall determine all questions pertaining to ascertaining
33 exclusive bargaining representatives for legislative employees and
34 collectively bargaining