The bill amends various sections of the Revised Code of Washington (RCW) to enhance the financial feasibility and oversight of collective bargaining agreements for family child care providers, adult family home providers, and other public employees. It designates the governor as the public employer for these providers solely for collective bargaining purposes and outlines the scope of negotiations, which includes economic compensation, health benefits, and professional development, while explicitly excluding retirement benefits. A key provision requires that any collective bargaining agreement must be financially feasible, necessitating the governor to submit funding requests to the legislature, which must be certified by the director of financial management. Notably, the bill introduces restrictions that prevent the certification of agreements if they involve raising taxes or withdrawing funds from the budget stabilization account without legislative approval.

Additionally, the bill mandates that the legislature must approve or reject funding requests as a whole, and if rejected, the agreements must be reopened for renegotiation. It clarifies that family child care providers and adult family home providers do not have the right to strike and that their status as public employees for bargaining purposes does not equate to state employment for other purposes. The legislation aims to ensure that collective bargaining processes are conducted within a framework that respects legislative authority and financial constraints while providing a structured approach to negotiations for these specific groups of providers. Overall, the bill seeks to promote fiscal responsibility and transparency in the negotiation and funding of collective bargaining agreements for public employees.

Statutes affected:
Original Bill: 41.56.028, 41.56.029, 41.56.473, 41.56.500, 41.56.510, 41.56.515, 41.59.105, 41.80.010, 47.64.170, 43.88.030, 74.39A.530