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SB5415 • 2026

CBA financial feasibility

Concerning financial feasibility of collective bargaining agreements.

Passed Legislature

This bill passed both chambers and reached final enrollment, even if later executive action is not shown here.

Sponsor
Senator Gildon
Last action
2026-01-12
Official status
S Ways & Means
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

Using official source text because the generated explanation was unavailable or could not be confirmed against the official bill text.

CBA financial feasibility

CBA financial feasibility

What This Bill Does

  • CBA financial feasibility

Limits and Unknowns

  • This entry is temporarily using official source text because the generated explanation could not be confirmed against the official bill text during the last sync.

Bill History

  1. 2026-01-12 Senate

    By resolution, reintroduced and retained in present status.

Official Summary Text

CBA financial feasibility

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text
AN ACT Relating to financial feasibility of collective bargaining 1
agreements; and amending RCW 41.56.028, 41.56.029, 41.56.473, 2
41.56.500, 41.56.510, 41.56.515, 41.59.105, 41.80.010, 47.64.170, 3
74.39A.300, and 74.39A.530. 4
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:5
Sec. 1. RCW 41.56.028 and 2007 c 278 s 2 are each amended to 6
read as follows: 7
(1) In addition to the entities listed in RCW 41.56.020, this 8
chapter applies to the governor with respect to family child care 9
providers. Solely for the purposes of collective bargaining and as 10
expressly limited under subsections (2) and (3) of this section, the 11
governor is the public employer of family child care providers who, 12
solely for the purposes of collective bargaining, are public 13
employees. The public employer shall be represented for bargaining 14
purposes by the governor or the governor's designee appointed under 15
chapter 41.80 RCW. 16
(2) This chapter governs the collective bargaining relationship 17
between the governor and family child care providers, except as 18
follows: 19
S-0673.1
SENATE BILL 5415
State of Washington 69th Legislature 2025 Regular Session
By Senator Gildon
p. 1 SB 5415
(a) A statewide unit of all family child care providers is the 1
only unit appropriate for purposes of collective bargaining under RCW 2
41.56.060. 3
(b) The exclusive bargaining representative of family child care 4
providers in the unit specified in (a) of this subsection shall be 5
the representative chosen in an election conducted pursuant to RCW 6
41.56.070, except that in the initial election conducted under 7
chapter 54, Laws of 2006, if more than one labor organization is on 8
the ballot and none of the choices receives a majority of the votes 9
cast, a runoff election shall be held. 10
(c) Notwithstanding the definition of "collective bargaining" in 11
RCW 41.56.030(4), the scope of collective bargaining for child care 12
providers under this section shall be limited solely to: (i) Economic 13
compensation, such as manner and rate of subsidy and reimbursement, 14
including tiered reimbursements; (ii) health and welfare benefits; 15
(iii) professional development and training; (iv) labor-management 16
committees; (v) grievance procedures; and (vi) other economic 17
matters. Retirement benefits shall not be subject to collective 18
bargaining. By such obligation neither party shall be compelled to 19
agree to a proposal or be required to make a concession unless 20
otherwise provided in this chapter. 21
(d) The mediation and interest arbitration provisions of RCW 22
41.56.430 through 41.56.470 and 41.56.480 apply, except that:23
(i) With respect to commencement of negotiations between the 24
governor and the exclusive bargaining representative of family child 25
care providers, negotiations shall be commenced initially upon 26
certification of an exclusive bargaining representative under (a) of 27
this subsection and, thereafter, by February 1st of any even-numbered 28
year; and 29
(ii) The decision of the arbitration panel is not binding on the 30
legislature and, if the legislature does not approve the request for 31
funds necessary to implement the compensation and benefit provisions 32
of the arbitrated collective bargaining agreement, is not binding on 33
the state. 34
(e) Family child care providers do not have the right to strike.35
(3) Family child care providers who are public employees solely 36
for the purposes of collective bargaining under subsection (1) of 37
this section are not, for that reason, employees of the state for any 38
purpose. This section applies only to the governance of the 39
collective bargaining relationship between the employer and family 40
p. 2 SB 5415
child care providers as provided in subsections (1) and (2) of this 1
section. 2
(4) This section does not create or modify: 3
(a) The parents' or legal guardians' right to choose and 4
terminate the services of any family child care provider that 5
provides care for their child or children; 6
(b) The secretary of the department of social and health 7
services' right to adopt requirements under RCW 74.15.030, except for 8
requirements related to grievance procedures and collective 9
negotiations on personnel matters as specified in subsection (2)(c) 10
of this section; 11
(c) Chapter 26.44 RCW, RCW 43.43.832, 43.20A.205, and 74.15.130; 12
and 13
(d) The legislature's right to make programmatic modifications to 14
the delivery of state services through child care subsidy programs, 15
including standards of eligibility of parents, legal guardians, and 16
family child care providers participating in child care subsidy 17
programs, and the nature of services provided. The governor shall not 18
enter into, extend, or renew any agreement under this section that 19
does not expressly reserve the legislative rights described in this 20
subsection (4)(d). 21
(5) Upon meeting the requirements of subsection (6) of this 22
section, the governor must submit, as a part of the proposed biennial 23
or supplemental operating budget submitted to the legislature under 24
RCW 43.88.030, a request for funds necessary to implement the 25
compensation and benefit provisions of a collective bargaining 26
agreement entered into under this section or for legislation 27
necessary to implement such agreement. 28
(6) A request for funds necessary to implement the compensation 29
and benefit provisions of a collective bargaining agreement entered 30
into under this section shall not be submitted by the governor to the 31
legislature unless such request has been: 32
(a) Submitted to the director of financial management by October 33
1st before the legislative session at which the request is to be 34
considered, except that, for initial negotiations under this section, 35
the request must be submitted by November 15, 2006; and36
(b) Certified by the director of financial management as being 37
feasible financially for the state or reflects the binding decision 38
of an arbitration panel reached under this section.39
p. 3 SB 5415
(7)(a) The director of the office of financial management shall 1
not certify as financially feasible any collective bargaining 2
agreement under subsection (6)(b) of this section if the governor's 3
budget document or any appendix to a budget or budget document 4
submitted under RCW 43.88.030 and 43.88.060 proposes to:5
(i) Fund expenditures by raising taxes; or6
(ii) Withdraw and appropriate funds from the budget stabilization 7
account that requires a favorable vote of at least three-fifths of 8
the members of each house of the legislature.9
(b) For purposes of this subsection, "raising taxes" means any 10
action or combination of actions by the state legislature that 11
increases state tax revenue deposited in any fund, budget, or 12
account, regardless of whether the revenues are deposited into the 13
general fund.14
(8) The legislature must approve or reject the submission of the 15
request for funds as a whole. If the legislature rejects or fails to 16
act on the submission, any such agreement will be reopened solely for 17
the purpose of renegotiating the funds necessary to implement the 18
agreement. 19
(((8))) (9) The governor shall periodically consult with the 20
joint committee on employment relations established by RCW 41.80.010 21
regarding appropriations necessary to implement the compensation and 22
benefit provisions of any collective bargaining agreement and, upon 23
completion of negotiations, advise the committee on the elements of 24
the agreement and on any legislation necessary to implement such 25
agreement. 26
(((9))) (10) After the expiration date of any collective 27
bargaining agreement entered into under this section, all of the 28
terms and conditions specified in any such agreement remain in effect 29
until the effective date of a subsequent agreement, not to exceed one 30
year from the expiration date stated in the agreement, except as 31
provided in subsection (4)(d) of this section. 32
(((10))) (11) If, after the compensation and benefit provisions 33
of an agreement are approved by the legislature, a significant 34
revenue shortfall occurs resulting in reduced appropriations, as 35
declared by proclamation of the governor or by resolution of the 36
legislature, both parties shall immediately enter into collective 37
bargaining for a mutually agreed upon modification of the agreement.38
(((11))) (12) In enacting this section, the legislature intends 39
to provide state action immunity under federal and state antitrust 40
p. 4 SB 5415
laws for the joint activities of family child care providers and 1
their exclusive bargaining representative to the extent such 2
activities are authorized by this chapter. 3
Sec. 2. RCW 41.56.029 and 2007 c 184 s 1 are each amended to 4
read as follows: 5
(1) In addition to the entities listed in RCW 41.56.020, this 6
chapter applies to the governor with respect to adult family home 7
providers. Solely for the purposes of collective bargaining and as 8
expressly limited under subsections (2) and (3) of this section, the 9
governor is the public employer of adult family home providers who, 10
solely for the purposes of collective bargaining, are public 11
employees. The public employer shall be represented for bargaining 12
purposes by the governor or the governor's designee.13
(2) There shall be collective bargaining, as defined in RCW 14
41.56.030, between the governor and adult family home providers, 15
except as follows: 16
(a) A statewide unit of all adult family home providers is the 17
only unit appropriate for purposes of collective bargaining under RCW 18
41.56.060. 19
(b) The exclusive bargaining representative of adult family home 20
providers in the unit specified in (a) of this subsection shall be 21
the representative chosen in an election conducted pursuant to RCW 22
41.56.070. 23
Bargaining authorization cards furnished as the showing of 24
interest in support of any representation petition or motion for 25
intervention filed under this section shall be exempt from disclosure 26
under chapter 42.56 RCW. 27
(c) Notwithstanding the definition of "collective bargaining" in 28
RCW 41.56.030(4), the scope of collective bargaining for adult family 29
home providers under this section shall be limited solely to: (i) 30
Economic compensation, such as manner and rate of subsidy and 31
reimbursement, including tiered reimbursements; (ii) health and 32
welfare benefits; (iii) professional development and training; (iv) 33
labor-management committees; (v) grievance procedures; and (vi) other 34
economic matters. Retirement benefits shall not be subject to 35
collective bargaining. By such obligation neither party shall be 36
compelled to agree to a proposal or be required to make a concession 37
unless otherwise provided in this chapter. 38
p. 5 SB 5415
(d) In addition to the entities listed in the mediation and 1
interest arbitration provisions of RCW 41.56.430 through 41.56.470 2
and 41.56.480, the provisions apply to the governor or the governor's 3
designee and the exclusive bargaining representative of adult family 4
home providers, except that: 5
(i) In addition to the factors to be taken into consideration by 6
an interest arbitration panel under RCW 41.56.465, the panel shall 7
consider the financial ability of the state to pay for the 8
compensation and benefit provisions of a collective bargaining 9
agreement. 10
(ii) The decision of the arbitration panel is not binding on the 11
legislature and, if the legislature does not approve the request for 12
funds necessary to implement the compensation and benefit provisions 13
of the arbitrated collective bargaining agreement, the decision is 14
not binding on the state. 15
(e) Adult family home providers do not have the right to strike.16
(3) Adult family home providers who are public employees solely 17
for the purposes of collective bargaining under subsection (1) of 18
this section are not, for that reason, employees of the state for any 19
other purpose. This section applies only to the governance of the 20
collective bargaining relationship between the employer and adult 21
family home providers as provided in subsections (1) and (2) of this 22
section. 23
(4) This section does not create or modify: 24
(a) The department's authority to establish a plan of care for 25
each consumer or its core responsibility to manage long-term care 26
services under chapter 70.128 RCW, including determination of the 27
level of care that each consumer is eligible to receive. However, at 28
the request of the exclusive bargaining representative, the governor 29
or the governor's designee appointed under chapter 41.80 RCW shall 30
engage in collective bargaining, as defined in RCW 41.56.030(4), with 31
the exclusive bargaining representative over how the department's 32
core responsibility affects hours of work for adult family home 33
providers. This subsection shall not be interpreted to require 34
collective bargaining over an individual consumer's plan of care;35
(b) The department's obligation to comply with the federal 36
medicaid statute and regulations and the terms of any community-based 37
waiver granted by the federal department of health and human services 38
and to ensure federal financial participation in the provision of the 39
services; 40
p. 6 SB 5415
(c) The legislature's right to make programmatic modifications to 1
the delivery of state services under chapter 70.128 RCW, including 2
standards of eligibility of consumers and adult family home providers 3
participating in the programs under chapter 70.128 RCW, and the 4
nature of services provided. The governor shall not enter into, 5
extend, or renew any agreement under this chapter that does not 6
expressly reserve the legislative rights described in this subsection 7
(4)(c); 8
(d) The residents', parents', or legal guardians' right to choose 9
and terminate the services of any licensed adult family home 10
provider; and 11
(e) RCW 43.43.832, 43.20A.205, or 74.15.130. 12
(5) Upon meeting the requirements of subsection (6) of this 13
section, the governor must submit, as a part of the proposed biennial 14
or supplemental operating budget submitted to the legislature under 15
RCW 43.88.030, a request for funds necessary to implement the 16
compensation and benefit provisions of a collective bargaining 17
agreement entered into under this section or for legislation 18
necessary to implement the agreement. 19
(6) A request for funds necessary to implement the compensation 20
and benefit provisions of a collective bargaining agreement entered 21
into under this section shall not be submitted by the governor to the 22
legislature unless the request has been: 23
(a) Submitted to the director of financial management by October 24
1st prior to the legislative session at which the requests are to be 25
considered; and 26
(b) Certified by the director of financial management as 27
financially feasible for the state or reflective of a binding 28
decision of an arbitration panel reached under subsection (2)(d) of 29
this section. 30
(7)(a) The director of the office of financial management shall 31
not certify as financially feasible any collective bargaining 32
agreement under subsection (6)(b) of this section if the governor's 33
budget document or any appendix to a budget or budget document 34
submitted under RCW 43.88.030 and 43.88.060 proposes to:35
(i) Fund expenditures by raising taxes; or36
(ii) Withdraw and appropriate funds from the budget stabilization 37
account that requires a favorable vote of at least three-fifths of 38
the members of each house of the legislature.39
p. 7 SB 5415
(b) For purposes of this subsection, "raising taxes" means any 1
action or combination of actions by the state legislature that 2
increases state tax revenue deposited in any fund, budget, or 3
account, regardless of whether the revenues are deposited into the 4
general fund.5
(8) The legislature must approve or reject the submission of the 6
request for funds as a whole. If the legislature rejects or fails to 7
act on the submission, any collective bargaining agreement must be 8
reopened for the sole purpose of renegotiating the funds necessary to 9
implement the agreement. 10
(((8))) (9) If, after the compensation and benefit provisions of 11
an agreement are approved by the legislature, a significant revenue 12
shortfall occurs resulting in reduced appropriations, as declared by 13
proclamation of the governor or by resolution of the legislature, 14
both parties shall immediately enter into collective bargaining for a 15
mutually agreed upon modification of the agreement.16
(((9))) (10) After the expiration date of any collective 17
bargaining agreement entered into under this section, all of the 18
terms and conditions specified in the agreement remain in effect 19
until the effective date of a subsequent agreement, not to exceed one 20
year from the expiration date stated in the agreement.21
(((10))) (11) In enacting this section, the legislature intends 22
to provide state action immunity under federal and state antitrust 23
laws for the joint activities of adult family home providers and 24
their exclusive bargaining representative to the extent the 25
activities are authorized by this chapter. 26
Sec. 3. RCW 41.56.473 and 2005 c 438 s 1 are each amended to 27
read as follows: 28
(1) In addition to the entities listed in RCW 41.56.020, this 29
chapter applies to the state with respect to the officers of the 30
Washington state patrol appointed under RCW 43.43.020, except that 31
the state is prohibited from negotiating any matters relating to 32
retirement benefits or health care benefits or other employee 33
insurance benefits. 34
(2) For the purposes of negotiating wages, wage-related matters, 35
and nonwage matters, the state shall be represented by the governor 36
or the governor's designee who is appointed under chapter 41.80 RCW, 37
and costs of the negotiations under this section shall be reimbursed 38
as provided in RCW 41.80.140. 39
p. 8 SB 5415
(3) The governor or the governor's designee shall consult with 1
the chief of the Washington state patrol regarding collective 2
bargaining. 3
(4) The negotiation of provisions pertaining to wages and wage-4
related matters in a collective bargaining agreement between the 5
state and the Washington state patrol officers is subject to the 6
following: 7
(a) The state's bargaining representative must periodically 8
consult with a subcommittee of the joint committee on employment 9
relations created in RCW 41.80.010(((5))) (6) which shall consist of 10
the four members appointed to the joint committee with leadership 11
positions in the senate and the house of representatives, and the 12
chairs and ranking minority members of the senate transportation 13
committee and the house transportation committee, or their successor 14
committees. The subcommittee must be consulted regarding the 15
appropriations necessary to implement these provisions in a 16
collective bargaining agreement and, on completion of negotiations, 17
must be advised on the elements of these provisions.18
(b) Provisions that are entered into before the legislature 19
approves the funds necessary to implement the provisions must be 20
conditioned upon the legislature's subsequent approval of the funds.21
(5) The governor shall submit a request for funds necessary to 22
implement the wage and wage-related matters in the collective 23
bargaining agreement or for legislation necessary to implement the 24
agreement. Requests for funds necessary to implement the provisions 25
of bargaining agreements may not be submitted to the legislature by 26
the governor unless such requests: 27
(a) Have been submitted to the director of financial management 28
by October 1st before the legislative session at which the requests 29
are to be considered; and 30
(b) Have been certified by the director of financial management 31
as being feasible financially for the state or reflects the decision 32
of an arbitration panel reached under RCW 41.56.475.33
(6)(a) The director of the office of financial management shall 34
not certify as financially feasible any collective bargaining 35
agreement under subsection (5)(b) of this section if the governor's 36
budget document or any appendix to a budget or budget document 37
submitted under RCW 43.88.030 and 43.88.060 proposes to:38
(i) Fund expenditures by raising taxes; or39
p. 9 SB 5415
(ii) Withdraw and appropriate funds from the budget stabilization 1
account that requires a favorable vote of at least three-fifths of 2
the members of each house of the legislature.3
(b) For purposes of this subsection, "raising taxes" means any 4
action or combination of actions by the state legislature that 5
increases state tax revenue deposited in any fund, budget, or 6
account, regardless of whether the revenues are deposited into the 7
general fund.8
Sec. 4. RCW 41.56.500 and 2017 3rd sp.s. c 13 s 817 are each 9
amended to read as follows: 10
(1) All collective bargaining agreements entered into between a 11
school district employer and school district employees under this 12
chapter after June 10, 2010, as well as bargaining agreements 13
existing on June 10, 2010, but renewed or extended after June 10, 14
2010, shall be consistent with RCW 28A.657.050. 15
(2) All collective bargaining agreements entered into between a 16
school district employer and school district employees under this 17
chapter shall be consistent with RCW 28A.400.280 and 28A.400.350.18
(3) Employee bargaining shall be initiated after July 1, 2018, 19
over the dollar amount to be contributed for school employee health 20
benefits beginning January 1, 2020, on behalf of each employee for 21
health care benefits. Bargaining must subsequently be conducted in 22
even-numbered years between the governor or governor's designee and 23
one coalition of all the exclusive bargaining representatives 24
impacted by benefit purchasing with the school employees' benefits 25
board established in RCW 41.05.740, consistent with RCW 28A.400.280 26
and 28A.400.350. The coalition bargaining must follow the model 27
initially established for state employees in RCW 41.80.020.28
(4)(a) The governor shall submit a request for funds necessary to 29
implement the collective bargaining agreement for the dollar amount 30
to be expended for school employee health benefits, or for 31
legislation necessary to implement the agreement. A request for funds 32
shall not be submitted to the legislature by the governor unless such 33
request: 34
(((a))) (i) Has been submitted to the director of the office of 35
financial management by October 1st prior to the legislative session 36
at which the request is to be considered; and 37
(((b))) (ii) Has been certified by the director of the office of 38
financial management as being feasible financially for the state.39
p. 10 SB 5415
(b)(i) The director of the office of financial management shall 1
not certify as financially feasible any collective bargaining 2
agreement under (a)(ii) of this subsection if the governor's budget 3
document or any appendix to a budget or budget document submitted 4
under RCW 43.88.030 and 43.88.060 proposes to:5
(A) Fund expenditures by raising taxes; or6
(B) Withdraw and appropriate funds from the budget stabilization 7
account that requires a favorable vote of at least three-fifths of 8
the members of each house of the legislature.9
(ii) For purposes of this subsection, "raising taxes" means any 10
action or combination of actions by the state legislature that 11
increases state tax revenue deposited in any fund, budget, or 12
account, regardless of whether the revenues are deposited into the 13
general fund.14
(c) The legislature shall approve or reject the submission of the 15
request for funds. The legislature shall not consider a request for 16
funds unless the request is transmitted to the legislature as part of 17
the governor's budget document submitted under RCW 43.88.030 and 18
43.88.060. 19
(d) If the legislature rejects or fails to act on the submission, 20
either party may reopen all or part of the agreement. However, if the 21
director of the office of financial management does not certify a 22
request under this section as being feasible financially for the 23
state, the parties shall enter into collective bargaining solely for 24
the purpose of reaching a mutually agreed upon modification of the 25
agreement necessary to address the absence of those requested funds. 26
The legislature may act upon the health care benefit provisions of 27
the modified collective bargaining agreement if those provisions are 28
agreed upon and submitted to the office of financial management and 29
legislative budget committees before final legislative action on the 30
biennial or supplemental operating budget. If the legislature rejects 31
or fails to act on the submission, either party may reopen all or 32
part of the agreement. 33
Sec. 5. RCW 41.56.510 and 2020 c 289 s 2 are each amended to 34
read as follows: 35
(1) In addition to the entities listed in RCW 41.56.020, this 36
chapter applies to the governor with respect to language access 37
providers. Solely for the purposes of collective bargaining and as 38
expressly limited under subsections (2) and (3) of this section, the 39
p. 11 SB 5415
governor is the public employer of language access providers who, 1
solely for the purposes of collective bargaining, are public 2
employees. The governor or the governor's designee shall represent 3
the public employer for bargaining purposes. 4
(2) There shall be collective bargaining, as defined in RCW 5
41.56.030, between the governor and language access providers, except 6
as follows: 7
(a) The only units appropriate for purposes of collective 8
bargaining under RCW 41.56.060 are: 9
(i) A statewide unit for language access providers who provide 10
spoken language interpreter services for department of social and 11
health services appointments, department of children, youth, and 12
families appointments, or medicaid enrollee appointments;13
(ii) A statewide unit for language access providers who provide 14
spoken language interpreter services for injured workers or crime 15
victims receiving benefits from the department of labor and 16
industries; and 17
(iii) A statewide unit for language access providers who provide 18
spoken language interpreter services for any state agency through the 19
department of enterprise services, excluding language access 20
providers included in (a)(i) and (ii) of this subsection;21
(b) The exclusive bargaining representative of language access 22
providers in the unit specified in (a) of this subsection shall be 23
the representative chosen in an election conducted pursuant to RCW 24
41.56.070. 25
Bargaining authorization cards furnished as the showing of 26
interest in support of any representation petition or motion for 27
intervention filed under this section are exempt from disclosure 28
under chapter 42.56 RCW; 29
(c) Notwithstanding the definition of "collective bargaining" in 30
RCW 41.56.030(4), the scope of collective bargaining for language 31
access providers under this section is limited solely to: (i) 32
Economic compensation, such as the manner and rate of payments, 33
including tiered payments; (ii) professional development and 34
training; (iii) labor-management committees; (iv) grievance 35
procedures; (v) health and welfare benefits; and (((vii) [(vi)])) 36
(vi) other economic matters. Retirement benefits are not subject to 37
collective bargaining. By such obligation neither party may be 38
compelled to agree to a proposal or be required to make a concession 39
unless otherwise provided in this chapter; 40
p. 12 SB 5415
(d) In addition to the entities listed in the mediation and 1
interest arbitration provisions of RCW 41.56.430 through 41.56.470 2
and 41.56.480, the provisions apply to the governor or the governor's 3
designee and the exclusive bargaining representative of language 4
access providers, except that: 5
(i) In addition to the factors to be taken into consideration by 6
an interest arbitration panel under RCW 41.56.465, the panel shall 7
consider the financial ability of the state to pay for the 8
compensation and benefit provisions of a collective bargaining 9
agreement; 10
(ii) The decision of the arbitration panel is not binding on the 11
legislature and, if the legislature does not approve the request for 12
funds necessary to implement the compensation and benefit provisions 13
of the arbitrated collective bargaining agreement, the decision is 14
not binding on the state; 15
(e) Language access providers do not have the right to strike;16
(f) If a single employee organization is the exclusive bargaining 17
representative for two or more units, upon petition by the employee 18
organization, the units may be consolidated into a single larger unit 19
if the commission considers the larger unit to be appropriate. If 20
consolidation is appropriate, the commission shall certify the 21
employee organization as the exclusive bargaining representative of 22
the new unit; 23
(g) If a single employee organization is the exclusive bargaining 24
representative for two or more bargaining units, the governor and the 25
employee organization may agree to negotiate a single collective 26
bargaining agreement for all of the bargaining units that the 27
employee organization represents. 28
(3) Language access providers who are public employees solely for 29
the purposes of collective bargaining under subsection (1) of this 30
section are not, for that reason, employees of the state for any 31
other purpose. This section applies only to the governance of the 32
collective bargaining relationship between the employer and language 33
access providers as provided in subsections (1) and (2) of this 34
section. 35
(4) Each party with whom the department of social and health 36
services, the department of children, youth, and families, the 37
department of labor and industries, and the department of enterprise 38
services contracts for language access services and each of their 39
subcontractors shall provide to the respective department an accurate 40
p. 13 SB 5415
list of language access providers, as defined in RCW 41.56.030, 1
including their names, addresses, and other contact information, 2
annually by January 30th, except that initially the lists must be 3
provided within thirty days of July 1, 2018. The department shall, 4
upon request, provide a list of all language access providers, 5
including their names, addresses, and other contact information, to a 6
labor union seeking to represent language access providers.7
(5) This section does not create or modify: 8
(a) The obligation of any state agency to comply with federal 9
statute and regulations; and 10
(b) The legislature's right to make programmatic modifications to 11
the delivery of state services under chapter 74.04 or 39.26 RCW or 12
Title 51 RCW. The governor may not enter into, extend, or renew any 13
agreement under this chapter that does not expressly reserve the 14
legislative rights described in this subsection. 15
(6) Upon meeting the requirements of subsection (7) of this 16
section, the governor must submit, as a part of the proposed biennial 17
or supplemental operating budget submitted to the legislature under 18
RCW 43.88.030, a request for funds necessary to implement the 19
compensation and benefit provisions of a collective bargaining 20
agreement entered into under this section or for legislation 21
necessary to implement the agreement. 22
(7) A request for funds necessary to implement the compensation 23
and benefit provisions of a collective bargaining agreement entered 24
into under this section may not be submitted by the governor to the 25
legislature unless the request has been: 26
(a) Submitted to the director of financial management by October 27
1st prior to the legislative session at which the requests are to be 28
considered, except that, for initial negotiations under this section, 29
the request may not be submitted before July 1, 2011; and30
(b) Certified by the director of financial management as 31
financially feasible for the state or reflective of a binding 32
decision of an arbitration panel reached under subsection (2)(d) of 33
this section. 34
(8)(a) The director of the office of financial management shall 35
not certify as financially feasible any collective bargaining 36
agreement under subsection (7)(b) of this section if the governor's 37
budget document or any appendix to a budget or budget document 38
submitted under RCW 43.88.030 and 43.88.060 proposes to:39
(i) Fund expenditures by raising taxes; or40
p. 14 SB 5415
(ii) Withdraw and appropriate funds from the budget stabilization 1
account that requires a favorable vote of at least three-fifths of 2
the members of each house of the legislature.3
(b) For purposes of this subsection, "raising taxes" means any 4
action or combination of actions by the state legislature that 5
increases state tax revenue deposited in any fund, budget, or 6
account, regardless of whether the revenues are deposited into the 7
general fund.8
(9) The legislature must approve or reject the submission of the 9
request for funds as a whole. If the legislature rejects or fails to 10
act on the submission, any collective bargaining agreement must be 11
reopened for the sole purpose of renegotiating the funds necessary to 12
implement the agreement. 13
(((9))) (10) If, after the compensation and benefit provisions of 14
an agreement are approved by the legislature, a significant revenue 15
shortfall occurs resulting in reduced appropriations, as declared by 16
proclamation of the governor or by resolution of the legislature, 17
both parties shall immediately enter into collective bargaining for a 18
mutually agreed upon modification of the agreement.19
(((10))) (11) After the expiration date of any collective 20
bargaining agreement entered into under this section, all of the 21
terms and conditions specified in the agreement remain in effect 22
until the effective date of a subsequent agreement, not to exceed one 23
year from the expiration date stated in the agreement.24
(((11))) (12) In enacting this section, the legislature intends 25
to provide state action immunity under federal and state antitrust 26
laws for the joint activities of language access providers and their 27
exclusive bargaining representative to the extent the activities are 28
authorized by this chapter. 29
(((12))) (13) By December 1, 2020, the department of social and 30
health services, the department of children, youth, and families, the 31
department of labor and industries, the health care authority, and 32
the department of enterprise services must report to the legislature 33
on the following: 34
(a) Each agency's current process for procuring spoken language 35
interpreters and whether the changes in chapter 253, Laws of 2018 36
have been implemented; 37
(b) If chapter 253, Laws of 2018 has not been fully implemented 38
by an agency, the barriers to implementation the agency has 39
p. 15 SB 5415
encountered and recommendations for removing the barriers to 1
implementation; 2
(c) The impacts of the changes to the bargaining units for 3
language access providers in chapter 253, Laws of 2018; and4
(d) Recommendations on how to improve the procurement and 5
accessibility of language access providers. 6
Sec. 6. RCW 41.56.515 and 2020 c 298 s 2 are each amended to 7
read as follows: 8
(1) In addition to the entities listed in RCW 41.56.020, this 9
chapter applies to the state with respect to fish and wildlife 10
officers except the state may not negotiate any matters relating to 11
retirement benefits or health care benefits or other employee 12
insurance benefits. 13
(2) For the purposes of negotiating wages, wage-related matters, 14
and nonwage matters, the state shall be represented by the governor 15
or the governor's designee who is appointed under RCW 41.80.010, and 16
costs of the negotiations under this section shall be reimbursed as 17
provided in RCW 41.80.140. 18
(3) Fish and wildlife officers shall be excluded from the 19
coalition bargaining for a master agreement of all exclusive 20
bargaining representatives of fewer than five hundred employees under 21
chapter 41.80 RCW. 22
(4) The governor or the governor's designee shall consult with 23
the director of fish and wildlife regarding collective bargaining.24
(5) The negotiation of provisions pertaining to wages and wage-25
related matters in a collective bargaining agreement between the 26
state and the bargaining representatives of the fish and wildlife 27
officers is subject to the following: 28
(a) The state's bargaining representative must periodically 29
consult with the committee of the joint committee on employment 30
relations created in RCW 41.80.007 or any such successor committee 31
for the joint committee on employment relations; and32
(b) Provisions that are entered into before the legislature 33
approves the funds necessary to implement the provisions are 34
conditioned upon the legislature's subsequent approval of the funds.35
(6) The governor shall submit a request for funds necessary to 36
implement the wage and wage-related matters in the collective 37
bargaining agreement or for legislation necessary to implement the 38
agreement. Requests for funds necessary to implement the provisions 39
p. 16 SB 5415
of bargaining agreements may not be submitted to the legislature by 1
the governor unless such requests: 2
(a) Have been submitted to the director of financial management 3
by October 1st before the legislative session at which the requests 4
are to be considered; and 5
(b) Have been certified by the director of financial management 6
as being feasible financially for the state or reflects the decision 7
of an arbitration panel reached under RCW 41.56.475.8
(7)(a) The director of the office of financial management shall 9
not certify as financially feasible any collective bargaining 10
agreement under subsection (6)(b) of this section if the governor's 11
budget document or any appendix to a budget or budget document 12
submitted under RCW 43.88.030 and 43.88.060 proposes to:13
(i) Fund expenditures by raising taxes; or14
(ii) Withdraw and appropriate funds from the budget stabilization 15
account that requires a favorable vote of at least three-fifths of 16
the members of each house of the legislature.17
(b) For purposes of this subsection, "raising taxes" means any 18
action or combination of actions by the state legislature that 19
increases state tax revenue deposited in any fund, budget, or 20
account, regardless of whether the revenues are deposited into the 21
general fund.22
Sec. 7. RCW 41.59.105 and 2017 3rd sp.s. c 13 s 818 are each 23
amended to read as follows: 24
(1) All collective bargaining agreements entered into between a 25
school district employer and school district employees under this 26
chapter after June 10, 2010, as well as bargaining agreements 27
existing on June 10, 2010, but renewed or extended after June 10, 28
2010, shall be consistent with RCW 28A.657.050. 29
(2) All collective bargaining agreements entered into between a 30
school district employer and school district employees under this 31
chapter shall be consistent with RCW 28A.400.280 and 28A.400.350.32
(3) Employee bargaining shall be initiated after July 1, 2018, 33
over the dollar amount to be contributed beginning January 1, 2020, 34
on behalf of each employee for health care benefits. Bargaining must 35
subsequently be conducted in even-numbered years between the governor 36
or governor's designee and one coalition of all the exclusive 37
bargaining representatives impacted by benefit purchasing with the 38
school employees' benefits board established in RCW 41.05.740, 39
p. 17 SB 5415
consistent with RCW 28A.400.280 and 28A.400.350. The coalition 1
bargaining must follow the model initially established for state 2
employees in RCW 41.80.020. 3
(4)(a) The governor shall submit a request for funds necessary to 4
implement the collective bargaining agreement for the dollar amount 5
to be expended for school employee health benefits, or for 6
legislation necessary to implement the agreement. A request for funds 7
shall not be submitted to the legislature by the governor unless such 8
request: 9
(((a))) (i) Has been submitted to the director of the office of 10
financial management by October 1st prior to the legislative session 11
at which the request is to be considered; and 12
(((b))) (ii) Has been certified by the director of the office of 13
financial management as being feasible financially for the state.14
(b)(i) The director of the office of financial management shall 15
not certify as financially feasible any collective bargaining 16
agreement under (a)(ii) of this subsection if the governor's budget 17
document or any appendix to a budget or budget document submitted 18
under RCW 43.88.030 and 43.88.060 proposes to:19
(A) Fund expenditures by raising taxes; or20
(B) Withdraw and appropriate funds from the budget stabilization 21
account that requires a favorable vote of at least three-fifths of 22
the members of each house of the legislature.23
(ii) For purposes of this subsection, "raising taxes" means any 24
action or combination of actions by the state legislature that 25
increases state tax revenue deposited in any fund, budget, or 26
account, regardless of whether the revenues are deposited into the 27
general fund.28
(c) The legislature shall approve or reject the submission of the 29
request for funds. The legislature shall not consider a request for 30
funds unless the request is transmitted to the legislature as part of 31
the governor's budget document submitted under RCW 43.88.030 and 32
43.88.060. 33
(d) If the legislature rejects or fails to act on the submission, 34
either party may reopen all or part of the agreement. However, if the 35
director of the office of financial management does not certify a 36
request under this section as being feasible financially for the 37
state, the parties shall enter into collective bargaining solely for 38
the purpose of reaching a mutually agreed upon modification of the 39
agreement necessary to address the absence of those requested funds. 40
p. 18 SB 5415
The legislature may act upon the health care benefit provisions of 1
the modified collective bargaining agreement if those provisions are 2
agreed upon and submitted to the office of financial management and 3
legislative budget committees before final legislative action on the 4
biennial or supplemental operating budget. If the legislature rejects 5
or fails to act on the submission, either party may reopen all or 6
part of the agreement. 7
Sec. 8. RCW 41.80.010 and 2022 c 297 s 951 are each amended to 8
read as follows: 9
(1) For the purpose of negotiating collective bargaining 10
agreements under this chapter, the employer shall be represented by 11
the governor or governor's designee, except as provided for 12
institutions of higher education in subsection (4) of this section.13
(2)(a)(i) Except as otherwise provided, if an exclusive 14
bargaining representative represents more than one bargaining unit, 15
the exclusive bargaining representative shall negotiate with each 16
employer representative as designated in subsection (1) of this 17
section one master collective bargaining agreement on behalf of all 18
the employees in bargaining units that the exclusive bargaining 19
representative represents. 20
(ii) For those exclusive bargaining representatives who represent 21
fewer than a total of five hundred employees each, negotiation shall 22
be by a coalition of all those exclusive bargaining representatives. 23
The coalition shall bargain for a master collective bargaining 24
agreement covering all of the employees represented by the coalition. 25
The governor's designee and the exclusive bargaining representative 26
or representatives are authorized to enter into supplemental 27
bargaining of agency-specific issues for inclusion in or as an 28
addendum to the master collective bargaining agreement, subject to 29
the parties' agreement regarding the issues and procedures for 30
supplemental bargaining. Exclusive bargaining representatives that 31
represent employees covered under chapter 41.06 RCW and exclusive 32
bargaining representatives that represent employees exempt under 33
chapter 41.06 RCW shall constitute separate coalitions and must 34
negotiate separate master collective bargaining agreements. This 35
subsection does not prohibit cooperation and coordination of 36
bargaining between two or more exclusive bargaining representatives.37
(b) This subsection does not apply to exclusive bargaining 38
representatives who represent employees of institutions of higher 39
p. 19 SB 5415
education, except when the institution of higher education has 1
elected to exercise its option under subsection (4) of this section 2
to have its negotiations conducted by the governor or governor's 3
designee under the procedures provided for general government 4
agencies in subsections (1) through (3) of this section.5
(c) If five hundred or more employees of an independent state 6
elected official listed in RCW 43.01.010 are organized in a 7
bargaining unit or bargaining units under RCW 41.80.070, the official 8
shall be consulted by the governor or the governor's designee before 9
any agreement is reached under (a) of this subsection concerning 10
supplemental bargaining of agency specific issues affecting the 11
employees in such bargaining unit. 12
(d) For assistant attorneys general, the governor or the 13
governor's designee and an exclusive bargaining representative shall 14
negotiate one master collective bargaining agreement.15
(3) The governor shall submit a request for funds necessary to 16
implement the compensation and fringe benefit provisions in the 17
master collective bargaining agreement or for legislation necessary 18
to implement the agreement. Requests for funds necessary to implement 19
the provisions of bargaining agreements shall not be submitted to the 20
legislature by the governor unless such requests: 21
(a) Have been submitted to the director of the office of 22
financial management by October 1 prior to the legislative session at 23
which the requests are to be considered; and 24
(b) Have been certified by the director of the office of 25
financial management as being feasible financially for the state.26
The legislature shall approve or reject the submission of the 27
request for funds as a whole. The legislature shall not consider a 28
request for funds to implement a collective bargaining agreement 29
unless the request is transmitted to the legislature as part of the 30
governor's budget document submitted under RCW 43.88.030 and 31
43.88.060. If the legislature rejects or fails to act on the 32
submission, either party may reopen all or part of the agreement or 33
the exclusive bargaining representative may seek to implement the 34
procedures provided for in RCW 41.80.090. 35
(4)(a)(i) For the purpose of negotiating agreements for 36
institutions of higher education, the employer shall be the 37
respective governing board of each of the universities, colleges, or 38
community colleges or a designee chosen by the board to negotiate on 39
its behalf. 40
p. 20 SB 5415
(ii) A governing board of a university or college may elect to 1
have its negotiations conducted by the governor or governor's 2
designee under the procedures provided for general government 3
agencies in subsections (1) through (3) of this section, except that:4
(A) The governor or the governor's designee and an exclusive 5
bargaining representative shall negotiate one master collective 6
bargaining agreement for all of the bargaining units of employees of 7
a university or college that the representative represents; or8
(B) If the parties mutually agree, the governor or the governor's 9
designee and an exclusive bargaining representative shall negotiate 10
one master collective bargaining agreement for all of the bargaining 11
units of employees of more than one university or college that the 12
representative represents. 13
(iii) A governing board of a community college may elect to have 14
its negotiations conducted by the governor or governor's designee 15
under the procedures provided for general government agencies in 16
subsections (1) through (3) of this section. 17
(b) Prior to entering into negotiations under this chapter, the 18
institutions of higher education or their designees shall consult 19
with the director of the office of financial management regarding 20
financial and budgetary issues that are likely to arise in the 21
impending negotiations. 22
(c)(i) In the case of bargaining agreements reached between 23
institutions of higher education other than the University of 24
Washington and exclusive bargaining representatives agreed to under 25
the provisions of this chapter, if appropriations are necessary to 26
implement the compensation and fringe benefit provisions of the 27
bargaining agreements, the governor shall submit a request for such 28
funds to the legislature according to the provisions of subsection 29
(3) of this section, except as provided in (c)(iii) of this 30
subsection. 31
(ii) In the case of bargaining agreements reached between the 32
University of Washington and exclusive bargaining representatives 33
agreed to under the provisions of this chapter, if appropriations are 34
necessary to implement the compensation and fringe benefit provisions 35
of a bargaining agreement, the governor shall submit a request for 36
such funds to the legislature according to the provisions of 37
subsection (3) of this section, except as provided in this subsection 38
(4)(c)(ii) and as provided in (c)(iii) of this subsection.39
p. 21 SB 5415
(A) If appropriations of less than ten thousand dollars are 1
necessary to implement the provisions of a bargaining agreement, a 2
request for such funds shall not be submitted to the legislature by 3
the governor unless the request has been submitted to the director of 4
the office of financial management by October 1 prior to the 5
legislative session at which the request is to be considered.6
(B) If appropriations of ten thousand dollars or more are 7
necessary to implement the provisions of a bargaining agreement, a 8
request for such funds shall not be submitted to the legislature by 9
the governor unless the request: 10
(I) Has been submitted to the director of the office of financial 11
management by October 1 prior to the legislative session at which the 12
request is to be considered; and 13
(II) Has been certified by the director of the office of 14
financial management as being feasible financially for the state.15
(C) If the director of the office of financial management does 16
not certify a request under (c)(ii)(B) of this subsection as being 17
feasible financially for the state, the parties shall enter into 18
collective bargaining solely for the purpose of reaching a mutually 19
agreed upon modification of the agreement necessary to address the 20
absence of those requested funds. The legislature may act upon the 21
compensation and fringe benefit provisions of the modified collective 22
bargaining agreement if those provisions are agreed upon and 23
submitted to the office of financial management and legislative 24
budget committees before final legislative action on the biennial or 25
supplemental operating budget by the sitting legislature.26
(iii) In the case of a bargaining unit of employees of 27
institutions of higher education in which the exclusive bargaining 28
representative is certified during or after the conclusion of a 29
legislative session, the legislature may act upon the compensation 30
and fringe benefit provisions of the unit's initial collective 31
bargaining agreement if those provisions are agreed upon and 32
submitted to the office of financial management and legislative 33
budget committees before final legislative action on the biennial or 34
supplemental operating budget by the sitting legislature.35
(5)(a) The director of the office of financial management shall 36
not certify as financially feasible any collective bargaining 37
agreement under subsection (3)(b) or (4)(c)(ii)(B)(II) of this 38
section if the governor's budget document or any appendix to a budget 39
p. 22 SB 5415
or budget document submitted under RCW 43.88.030 and 43.88.060 1
proposes to: 2
(i) Fund expenditures by raising taxes; or3
(ii) Withdraw and appropriate funds from the budget stabilization 4
account that requires a favorable vote of at least three-fifths of 5
the members of each house of the legislature.6
(b) For purposes of this subsection, "raising taxes" means any 7
action or combination of actions by the state legislature that 8
increases state tax revenue deposited in any fund, budget, or 9
account, regardless of whether the revenues are deposited into the 10
general fund.11
(6) If, after the compensation and fringe benefit provisions of 12
an agreement are approved by the legislature, a significant revenue 13
shortfall occurs resulting in reduced appropriations, as declared by 14
proclamation of the governor or by resolution of the legislature, 15
both parties shall immediately enter into collective bargaining for a 16
mutually agreed upon modification of the agreement.17
(((6))) (7) After the expiration date of a collective bargaining 18
agreement negotiated under this chapter, all of the terms and 19
conditions specified in the collective bargaining agreement remain in 20
effect until the effective date of a subsequently negotiated 21
agreement, not to exceed one year from the expiration date stated in 22
the agreement. Thereafter, the employer may unilaterally implement 23
according to law. 24
(((7))) (8)(a) For the 2019-2021 fiscal biennium, the legislature 25
may approve funding for a collective bargaining agreement negotiated 26
by a higher education institution and the Washington federation of 27
state employees and ratified by the exclusive bargaining 28
representative before final legislative action on the omnibus 29
appropriations act by the sitting legislature. 30
(b) Subsection (3)(a) and (b) of this section do not apply to 31
requests for funding made pursuant to this subsection.32
(((8))) (9)(a) For the 2021-2023 fiscal biennium, the legislature 33
may approve funding for a collective bargaining agreement negotiated 34
by the governor or governor's designee and the Washington public 35
employees association community college coalition and the general 36
government agencies and ratified by the exclusive bargaining 37
representative before final legislative action on the omnibus 38
appropriations act by the sitting legislature. 39
p. 23 SB 5415
(b) For the 2021-2023 fiscal biennium, the legislature may 1
approve funding for a collective bargaining agreement negotiated 2
between Highline Community College and the Washington public 3
employees association and ratified by the exclusive bargaining 4
representative before final legislative action on the omnibus 5
appropriations act by the sitting legislature. 6
(c) For the 2021-2023 fiscal biennium, the legislature may 7
approve funding for collective bargaining agreements negotiated 8
between Eastern Washington University and bargaining units of the 9
Washington federation of state employees and the public school 10
employees association, and between Yakima Valley College and the 11
Washington public employees association, and ratified by the 12
exclusive bargaining representatives before final legislative action 13
on the omnibus appropriations act by the sitting legislature.14
(d) Subsection (3)(a) and (b) of this section does not apply to 15
requests for funding made pursuant to this subsection.16
Sec. 9. RCW 47.64.170 and 2015 3rd sp.s. c 1 s 305 are each 17
amended to read as follows: 18
(1) Any ferry employee organization certified as the bargaining 19
representative shall be the exclusive representative of all ferry 20
employees in the bargaining unit and shall represent all such 21
employees fairly. 22
(2) A ferry employee organization or organizations and the 23
governor may each designate any individual as its representative to 24
engage in collective bargaining negotiations. 25
(3) Negotiating sessions, including strategy meetings of the 26
employer or employee organizations, mediation, and the deliberative 27
process of arbitrators are exempt from the provisions of chapter 28
42.30 RCW. Hearings conducted by arbitrators may be open to the 29
public by mutual consent of the parties. 30
(4) Terms of any collective bargaining agreement may be enforced 31
by civil action in Thurston county superior court upon the initiative 32
of either party. 33
(5) Ferry system employees or any employee organization shall not 34
negotiate or attempt to negotiate directly with anyone other than the 35
person who has been appointed or authorized a bargaining 36
representative for the purpose of bargaining with the ferry employees 37
or their representative. 38
p. 24 SB 5415
(6)(a) Within ten working days after the first Monday in 1
September of every odd-numbered year, the parties shall attempt to 2
agree on an interest arbitrator to be used if the parties are not 3
successful in negotiating a comprehensive collective bargaining 4
agreement. If the parties cannot agree on an arbitrator within the 5
ten-day period, either party may request a list of seven arbitrators 6
from the federal mediation and conciliation service. The parties 7
shall select an interest arbitrator using the coin toss/alternate 8
strike method within thirty calendar days of receipt of the list. 9
Immediately upon selecting an interest arbitrator, the parties shall 10
cooperate to reserve dates with the arbitrator for potential 11
arbitration between August 1st and September 15th of the following 12
even-numbered year. The parties shall also prepare a schedule of at 13
least five negotiation dates for the following year, absent an 14
agreement to the contrary. The parties shall execute a written 15
agreement before November 1st of each odd-numbered year setting forth 16
the name of the arbitrator and the dates reserved for bargaining and 17
arbitration. This subsection (6)(a) imposes minimum obligations only 18
and is not intended to define or limit a party's full, good faith 19
bargaining obligation under other sections of this chapter.20
(b) The negotiation of a proposed collective bargaining agreement 21
by representatives of the employer and a ferry employee organization 22
shall commence on or about February 1st of every even-numbered year.23
(c) For negotiations covering the 2009-2011 biennium and 24
subsequent biennia, the time periods specified in this section, and 25
in RCW 47.64.210 and 47.64.300 through 47.64.320, must ensure 26
conclusion of all agreements on or before October 1st of the even-27
numbered year next preceding the biennial budget period during which 28
the agreement should take effect. These time periods may only be 29
altered by mutual agreement of the parties in writing. Any such 30
agreement and any impasse procedures agreed to by the parties under 31
RCW 47.64.200 must include an agreement regarding the new time 32
periods that will allow final resolution by negotiations or 33
arbitration by October 1st of each even-numbered year.34
(7) It is the intent of this section that the collective 35
bargaining agreement or arbitrator's award shall commence on July 1st 36
of each odd-numbered year and shall terminate on June 30th of the 37
next odd-numbered year to coincide with the ensuing biennial budget 38
year, as defined by RCW 43.88.020(((7))) (9), to the extent 39
practical. It is further the intent of this section that all 40
p. 25 SB 5415
collective bargaining agreements be concluded by October 1st of the 1
even-numbered year before the commencement of the biennial budget 2
year during which the agreements are to be in effect. After the 3
expiration date of a collective bargaining agreement negotiated under 4
this chapter, except to the extent provided in subsection (11) of 5
this section and RCW 47.64.270(4), all of the terms and conditions 6
specified in the collective bargaining agreement remain in effect 7
until the effective date of a subsequently negotiated agreement, not 8
to exceed one year from the expiration date stated in the agreement. 9
Thereafter, the employer may unilaterally implement according to law.10
(8) The office of financial management shall conduct a salary 11
survey, for use in collective bargaining and arbitration.12
(9) Except as provided in subsection (11) of this section:13
(a) The governor shall submit a request either for funds 14
necessary to implement the collective bargaining agreements 15
including, but not limited to, the compensation and fringe benefit 16
provisions or for legislation necessary to implement the agreement, 17
or both. Requests for funds necessary to implement the collective 18
bargaining agreements shall not be submitted to the legislature by 19
the governor unless such requests: 20
(i) Have been submitted to the director of the office of 21
financial management by October 1st before the legislative session at 22
which the requests are to be considered; and 23
(ii) Have been certified by the director of the office of 24
financial management as being feasible financially for the state.25
(b) The governor shall submit a request either for funds 26
necessary to implement the arbitration awards or for legislation 27
necessary to implement the arbitration awards, or both. Requests for 28
funds necessary to implement the arbitration awards shall not be 29
submitted to the legislature by the governor unless such requests:30
(i) Have been submitted to the director of the office of 31
financial management by October 1st before the legislative session at 32
which the requests are to be considered; and 33
(ii) Have been certified by the director of the office of 34
financial management as being feasible financially for the state.35
(c)(i) The director of the office of financial management shall 36
not certify as financially feasible any collective bargaining 37
agreement under (a)(ii) or (b)(ii) of this subsection if the 38
governor's budget document or any appendix to a budget or budget 39
document submitted under RCW 43.88.030 and 43.88.060 proposes to:40
p. 26 SB 5415
(A) Fund expenditures by raising taxes; or1
(B) Withdraw and appropriate funds from the budget stabilization 2
account that requires a favorable vote of at least three-fifths of 3
the members of each house of the legislature.4
(ii) For purposes of this subsection, "raising taxes" means any 5
action or combination of actions by the state legislature that 6
increases state tax revenue deposited in any fund, budget, or 7
account, regardless of whether the revenues are deposited into the 8
general fund.9
(d) The legislature shall approve or reject the submission of the 10
request for funds necessary to implement the collective bargaining 11
agreements or arbitration awards as a whole for each agreement or 12
award. The legislature shall not consider a request for funds to 13
implement a collective bargaining agreement or arbitration award 14
unless the request is transmitted to the legislature as part of the 15
governor's budget document submitted under RCW 43.88.030 and 16
43.88.060. If the legislature rejects or fails to act on the 17
submission, either party may reopen all or part of the agreement and 18
award or the exclusive bargaining representative may seek to 19
implement the procedures provided for in RCW 47.64.210 and 47.64.300.20
(10) If, after the compensation and fringe benefit provisions of 21
an agreement are approved by the legislature, a significant revenue 22
shortfall occurs resulting in reduced appropriations, as declared by 23
proclamation of the governor or by resolution of the legislature, 24
both parties shall immediately enter into collective bargaining for a 25
mutually agreed upon modification of the agreement.26
(11)(a) For the collective bargaining agreements negotiated for 27
the 2011-2013 fiscal biennium, the legislature may consider a request 28
for funds to implement a collective bargaining agreement even if the 29
request for funds was not received by the office of financial 30
management by October 1st and was not transmitted to the legislature 31
as part of the governor's budget document submitted under RCW 32
43.88.030 and 43.88.060. 33
(b) For the 2013-2015 fiscal biennium, a collective bargaining 34
agreement related to employee health care benefits negotiated between 35
the employer and coalition pursuant to RCW 41.80.020(3) regarding the 36
dollar amount expended on behalf of each employee must be a separate 37
agreement for which the governor may request funds necessary to 38
implement the agreement. The legislature may act upon a 2013-2015 39
collective bargaining agreement related to employee health care 40
p. 27 SB 5415
benefits if an agreement is reached and submitted to the office of 1
financial management and legislative budget committees before final 2
legislative action on the biennial or supplemental operating budget 3
by the sitting legislature. 4
(c) For the collective bargaining agreements negotiated for the 5
2013-2015 fiscal biennium, the legislature may consider a request for 6
funds to implement a collective bargaining agreement reached after 7
October 1st after a determination of financial infeasibility by the 8
director of the office of financial management if the request for 9
funds is transmitted to the legislature as part of the governor's 10
budget document submitted under RCW 43.88.030 and 43.88.060.11
Sec. 10. RCW 74.39A.300 and 2018 c 278 s 22 are each amended to 12
read as follows: 13
If the department contracts with any individual providers for 14
personal care services, funding will be determined in accordance with 15
the following process: 16
(1) Upon meeting the requirements of subsection (2) of this 17
section, the governor must submit, as a part of the proposed biennial 18
or supplemental operating budget submitted to the legislature under 19
RCW 43.88.030, a request for funds necessary to administer in-home 20
care programs under this chapter and to implement the compensation 21
and fringe benefits provisions of a collective bargaining agreement 22
entered into under RCW 74.39A.270 or for legislation necessary to 23
implement such agreement. 24
(2) A request for funds necessary to implement the compensation 25
and fringe benefits provisions of a collective bargaining agreement 26
entered into under RCW 74.39A.270 shall not be submitted by the 27
governor to the legislature unless such request: 28
(a) Has been submitted to the director of financial management by 29
October 1st prior to the legislative session at which the request is 30
to be considered; and 31
(b) Has been certified by the director of financial management as 32
being feasible financially for the state or reflects the binding 33
decision of an arbitrator reached under RCW 74.39A.270(2)(c).34
(3)(a) The director of the office of financial management shall 35
not certify as financially feasible any collective bargaining 36
agreement under subsection (2)(b) of this section if the governor's 37
budget document or any appendix to a budget or budget document 38
submitted under RCW 43.88.030 and 43.88.060 proposes to:39
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(i) Fund expenditures by raising taxes; or1
(ii) Withdraw and appropriate funds from the budget stabilization 2
account that requires a favorable vote of at least three-fifths of 3
the members of each house of the legislature.4
(b) For purposes of this subsection, "raising taxes" means any 5
action or combination of actions by the state legislature that 6
increases state tax revenue deposited in any fund, budget, or 7
account, regardless of whether the revenues are deposited into the 8
general fund.9
(4) The legislature must approve or reject the submission of the 10
request for funds as a whole. If the legislature rejects or fails to 11
act on the submission, any such agreement will be reopened solely for 12
the purpose of renegotiating the funds necessary to implement the 13
agreement. 14
(((4))) (5) When any increase in individual provider wages or 15
benefits is negotiated or agreed to, no increase in wages or benefits 16
negotiated or agreed to under this chapter will take effect unless 17
and until, before its implementation, the department has determined 18
that the increase is consistent with federal law and federal 19
financial participation in the provision of services under Title XIX 20
of the federal social security act. 21
(((5))) (6) The governor shall periodically consult with the 22
joint committee on employment relations established by RCW 41.80.010 23
regarding appropriations necessary to implement the compensation and 24
fringe benefits provisions of any collective bargaining agreement 25
and, upon completion of negotiations, advise the committee on the 26
elements of the agreement and on any legislation necessary to 27
implement such agreement. 28
(((6))) (7) After the expiration date of any collective 29
bargaining agreement entered into under RCW 74.39A.270, all of the 30
terms and conditions specified in any such agreement remain in effect 31
until the effective date of a subsequent agreement, not to exceed one 32
year from the expiration date stated in the agreement, except as 33
provided in RCW 74.39A.270. 34
(((7))) (8) If, after the compensation and benefit provisions of 35
an agreement are approved by the legislature, a significant revenue 36
shortfall occurs resulting in reduced appropriations, as declared by 37
proclamation of the governor or by resolution of the legislature, 38
both parties shall immediately enter into collective bargaining for a 39
mutually agreed upon modification of the agreement.40
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Sec. 11. RCW 74.39A.530 and 2021 c 186 s 2 are each amended to 1
read as follows: 2
If the department contracts with a consumer directed employer:3
(1) In addition to overtime and compensable travel time set forth 4
in RCW 74.39A.525, the initial labor rates shall be paid as described 5
in the most recent collective bargaining agreement between the 6
governor and the service employees international union 775, plus the 7
hourly roll-up costs of any additional legally required benefits or 8
labor costs, until subsequent rates can be established in accordance 9
with this section. 10
(2) A rate-setting board is established which is comprised of the 11
voting members and nonvoting members to evaluate and propose changes 12
in the rates paid to the consumer directed employer.13
(a) The following members shall be voting members:14
(i) One representative from the governor's office;15
(ii) One representative from the department; 16
(iii) One representative from each consumer directed employer; 17
and 18
(iv) One designee from the exclusive bargaining representative of 19
individual providers or, in the absence of an exclusive bargaining 20
representative, a designee from the consumer directed employer 21
workforce chosen by the employees of the consumer directed employer.22
(b) The following nine members of the board shall be nonvoting 23
advisory members: 24
(i) Four legislators, one member from each caucus of the house of 25
representatives and the senate; 26
(ii) One representative from the state council on aging, 27
appointed by the governor; 28
(iii) One representative of an organization representing people 29
with intellectual or developmental disabilities appointed by the 30
governor; 31
(iv) One representative of an organization representing people 32
with physical disabilities appointed by the governor;33
(v) One representative from the licensed home care agency 34
industry chosen by the state's largest association of home care 35
agencies that primarily serves state-funded clients; and36
(vi) One home care worker chosen by the state's largest 37
organization of home care workers. 38
(c) The governor's appointments shall be made by April 1st in 39
even-numbered years. 40
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(3) When the board membership has four voting members listed in 1
subsection (2)(a) of this section, each voting member shall have one 2
vote. When there are five voting members due to two consumer directed 3
employer representatives, each voting member listed in subsection 4
(2)(a) of this section shall have two votes with the exception of the 5
consumer directed employer representatives who shall have one vote. 6
Voting members cannot split their votes. A majority of the voting 7
members of the board constitutes a quorum for the transaction of 8
business and is necessary for any action taken by the board.9
(4) Beginning in the year following the establishment of the 10
initial rate under subsection (1) of this section, and in every even-11
numbered year thereafter, the rate-setting board shall attempt to 12
determine a proposed labor rate, including a specific amount for 13
health benefits by considering the factors listed in RCW 41.56.465 14
(1) and (5). In addition, the rate-setting board shall attempt to 15
determine an administrative rate for the consumer directed employer.16
In addition, the rate-setting board may take testimony and make a 17
recommendation regarding the administrative vendor rate for home care 18
agencies that serve medicaid clients. 19
(5) The department shall provide administrative support for the 20
board. 21
(a) At the commencement of the board's rate-setting activities, 22
the voting members must first attempt to select an additional voting 23
member, who will chair the rate-setting board and will cast a tie-24
breaking vote if the voting members identified in subsection (2) of 25
this section are unable to pass by majority vote on the labor rate.26
(b) On the first occasion that the voting members identified in 27
subsection (2)(a) of this section fail to select a tie-breaking 28
member by a majority vote, the chair member will be selected as 29
follows: 30
(i) The voting member representing the governor's office shall 31
request a list of five qualified arbitrators, or six if there are two 32
consumer directed employers, from the federal mediation and 33
conciliation service. 34
(ii) If a majority of the voting members of the board cannot 35
agree on the selection of a neutral arbitrator from the list, the 36
representative from the consumer directed employer who first 37
contacted the department will strike a name from the list first. The 38
representative from the governor's office shall then strike a name 39
from the list, the designee from the exclusive bargaining 40
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representative or, in the absence of an exclusive bargaining 1
representative, the designee from the consumer directed employer 2
workforce shall strike a name from the list, if there are two 3
consumer directed employers, the second representative will strike a 4
name from the list, and finally the representative from the 5
department shall strike a name from the list. 6
(iii) The name of the arbitrator remaining after the final strike 7
shall be the chair member of the board. 8
(iv) If that person is not willing or available to be the chair 9
member, the second to last person remaining on the list shall be 10
asked to be the chair member. If the second to last person is not 11
willing or available, the third to last person shall be asked to be 12
the chair member. This process of selecting an arbitrator shall be 13
continued until a chair member of the board is appointed.14
(c) On the next occasion that the voting members identified in 15
subsection (2)(a) of this section fail to select a chair member by a 16
majority vote, the chair member will be selected using the method 17
described in (b) of this subsection except that the order of board 18
members striking names from the list, described in (b)(ii) of this 19
subsection, shall be reversed. 20
(d) On each successive occasion that the voting members 21
identified in subsection (2)(a) of this section fail to select a 22
chair member by a majority vote, the order of voting members striking 23
names from the list will continue to alternate between the order 24
described in (b)(ii) and (c) of this subsection. 25
(6) If an agreement on a proposed labor rate, an administrative 26
rate, or both, is not reached by a majority of the voting members of 27
the rate-setting board prior to July 1st, then: 28
(a) The labor rate shall be determined by the vote of the chair 29
member, who was selected in accordance with subsections (2) and 30
(5)(a) of this section; and 31
(b) The administrative rate shall be determined by the 32
department. 33
(7) After the rates have been determined in accordance with 34
subsections (3) through (6) of this section, they shall be submitted 35
to the director of the office of financial management by October 1st 36
prior to the legislative session during which the requests are to be 37
considered for review. If the director of the office of financial 38
management certifies them as being feasible financially for the 39
state, the governor shall include a request for funds necessary to 40
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implement the proposed rates as part of the governor's budget 1
document submitted under RCW 43.88.030 and 43.88.060. The legislature 2
shall approve or reject the request for funds as a whole.3
(8)(a) The director of the office of financial management shall 4
not certify as financially feasible any collective bargaining 5
agreement under subsection (7) of this section if the governor's 6
budget document or any appendix to a budget or budget document 7
submitted under RCW 43.88.030 and 43.88.060 proposes to:8
(i) Fund expenditures by raising taxes; or9
(ii) Withdraw and appropriate funds from the budget stabilization 10
account that requires a favorable vote of at least three-fifths of 11
the members of each house of the legislature.12
(b) For purposes of this subsection, "raising taxes" means any 13
action or combination of actions by the state legislature that 14
increases state tax revenue deposited in any fund, budget, or 15
account, regardless of whether the revenues are deposited into the 16
general fund.17
(9) If the legislature rejects the request under subsection (6) 18
of this section, the matter shall return to the rate-setting board 19
established under this section for further consideration. Until the 20
legislature approves a request for funds under this section, the 21
current labor rate shall stay in effect. 22
(((9))) (10) The labor rate approved by the legislature shall be 23
an hourly rate paid to the consumer directed employer. The labor rate 24
shall be used exclusively for paying the wages, associated taxes, and 25
benefits of individual providers. The consumer directed employer 26
shall have full discretion to set wages and benefits for individual 27
providers, except as provided in: (a) Subsection (((10))) (11) of 28
this section; (b) any specific legislative appropriation requirement; 29
or (c) a collective bargaining agreement, if applicable.30
(((10))) (11) The labor rate shall include a specific hourly 31
amount that the consumer directed employer may use only for health 32
benefits for individual providers. 33
(((11))) (12) The department shall make a one-time transfer of 34
funds totaling the full amount of previously unclaimed paid time off 35
to the consumer directed employer, and shall transfer all associated 36
liabilities for payment of unclaimed paid time off to the consumer 37
directed employer. This amount shall be accounted for as a labor rate 38
payment. 39
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(((12))) (13) The department shall have the authority to modify 1
the labor rate and the administrative rate between the rate-setting 2
board's rate-setting activities without convening the rate-setting 3
board or following the preceding rate-setting process, subject to the 4
following conditions: 5
(a) The department finds the changes to the rates necessary to:6
(i) Recognize changes to the department's required expenditures 7
or the consumer directed employer's required costs associated with 8
changes to tax rates, required employer contributions, mileage rate 9
allowances, and utilization of overtime to comply with RCW 10
74.39A.525; or 11
(ii) Comply with a significant change in state or federal rule or 12
law that would impact the consumer directed employer's ability to 13
operate; 14
(b) Changes to the rates shall not exceed two percent of the 15
combined labor and administrative rates; and 16
(c) Any increase to the rates is contingent on appropriation of 17
adequate funds by the legislature. 18
(((13))) (14) For the purpose of this section:19
(a) "Labor rate" is defined as that portion of the consumer 20
directed employer's hourly rate that is to be used by the consumer 21
directed employer to compensate its workers, including wages, 22
benefits, and any associated taxes. 23
(b) "Administrative rate" is defined as that portion of the 24
consumer directed employer's hourly rate that is to be used by the 25
consumer directed employer to perform its administrative duties 26
including losses for bad debt, compensation for business and 27
occupation taxes on the labor and administrative rates, and all other 28
costs associated with operating as the consumer directed employer.29
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