Washington state public bank

AN ACT Relating to the creation of the Washington state public 1
bank; amending RCW 39.59.040, 42.56.270, 42.56.400, 43.10.067, and 2
43.84.080; adding a new section to chapter 43.08 RCW; adding a new 3
chapter to Title 43 RCW; and creating a new section.4
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:5
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. FINDINGS AND INTENT. The legislature finds 6
that Washington state needs to drastically increase our public 7
financing capacity without raising taxes on working families or 8
financial debt obligations of the state.9
The legislature finds that the infrastructure needs of our state 10
far outstrip our ability to finance them under our current public 11
financing model, which relies heavily on bonding. This reliance on 12
bonding diverts much needed and hard-earned tax revenues of our 13
taxpayers from critical programs that benefit them and the state.14
The legislature finds that public financing for public benefit is 15
a much better strategy than private financing for public benefit and 16
that most of the developed world uses public banks to finance public 17
initiatives. Publicly owned banking is a much more efficient model 18
for public financing and is proven and used around the world. The 19
United States is more an anomaly than the norm in depending on 20
private banking and investments to finance public initiatives.21
S-1311.2
SENATE BILL 5754
State of Washington 69th Legislature 2025 Regular Session
By Senators Hasegawa, Trudeau, Conway, Dhingra, Lovelett, Saldaña,
Stanford, and C. Wilson
Read first time 02/14/25. Referred to Committee on Business,
Financial Services & Trade.
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The legislature further finds that there exists one public 1
financing model in the United States, which is the Bank of North 2
Dakota. The Bank of North Dakota is the only public depository 3
banking model in the United States that is owned by the people of the 4
state and has existed for over 100 years, overcoming tremendous 5
opposition efforts by the banking industry and financiers to squash 6
it. It regularly reports record annual profits for the people of the 7
state of North Dakota, who are very proud of their public institution 8
because it benefits their economy and supports economic development, 9
supports local community banks, provides access to capital for small 10
businesses and farmers, aids the state in times of disasters, can 11
lower borrowing costs, streamlines government, creates profits for 12
the people, and is generally recognized as a tremendous asset for the 13
state. 14
The legislature finds that our state has many revolving loan 15
accounts that do good work, but they are limited in the sense that 16
they can only lend as much money as is in the account and can only 17
lend more money after the accounts have been repaid. Examples of 18
these accounts are the public works assistance account, accounts for 19
the community economic revitalization board, the transportation 20
infrastructure bank (which is not a depository bank), and more. These 21
accounts would be able to lend well beyond their current appropriated 22
capacity when powered by a publicly owned depository bank where the 23
deposits allow leveraging of the bank's core capital capacity.24
The legislature finds that, based on a 2023 report, Moody's 25
calculates that Washington state has the fifth highest level of debt 26
service as a percentage of general fund revenues amongst all states.27
Senate Bill No. 5194 (2025), this year's capital budget bond 28
bill, proposes issuing $5 billion of bonds this biennium to finance 29
our capital budget. To do a general calculation of the total cost of 30
$5 billion in bonds over 20 years, the bond's face value, $5 billion, 31
would need to be multiplied by the total interest accrued over the 32
term of the bonds, 20 years, which depends on the interest rate of 33
the bond. The 20-year treasury bond issued on January 31, 2025, had a 34
rate of 4.625 percent. 35
The legislature finds that bond costs including fees can double 36
the costs of financing or more, depending on the interest rates at 37
the time of issuance. For example, if a $5 billion bond had a five 38
percent annual interest rate maturing in 20 years, the total cost of 39
the $5 billion bond to the state's general fund would be $10 billion. 40
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The interest per year would be $5 billion multiplied by five percent, 1
which equals $250 million. The total cost would be $5 billion, the 2
bond principal, plus $5 billion, the total interest, which equals $10 3
billion. Similarly, the total cost of the same $5 billion bonds over 4
30 years is: $5 billion, the principal, plus $7.5 billion, the 5
interest, equals $12.5 billion. 6
The legislature finds that creating a state-owned depository bank 7
and, for example, keeping $500 million in reserves in the publicly 8
owned bank would safely leverage out to provide the same $5 billion 9
in financing capacity necessary to fund the capital budget without 10
the need for a Senate Bill No. 5194-type bond bill. A state-owned 11
depository bank would help meet our infrastructure financing needs 12
without raising taxes or increasing debt obligation of the state's 13
general fund, allowing the general fund to be fully used for the 14
benefit of the people rather than providing profits for Wall Street 15
investors. 16
The legislature finds that fractional reserve banking is standard 17
banking practice in the United States and around the world. It is a 18
banking system where banks keep a portion of deposits on reserve and 19
lend the rest. This system allows banks to create loans and expand 20
the economy. While the United States has no specific reserve 21
requirement, a 10 percent reserve is standard banking practice and 22
considered safe under standard banking regulations and practices and 23
given other forms of access to liquidity. In other words, $1 billion 24
held in reserves in a publicly owned depository bank and leveraged 25
with our tax revenue as deposits would provide $10 billion in loan 26
capacity and would generate profits for the people of the state 27
through interest rate of return on the $10 billion as loans. This 28
would amount to a tenfold increase in the infrastructure financing 29
capacity of the original $1 billion, stimulate our economy, and 30
create jobs, while simultaneously lowering borrowing costs and still 31
making a profit for the people of the state. 32
For example, if a revolving loan account of $1 billion lends all 33
$1 billion at five percent interest, the account makes $50 million in 34
interest. However, that same $1 billion held in any commercial 35
depository bank charging five percent interest can leverage those 36
same funds up to 10 times and makes profits for shareholders of $500 37
million. A publicly owned depository bank can charge whatever lower 38
interest rate it chooses, for example two percent, or it can charge 39
zero percent for some smaller loans financing the most emergent needs 40
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and supported by the legislature, and still make money for the 1
people. $1 billion multiplied by two percent and 10, the leverage, 2
equals a $200 million profit for the people, and the low interest 3
loans it makes to the state and local governments go back into 4
Washington's local economies, fund needed programs in our state, and 5
create jobs rather than profits for large banks, bond brokers, and 6
investment firms. 7
The legislature finds that the state and political subdivisions 8
already hold billions of dollars in reserves and accounts, which can 9
be held in the publicly owned depository bank and can be used either 10
as equity capital or general deposits in a depository account.11
The legislature finds that, through a state publicly owned bank, 12
the state could borrow from itself at rates the state decides, and 13
repay the state, thereby growing the state's capacity to finance more 14
infrastructure while also making profits for the people of the state, 15
not for Wall Street investors. A state-owned bank would allow the 16
state to keep tax revenues in the state and working for the state 17
instead of exporting tax revenues as an engine for profits to Wall 18
Street investors. 19
The legislature finds that banks use deposits to leverage the 20
capital that owners have used to create the bank, known as equity 21
capital. A fundamental standard banking practice is that banks can 22
use their deposits to leverage the lending capacity of their equity 23
capital up to tenfold, which is accepted throughout the banking 24
industry as safe and standard banking practice. 25
The legislature finds that by creating a bank, which is owned by 26
the people of the state of Washington, and using it as the depository 27
for taxes paid by the people of the state instead of using Wall 28
Street banks, the state of Washington could recapture the power of 29
our tax dollars for the benefit of the state and drastically increase 30
our public financing capacity by an order of magnitude and at lower 31
costs without raising taxes or increasing state debt.32
The legislature intends to create a depository bank, owned and 33
operated for the beneficial interests of the people of the state of 34
Washington. The state shall, and political subdivisions may, use this 35
publicly owned bank as the primary depository institution for tax 36
revenue and other funds currently held at large financial 37
institutions. The state and political subdivisions are not prohibited 38
from holding some deposits in local community banks, credit unions, 39
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or other financial institutions when it serves the best interests of 1
the people. 2
The legislature intends for the state treasurer to transfer as 3
much of the state's general fund and concentration account into the 4
publicly owned depository bank as is deemed necessary and prudent by 5
the board to facilitate the growth of the bank with the goal of 6
eventually transferring all state moneys currently held in deposit at 7
large Wall Street banks. 8
The legislature further intends for this public depository bank 9
to follow best banking and prudent management practices with 10
appropriate levels of transparency, accountability, integrity, and 11
oversight by the appropriate financial industry regulatory 12
institutions. The legislature further intends for the board to ensure 13
the long-term financial success of the bank as a foundational 14
facility for future generations of Washingtonians to address the 15
needs of their time, which are impossible to predict now other than 16
to recognize the state will need resources to achieve the state's 17
goals, which this bank will provide. 18
The legislature further intends for this public depository bank 19
to provide adequate financing capacity and access to capital for 20
local governments in the state to finance infrastructure, support 21
educational, housing, transportation, health care, and economic 22
development, and other unmet infrastructure and banking and lending 23
needs of local governments, the state, and the people, and, to the 24
greatest extent possible, reduce costs of borrowed money to taxpayers 25
and residents of the state. The legislature further intends for the 26
best interests of the people to be the paramount duty of the publicly 27
owned depository bank. 28
NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. This act may be known and cited as the 29
public banking for public benefit act.30
NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. DEFINITIONS. The definitions in this 31
section apply throughout this chapter unless the context clearly 32
requires otherwise.33
(1) "Board" means the operating board of the public bank 34
established in section 4 of this act. 35
(2) "Bonds" means any bonds, notes, debentures, interim 36
certificates, conditional sales or lease financing agreements, lines 37
of credit, forward purchase agreements, investment agreements, and 38
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other banking or financial arrangements, guaranties, or other 1
obligations issued by or entered into by the public bank, which does 2
not create state debt. Such bonds may be issued on either a tax-3
exempt or taxable basis. 4
(3) "Borrower" means one or more local or tribal governments.5
(4) "Financial assistance" means the infusion of capital to a 6
borrower for use in the planning, acquisition, construction, repair, 7
replacement, rehabilitation, development, and expansion of 8
infrastructure and economic development projects. 9
(5) "Financing agreements" means, and includes without 10
limitation, a contractual arrangement with a borrower whereby the 11
public bank obtains rights from a borrower in exchange for the 12
granting of financial assistance to the borrower. 13
(6) "Financing document" means an instrument executed by the 14
public bank and one or more borrowers pertaining to the issuance of 15
or security for bonds, or the application of the proceeds of bonds or 16
other funds of, or payable to, the public bank. A "financing 17
document" may include, but need not be limited to, a lease, 18
installment sale agreement, conditional sale agreement, mortgage, 19
loan agreement, trust agreement or indenture, security agreement, 20
letter or line of credit, reimbursement agreement, insurance policy, 21
guaranty agreement, or currency or interest rate swap agreement. A 22
"financing document" also may be an agreement between the public bank 23
and an eligible banking organization which has agreed to make a loan 24
to a borrower. 25
(7) "Infrastructure project" means undertakings for the planning, 26
acquisition, construction, repair, replacement, rehabilitation, or 27
improvement of streets and roads, bridges, water systems, storm and 28
sanitary sewage systems, solid waste handling, pollution control 29
facilities, schools, communications systems, docks and wharves, mass 30
transportation facilities and equipment, public housing, fire 31
suppressing and emergency services equipment and facilities, energy 32
generating, conservation, or transmission facilities, and other 33
public infrastructure deemed eligible by the board.34
(8) "Local government" means any Washington city, town, county, 35
special purpose district, authority, instrumentality, or other local 36
municipal or interlocal entity created pursuant to Washington law.37
(9) "Member" means the state government, a local government, or a 38
tribal government that has joined the public bank consistent with 39
section 5 of this act. 40
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(10) "Project costs" means costs of: 1
(a) Acquisition, lease, construction, reconstruction, remodeling, 2
refurbishing, rehabilitation, extension, and enlargement of land, 3
rights to land, buildings, structures, docks, wharves, fixtures, 4
machinery, equipment, excavations, paving, landscaping, utilities, 5
approaches, roadways and parking, handling and storage areas, and 6
similar ancillary facilities, and any other real or personal property 7
included in an infrastructure project; 8
(b) Architectural, engineering, consulting, accounting, and legal 9
costs related directly to the development, financing, acquisition, 10
lease, construction, reconstruction, remodeling, refurbishing, 11
rehabilitation, extension, and enlargement of an infrastructure 12
project, including costs of studies assessing the feasibility of an 13
infrastructure project; 14
(c) Finance costs, including the costs of credit enhancement and 15
discounts, if any, the costs of issuing revenue bonds, and the costs 16
incurred in carrying out any financing document; 17
(d) Start-up costs, working capital, capitalized research and 18
development costs, capitalized interest during construction and 19
during the 18 months after estimated completion of construction, and 20
capitalized debt service or repair and replacement or other 21
appropriate reserves; 22
(e) The refunding of any outstanding obligations incurred for any 23
of the costs outlined in this subsection; and 24
(f) Other costs incidental to any of the costs listed in this 25
subsection. 26
(11) "Public bank" means the Washington state public bank 27
established in section 4 of this act, or any board, body, commission, 28
department, or officer succeeding to the principal functions of the 29
public bank or to whom the powers conferred upon the public bank are 30
given by law. 31
(12) "State" means the state of Washington and any department, 32
agency, or instrumentality thereof other than the public bank.33
(13) "Tribal government" means the governing body of a federally 34
recognized Indian tribe. 35
NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. ESTABLISHMENT. (1) The Washington state 36
public bank is established as a public body corporate and politic, 37
with perpetual corporate succession, constituting an instrumentality 38
of the state of Washington exercising essential governmental 39
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functions. The public bank is a public body as defined in RCW 1
39.53.010. 2
(2)(a) The public bank is activated when: 3
(i) An appropriation that is sufficient to capitalize the public 4
bank so that it can issue debt with a competitive rating is provided. 5
This appropriation may be from either state funds or federal funds, 6
or from any combination of both. The state treasurer shall provide 7
sufficient funding to capitalize the public bank; and8
(ii) Executed articles of activation in a form approved by the 9
state finance committee are filed with the secretary of state.10
(b) The public bank is deemed to have been formed as of the date 11
of filing articles of activation under (a)(ii) of this subsection. 12
The articles of activation must be approved by the legislative 13
authority of each of the member local or tribal governments that 14
subsequently becomes a member. Each member local or tribal government 15
must provide to the public bank a contribution of an amount approved 16
by the state finance committee, and the board may subsequently adjust 17
the minimum contribution level for current and new members. Any 18
amendments to the articles of activation must be filed with the 19
secretary of state and become effective on the date of filing.20
(3) The state treasurer shall transfer as much of the state's 21
general fund and concentration account into the public bank as is 22
deemed necessary and prudent by the board to facilitate the growth of 23
the bank with the goal of eventually transferring all state moneys 24
currently held in deposit at large Wall Street banks.25
(4) A duplicate of the original articles of activation and 26
amended articles of activation must be filed with the department of 27
financial institutions. The filing of amended articles of activation 28
must include the text of each amendment adopted and the date of its 29
adoption. The public bank must also file the following with the 30
department of financial institutions: 31
(a) The address of the location of the main office of the public 32
bank; 33
(b) The names and places of residence of the persons who are 34
directors under this section; 35
(c) The name and place of residence of the executive director 36
hired by the board in accordance with this section;37
(d) Bylaws and regulations adopted and amended by the board under 38
section 5 of this act; and 39
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(e) Any other information the director of the department of 1
financial institutions deems necessary to perform a review of the 2
funds placed with the public bank and the accounts and transactions 3
of the public bank in carrying out the public bank's duties, as 4
provided in this section. 5
(5)(a) The operating board of the public bank consists of nine 6
directors. Terms of directors are four years, with half of the 7
initial directors other than the initial chair serving two-year terms 8
as determined by lot, with those positions being filled for four-year 9
terms thereafter. 10
(b) Five member appointed directors must be selected by a 11
majority of the members of the public bank. Member appointed 12
directors must be elected local or tribal government officials. Three 13
public directors must be appointed by the governor and confirmed by 14
the senate. The public directors must be residents of the state 15
appointed by the governor on the basis of their interest and 16
expertise in finance, accounting, budgeting, economic development, 17
infrastructure planning, design, construction, or project management. 18
The state treasurer shall serve as an ex officio director.19
(c) One of the public members shall be appointed by the governor 20
as chair of the board and shall serve as chair at the pleasure of the 21
governor. The initial chair must serve a full four-year term. The 22
public bank may select from its membership such other officers of the 23
public bank as it deems appropriate, including without limitation a 24
secretary and a treasurer. 25
(d) In the event of a vacancy on the board due to death, 26
resignation, lack of qualification to serve as a director, or 27
otherwise, a successor for the remainder of the unexpired term shall 28
be selected in the same manner as the selection of the director whose 29
position has become vacant. Any independent member of the public bank 30
may be removed by the governor for misfeasance, malfeasance, or 31
willful neglect of duty after notice and a public hearing, unless 32
such notice and hearing are expressly waived in writing by the 33
affected public member. 34
(e) The state treasurer may designate an employee to act on the 35
treasurer's behalf in all respects with regard to any matter to come 36
before the public bank. The designation must be made in writing in 37
such manner as is specified by the rules of the public bank.38
(f) A majority of the directors constitutes a quorum.39
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(g) The directors of the public bank serve without compensation 1
but are entitled to reimbursement, solely from the funds of the 2
public bank, for expenses incurred in the discharge of their duties 3
under this chapter. 4
(6) The state finance committee serves as the oversight board of 5
the public bank. In that capacity, the state finance committee must 6
carry out the responsibilities specified in this chapter. In 7
addition, the state finance committee may at its discretion require 8
independent audits of the accounts and transactions of the public 9
bank and the methods, procedures, and operation of the public bank in 10
carrying out its duties. 11
(7) The public bank is a state agency subject to audit by the 12
state auditor under chapter 43.09 RCW. In addition, the department of 13
financial institutions may, at the discretion of the director of 14
financial institutions, review the funds placed with the public bank 15
and the accounts and transactions of the public bank in carrying out 16
the public bank's duties. Nothing in this subsection establishes that 17
the public bank is an institution or entity otherwise subject to the 18
jurisdiction of the department of financial institutions.19
(8) The board has the authority to hire and fire an executive 20
director. The executive director must be funded in the office of the 21
state treasurer budget and shall administer and operate the 22
Washington state public bank. 23
(9) The public bank's administration and operation must initially 24
be performed by employees of the office of the state treasurer, 25
subject to the terms of one or more agreements between the public 26
bank and the office of the state treasurer concerning 27
responsibilities of the office of the state treasurer's staff and 28
compensation of the office of the state treasurer.29
(10) The board must approve the budget of the public bank 30
annually. 31
(11) The board shall establish an internal audit committee.32
(12) The public bank shall prioritize investments that increases 33
the supply of public housing. 34
(13) The public bank must not be or constitute a bank or trust 35
company within the jurisdiction or under the control of the director 36
of financial institutions, the comptroller of the currency of the 37
United States of America, or the United States department of the 38
treasury. 39
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(14) The public bank must not be or constitute a bank, broker, or 1
dealer in securities within the meaning of, or subject to the 2
provisions of, any securities, securities exchange, or securities 3
dealers' law of the United States of America or this state.4
(15) The public bank may not issue bonds in a manner that would 5
create state debt. 6
NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. POWERS. The public bank may:7
(1) Sue and be sued in its own name, and plead and be impleaded;8
(2) Adopt and alter an official seal; 9
(3) Make and enforce bylaws and regulations for the conduct of 10
its business and for the use of its services and facilities;11
(4) Engage such independent consultants, attorneys, and advisers 12
as the public bank deems necessary, useful, or convenient to 13
accomplish its purposes, and, subject to section 6 of this act, 14
contract with federal, state, and local or tribal governmental 15
entities for services; 16
(5) Make and execute all manner of contracts, agreements, and 17
instruments and financing documents with public and private parties 18
as the public bank deems necessary, useful, or convenient to 19
accomplish its purposes; 20
(6) Acquire, hold, use, and dispose of real or personal property, 21
or any interest therein, in the name of the public bank, and to sell, 22
assign, lease, encumber, mortgage, or otherwise dispose of the same 23
in such manner as the public bank deems necessary, useful, or 24
convenient to accomplish its purposes; 25
(7) Acquire, hold, use, and dispose of its income, revenues, 26
funds, and money; 27
(8) Receive funds or deposits from state, local, or tribal 28
governments, invest those moneys in lawful funds, including without 29
limitation investments in loans made by the public bank to borrowers;30
(9) Open and maintain accounts in qualified public depositaries; 31
in the federal reserve bank of San Francisco, in the national 32
cooperative bank, in a federal home loan bank, or in any other 33
federal financing entity, and otherwise provide for the investment of 34
any funds not required for immediate disbursement and provide for the 35
selection of investments. The public bank may participate in and use 36
the federal reserve banks payments systems and account services;37
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(10) Appear in its own behalf before boards, commissions, 1
departments, or agencies of federal, state, local, or tribal 2
governments; 3
(11) Procure such insurance of such types, in such amounts, and 4
from such insurers as the public bank deems desirable including, but 5
not limited to, insurance against any loss or damage to its property 6
or other assets, public liability insurance for injuries to persons 7
or property, and directors and officers liability insurance;8
(12) Accept gifts or grants from the United States, or from any 9
governmental unit or person, firm, or corporation, carry out the 10
terms or provisions or make agreements with respect to the gifts or 11
grants, and do all things necessary, useful, desirable, or convenient 12
in connection with procuring, accepting, or disposing of the gifts or 13
grants; 14
(13) Apply for and accept grants, loans, advances, and 15
contributions from any source of money, property, labor, or other 16
things of value, to be held, used, and applied as the public bank 17
deems necessary, useful, or convenient to accomplish its purposes;18
(14) Borrow money and issue its bonds consistent with this 19
chapter and provide for and secure their payment, provide for the 20
rights of bond owners and purchasers, and hold and dispose of any of 21
its bonds; 22
(15) For the purpose of facilitating the financing of 23
infrastructure and economic development activity in the state of 24
Washington by the state or local or tribal governments, develop and 25
conduct a program or programs to make loans to borrowers for project 26
costs of infrastructure and economic development projects. Those 27
loans may be made from the proceeds of bonds issued by the public 28
bank, from funds held by the public bank, and from other assets of 29
the public bank including contributions. The public bank may develop 30
and conduct a program that stimulates and encourages the development 31
of infrastructure and economic development projects by the infusion 32
of financial assistance for state, local, or tribal governments;33
(16) Establish guidelines for the engagement by state, local, or 34
tribal governments in programs conducted by the public bank under 35
this chapter. The public bank may prescribe the form of application 36
or procedure required of a borrower for a loan, fix the terms and 37
conditions of the loan or purchase, and enter into financing 38
agreements and other financing documents with borrowers with respect 39
to loans and other forms of financial assistance; 40
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(17) Establish, revise, and collect such member contributions and 1
such fees and charges as the public bank deems necessary, useful, or 2
convenient to accomplish its purposes. Members may make such 3
contributions, and state, local, and tribal governments may pay such 4
fees and charges; 5
(18) Make such expenditures as are appropriate for paying the 6
administrative costs and expenses of the public bank in carrying out 7
the provisions of this chapter; 8
(19) Establish such reserves and special funds, including but not 9
limited to debt service and sinking funds, reserve funds, project 10
funds, and such other special funds as the public bank deems 11
necessary, useful, or convenient, and controls on funds to and from 12
them, as the public bank deems necessary, useful, or convenient to 13
accomplish its purposes; 14
(20) Provide financial assistance and other forms of assistance 15
to state, local, or tribal governments by providing information, 16
advice, guidelines, forms, and procedures for implementing their 17
financing programs; 18
(21) When authorized by not less than two-thirds of the members 19
of the board, make distributions to members of amounts that the board 20
deems surplus to the needs of the public bank; 21
(22) Engage outside legal counsel, while receiving counsel on a 22
routine basis from the office of the attorney general;23
(23) Adopt rules concerning its exercise of the powers authorized 24
by this chapter; and 25
(24) Exercise any other power the public bank deems necessary, 26
useful, or convenient to accomplish its purposes and exercise the 27
powers expressly granted in this chapter. 28
NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. FINANCING POWERS. (1) Bonds issued under 29
this chapter must be issued in the name of the public bank. The bonds 30
are not obligations of the state of Washington, may not create state 31
debt, and are obligations only of the public bank payable from the 32
special fund or funds created by the public bank for their payment. 33
Such funds are not public moneys or funds of the state of Washington 34
and at all times must be kept segregated and set apart from other 35
funds.36
(2) Bonds issued under this chapter must contain a recital on 37
their face to the effect that payment of the principal of, interest 38
on, and prepayment premium, if any, on the bonds, is a valid claim 39
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only as against the special fund or funds relating thereto, that 1
neither the faith and credit nor the taxing power of the state or any 2
municipal corporation, subdivision, or agency of the state, other 3
than the public bank as set forth in this chapter, is pledged to the 4
payment of the principal of, interest on, and prepayment premium, if 5
any, on the bonds. Contracts entered into by the public bank must be 6
entered into in the name of the public bank and not in the name of 7
the state of Washington. The obligations of the public bank under the 8
contracts must be obligations only of the public bank and are not in 9
any way obligations of the state of Washington. 10
(3) The public bank's bonds must bear such date or dates, mature 11
at such time or times, be in such denominations, be in such form, be 12
registered or registrable in such manner, be made transferable, 13
exchangeable, and interchangeable, be payable in such medium of 14
payment, at such place or places, be subject to such terms of 15
redemption, bear such fixed or variable rate or rates of interest, be 16
payable at such time or times, and be sold in such manner and at such 17
price or prices, as the public bank determines. The bonds must be 18
executed by the chair, by either its duly elected secretary or its 19
treasurer, and by the trustee or paying agent if the public bank 20
determines to use a trustee or paying agent for the bonds. Execution 21
of the bonds may be by manual or facsimile signature. The bonds of 22
the public bank may be negotiable instruments under Title 62A RCW.23
(4) The bonds of the public bank are subject to such terms, 24
conditions, covenants, and protective provisions as are found 25
necessary or desirable by the public bank including, but not limited 26
to, pledges of the public bank's assets, setting aside of reserves, 27
limitations on additional forms of indebtedness, and the mortgaging 28
of all or any part of the public bank's real or personal property, 29
then owned or thereafter acquired, and other provisions the public 30
bank finds are necessary or desirable for the security of bond 31
owners. 32
(5) Any bonds issued under this chapter may be secured by a 33
financing document between the public bank and the purchasers or 34
owners of such bonds or between the public bank and a corporate 35
trustee appointed by the public bank, which may be any trust company 36
or bank having the powers of a trust company within or without the 37
state. The financing document may pledge or assign, in whole or in 38
part, the revenues and funds held or to be received by the public 39
bank, any present or future contract or other rights to receive the 40
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same, and the proceeds thereof. The financing document must contain 1
such provisions for protecting and enforcing the rights, security, 2
and remedies of bond owners as may be reasonable and proper 3
including, without limiting the generality of the foregoing, 4
provisions defining defaults and providing for remedies in the event 5
of default which may include the acceleration of maturities, 6
restrictions on the individual rights of action by bond owners, and 7
covenants setting forth duties of and limitations on the public bank 8
in conduct of its programs and the management of its property. In 9
addition to other security provided in this chapter or otherwise by 10
law, bonds issued by the public bank may be secured, in whole or in 11
part, by a pledge of the assets of the public bank, including 12
contributions of the members, or by financial guaranties, insurance 13
or letters of credit issued to the public bank or a trustee or any 14
other person, by any bank, trust company, insurance or surety 15
company, or other financial institution, within or without the state. 16
The public bank may pledge or assign, in whole or in part, the 17
revenues and funds held or to be received by the public bank, any 18
present or future contract or other rights to receive the same, and 19
the proceeds thereof, as security for such guaranties or insurance or 20
for the reimbursement by the public bank to any issuer of such letter 21
of credit of any payments made under such letter of credit. No 22
individual member is liable to the public bank, to the public bank's 23
trustee, or to any other person in amounts exceeding the member's 24
contribution unless authorized by a majority of the members of the 25
public bank. 26
(6) The public bank may enter into financing documents with 27
borrowers regarding bonds issued by the public bank that may provide 28
for the payment by each borrower of amounts sufficient, together with 29
other revenues available to the public bank, if any, to:30
(a) Pay the borrower's share of the fees established by the 31
public bank; 32
(b) Pay the principal of, premium, if any, and interest on 33
outstanding bonds of the public bank issued in respect of such 34
borrower as the same shall become due and payable; and35
(c) Create and maintain reserves required or provided for by the 36
public bank in connection with the issuance of such bonds. The 37
payments are not subject to supervision or regulation by any 38
department, committee, board, body, bureau, or agency of the state 39
other than the public bank. 40
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(7) Any security interest created in the unexpended bond proceeds 1
and in the special funds created by the public bank must be 2
immediately valid and binding against such moneys and any securities 3
in which such moneys may be invested without public bank or trustee 4
possession thereof, and the security interest is prior to any party 5
having any competing claim in such moneys or securities, without 6
filing or recording pursuant to chapter 62A.9A RCW and regardless of 7
whether the party has notice of the security interest.8
(8) When issuing bonds, the public bank may provide for the 9
future issuance of additional bonds or parity debt on a parity with 10
outstanding bonds, and the terms and conditions of their issuance. 11
The public bank may refund or advance refund any bond of the public 12
bank in accordance with chapter 39.53 RCW or issue bonds with a 13
subordinate lien against the fund or funds securing outstanding 14
bonds. Bonds issued for refunding purposes may be combined with bonds 15
issued for the financing or refinancing of new projects. Pending the 16
application of the proceeds of the refunding bonds to the redemption 17
of the bonds to be redeemed, the public bank may enter into an 18
agreement or agreements with a corporate trustee regarding the 19
interim investment of the proceeds and the application of the 20
proceeds and the earnings on the proceeds to the payment of the 21
principal of and interest on, and the redemption of, the bonds to be 22
redeemed. 23
(9) All money received by or on behalf of the public bank with 24
respect to this issuance of its bonds are trust funds to be held and 25
applied solely as provided in this chapter. The public bank, instead 26
of receiving and applying the moneys itself, may enter into a trust 27
agreement or indenture with one or more banks, including the national 28
cooperative bank, or trust companies having the power and bank to 29
conduct trust business in the state to: 30
(a) Perform all or any part of the obligations of the public bank 31
with respect to: (i) Bonds issued by it; (ii) the receipt, 32
investment, and application of the proceeds of the bonds and money 33
paid by a participant or available from other sources for the payment 34
of the bonds; (iii) the enforcement of the obligations of a borrower 35
in connection with the financing or refinancing of any project; and 36
(iv) other matters relating to the exercise of the public bank's 37
powers under this chapter; 38
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(b) Receive, hold, preserve, and enforce any security interest or 1
evidence of security interest granted by a participant for purposes 2
of securing the payment of the bonds; and 3
(c) Act on behalf of the public bank or the owners of bonds of 4
the public bank for purposes of assuring or enforcing the payment of 5
the bonds, when due. 6
(10) The public bank may purchase its bonds with any of its funds 7
available for the purchase. The public bank may hold, pledge, cancel, 8
or resell the bonds subject to and in accordance with agreements with 9
bond owners. 10
(11) The chair of the state finance committee or the chair's 11
designee must be notified in advance of the issuance of bonds by the 12
public bank in order to promote the orderly offering of obligations 13
in the financial markets. 14
(12) Neither the members of the public bank, nor its directors or 15
agents, nor employees of the office of the state treasurer, nor any 16
person executing the bonds, is personally liable on the bonds or 17
subject to any personal liability or accountability by reason of the 18
issuance of the bonds. 19
(13) The public bank may, out of any fund available therefor, 20
purchase its bonds in the open market. 21
(14) Any owner of bonds of the public bank issued under this 22
chapter, and the trustee under any trust agreement or indenture, may, 23
either at law or in equity, by suit, action, mandamus, or other 24
proceeding, protect and enforce any of their respective rights, and 25
may become the purchaser at any foreclosure sale if the person is the 26
highest bidder, except to the extent the rights given are restricted 27
by the public bank in any bond resolution or trust agreement or 28
indenture authorizing the issuance of the bonds. 29
(15) The public bank may charge for its costs and services in 30
review or consideration of a proposed loan to a state, local, or 31
tribal government, whether or not the loan is made.32
(16) To the extent permitted under its contracts with the owners 33
of bonds of the public bank, the public bank may consent to 34
modification of the rate of interest, time and payment of installment 35
of principal or interest, security, or any other term of a bond or 36
note, loan to a state, local, or tribal government, contract, or 37
agreement of any kind to which the public bank authority is a party.38
(17) The bonds of the public bank are securities in which all 39
public officers and bodies of this state and all counties, cities, 40
p. 17 SB 5754
municipal corporations, and political subdivisions, all banks, 1
eligible banking organizations, bankers, trust companies, savings 2
banks and institutions, building and loan associations, savings and 3
loan associations, investment companies, insurance companies and 4
associations, and all executors, administrators, guardians, trustees, 5
and other fiduciaries may legally invest any sinking funds, moneys, 6
or other funds belonging to them or within their control.7
(18) This section provides a complete, additional, and 8
alternative method for accomplishing the purposes of this chapter and 9
is supplemental and additional to powers conferred by other laws. The 10
issuance of bonds and refunding bonds under this chapter need not 11
comply with the requirements of any other law applicable to the 12
issuance of bonds. Insofar as the provisions of this chapter are 13
inconsistent with the provisions of any general or special law, or 14
parts thereof, the provisions of this chapter are controlling.15
NEW SECTION. Sec. 7. A new section is added to chapter 43.08 16
RCW to read as follows: 17
Employees of the office of the state treasurer shall primarily 18
administer and operate the Washington state public bank, as provided 19
by section 4 (9) of this act. The public bank may consult with other 20
state agencies at its discretion and without the approval of the 21
office of the state treasurer. 22
Sec. 8. RCW 39.59.040 and 2016 c 152 s 11 are each amended to 23
read as follows: 24
Any local government in the state of Washington may invest in:25
(1) Bonds of the state of Washington and any local government in 26
the state of Washington; 27
(2) General obligation bonds of a state and general obligation 28
bonds of a local government of a state, which bonds have at the time 29
of investment one of the three highest credit ratings of a nationally 30
recognized rating agency; 31
(3) Subject to compliance with RCW 39.56.030, registered warrants 32
of a local government in the same county as the government making the 33
investment; 34
(4) Certificates, notes, or bonds of the United States, or other 35
obligations of the United States or its agencies, or of any 36
corporation wholly owned by the government of the United States; or 37
United States dollar denominated bonds, notes, or other obligations 38
p. 18 SB 5754
that are issued or guaranteed by supranational institutions, provided 1
that, at the time of investment, the institution has the United 2
States government as its largest shareholder; 3
(5) Federal home loan bank notes and bonds, federal land bank 4
bonds and federal national mortgage association notes, debentures and 5
guaranteed certificates of participation, or the obligations of any 6
other government sponsored corporation whose obligations are or may 7
become eligible as collateral for advances to member banks as 8
determined by the board of governors of the federal reserve system;9
(6) Bankers' acceptances purchased on the secondary market;10
(7) Commercial paper purchased in the secondary market, provided 11
that any local government of the state of Washington that invests in 12
such commercial paper must adhere to the investment policies and 13
procedures adopted by the state investment board; ((and))14
(8) Corporate notes purchased on the secondary market, provided 15
that any local government of the state of Washington that invests in 16
such notes must adhere to the investment policies and procedures 17
adopted by the state investment board; and18
(9) A public bank as defined in section 3 of this act and bonds 19
issued by such public bank. 20
Sec. 9. RCW 42.56.270 and 2023 c 340 s 11 are each amended to 21
read as follows: 22
The following financial, commercial, and proprietary information 23
is exempt from disclosure under this chapter: 24
(1) Valuable formulae, designs, drawings, computer source code or 25
object code, and research data obtained by any agency within five 26
years of the request for disclosure when disclosure would produce 27
private gain and public loss; 28
(2) Financial information supplied by or on behalf of a person, 29
firm, or corporation for the purpose of qualifying to submit a bid or 30
proposal for (a) a ferry system construction or repair contract as 31
required by RCW 47.60.680 through 47.60.750; (b) highway construction 32
or improvement as required by RCW 47.28.070; or (c) alternative 33
public works contracting procedures as required by RCW 39.10.200 34
through 39.10.905; 35
(3) Financial and commercial information and records supplied by 36
private persons pertaining to export services provided under chapters 37
43.163 and 53.31 RCW, and by persons pertaining to export projects 38
under RCW 43.23.035; 39
p. 19 SB 5754
(4) Financial and commercial information and records supplied by 1
businesses or individuals during application for loans or program 2
services provided by chapters 43.325, 43.163, 43.160, 43.330, 43.--- 3
(the new chapter created in section 15 of this act), 43.168, and 4
43.181 RCW and RCW 43.155.160, or during application for economic 5
development loans or program services provided by any local agency;6
(5) Financial information, business plans, examination reports, 7
and any information produced or obtained in evaluating or examining a 8
business and industrial development corporation organized or seeking 9
certification under chapter 31.24 RCW; 10
(6) Financial and commercial information supplied to the state 11
investment board by any person when the information relates to the 12
investment of public trust or retirement funds and when disclosure 13
would result in loss to such funds or in private loss to the 14
providers of this information; 15
(7) Financial and valuable trade information under RCW 51.36.120;16
(8) Financial, commercial, operations, and technical and research 17
information and data submitted to or obtained by the clean Washington 18
center in applications for, or delivery of, program services under 19
chapter 70.95H RCW; 20
(9) Financial and commercial information requested by the public 21
stadium authority from any person or organization that leases or uses 22
the stadium and exhibition center as defined in RCW 36.102.010;23
(10)(a) Financial information, including but not limited to 24
account numbers and values, and other identification numbers supplied 25
by or on behalf of a person, firm, corporation, limited liability 26
company, partnership, or other entity related to an application for a 27
horse racing license submitted pursuant to RCW 67.16.260(1)(b), 28
cannabis producer, processor, or retailer license, liquor license, 29
gambling license, or lottery retail license; 30
(b) Internal control documents, independent auditors' reports and 31
financial statements, and supporting documents: (i) Of house-banked 32
social card game licensees required by the gambling commission 33
pursuant to rules adopted under chapter 9.46 RCW; or (ii) submitted 34
by tribes with an approved tribal/state compact for class III gaming;35
(c) Valuable formulae or financial or proprietary commercial 36
information records received during a consultative visit or while 37
providing consultative services to a licensed cannabis business in 38
accordance with RCW 69.50.561; 39
p. 20 SB 5754
(11) Proprietary data, trade secrets, or other information that 1
relates to: (a) A vendor's unique methods of conducting business; (b) 2
data unique to the product or services of the vendor; or (c) 3
determining prices or rates to be charged for services, submitted by 4
any vendor to the department of social and health services or the 5
health care authority for purposes of the development, acquisition, 6
or implementation of state purchased health care as defined in RCW 7
41.05.011; 8
(12)(a) When supplied to and in the records of the department of 9
commerce: 10
(i) Financial and proprietary information collected from any 11
person and provided to the department of commerce pursuant to RCW 12
43.330.050(8); 13
(ii) Financial or proprietary information collected from any 14
person and provided to the department of commerce or the office of 15
the governor in connection with the siting, recruitment, expansion, 16
retention, or relocation of that person's business and until a siting 17
decision is made, identifying information of any person supplying 18
information under this subsection and the locations being considered 19
for siting, relocation, or expansion of a business; and20
(iii) Financial or proprietary information collected from any 21
person and provided to the department of commerce pursuant to RCW 22
43.31.625 (3)(b) and (4); 23
(b) When developed by the department of commerce based on 24
information as described in (a)(i) of this subsection, any work 25
product is not exempt from disclosure; 26
(c) For the purposes of this subsection, "siting decision" means 27
the decision to acquire or not to acquire a site; 28
(d) If there is no written contact for a period of 60 days to the 29
department of commerce from a person connected with siting, 30
recruitment, expansion, retention, or relocation of that person's 31
business, information described in (a)(ii) of this subsection will be 32
available to the public under this chapter; 33
(13) Financial and proprietary information submitted to or 34
obtained by the department of ecology or the authority created under 35
chapter 70A.500 RCW to implement chapter 70A.500 RCW;36
(14) Financial, commercial, operations, and technical and 37
research information and data submitted to or obtained by the life 38
sciences discovery fund authority in applications for, or delivery 39
of, grants under RCW 43.330.502, to the extent that such information, 40
p. 21 SB 5754
if revealed, would reasonably be expected to result in private loss 1
to the providers of this information; 2
(15) Financial and commercial information provided as evidence to 3
the department of licensing as required by RCW 19.112.110 or 4
19.112.120, except information disclosed in aggregate form that does 5
not permit the identification of information related to individual 6
fuel licensees; 7
(16) Any production records, mineral assessments, and trade 8
secrets submitted by a permit holder, mine operator, or landowner to 9
the department of natural resources under RCW 78.44.085;10
(17)(a) Farm plans developed by conservation districts, unless 11
permission to release the farm plan is granted by the landowner or 12
operator who requested the plan, or the farm plan is used for the 13
application or issuance of a permit; 14
(b) Farm plans developed under chapter 90.48 RCW and not under 15
the federal clean water act, 33 U.S.C. Sec. 1251 et seq., are subject 16
to RCW 42.56.610 and 90.64.190; 17
(18) Financial, commercial, operations, and technical and 18
research information and data submitted to or obtained by a health 19
sciences and services authority in applications for, or delivery of, 20
grants under RCW 35.104.010 through 35.104.060, to the extent that 21
such information, if revealed, would reasonably be expected to result 22
in private loss to providers of this information; 23
(19) Information gathered under chapter 19.85 RCW or RCW 24
34.05.328 that can be identified to a particular business;25
(20) Financial and commercial information submitted to or 26
obtained by the University of Washington, other than information the 27
university is required to disclose under RCW 28B.20.150, when the 28
information relates to investments in private funds, to the extent 29
that such information, if revealed, would reasonably be expected to 30
result in loss to the University of Washington consolidated endowment 31
fund or to result in private loss to the providers of this 32
information; 33
(21) Market share data submitted by a manufacturer under RCW 34
70A.500.190(4); 35
(22) Financial information supplied to the department of 36
financial institutions, when filed by or on behalf of an issuer of 37
securities for the purpose of obtaining the exemption from state 38
securities registration for small securities offerings provided under 39
p. 22 SB 5754
RCW 21.20.880 or when filed by or on behalf of an investor for the 1
purpose of purchasing such securities; 2
(23) Unaggregated or individual notices of a transfer of crude 3
oil that is financial, proprietary, or commercial information, 4
submitted to the department of ecology pursuant to RCW 5
90.56.565(1)(a), and that is in the possession of the department of 6
ecology or any entity with which the department of ecology has shared 7
the notice pursuant to RCW 90.56.565; 8
(24) Financial institution and retirement account information, 9
and building security plan information, supplied to the liquor and 10
cannabis board pursuant to RCW 69.50.325, 69.50.331, 69.50.342, and 11
69.50.345, when filed by or on behalf of a licensee or prospective 12
licensee for the purpose of obtaining, maintaining, or renewing a 13
license to produce, process, transport, or sell cannabis as allowed 14
under chapter 69.50 RCW; 15
(25) Cannabis transport information, vehicle and driver 16
identification data, and account numbers or unique access identifiers 17
issued to private entities for traceability system access, submitted 18
by an individual or business to the liquor and cannabis board under 19
the requirements of RCW 69.50.325, 69.50.331, 69.50.342, and 20
69.50.345 for the purpose of cannabis product traceability. 21
Disclosure to local, state, and federal officials is not considered 22
public disclosure for purposes of this section; 23
(26) Financial and commercial information submitted to or 24
obtained by the retirement board of any city that is responsible for 25
the management of an employees' retirement system pursuant to the 26
authority of chapter 35.39 RCW, when the information relates to 27
investments in private funds, to the extent that such information, if 28
revealed, would reasonably be expected to result in loss to the 29
retirement fund or to result in private loss to the providers of this 30
information except that (a) the names and commitment amounts of the 31
private funds in which retirement funds are invested and (b) the 32
aggregate quarterly performance results for a retirement fund's 33
portfolio of investments in such funds are subject to disclosure;34
(27) Proprietary financial, commercial, operations, and technical 35
and research information and data submitted to or obtained by the 36
liquor and cannabis board in applications for cannabis research 37
licenses under RCW 69.50.372, or in reports submitted by cannabis 38
research licensees in accordance with rules adopted by the liquor and 39
cannabis board under RCW 69.50.372; 40
p. 23 SB 5754
(28) Trade secrets, technology, proprietary information, and 1
financial considerations contained in any agreements or contracts, 2
entered into by a licensed cannabis business under RCW 69.50.395, 3
which may be submitted to or obtained by the state liquor and 4
cannabis board; 5
(29) Financial, commercial, operations, and technical and 6
research information and data submitted to or obtained by the Andy 7
Hill cancer research endowment program in applications for, or 8
delivery of, grants under chapter 43.348 RCW, to the extent that such 9
information, if revealed, would reasonably be expected to result in 10
private loss to providers of this information; 11
(30) Proprietary information filed with the department of health 12
under chapter 69.48 RCW; 13
(31) Records filed with the department of ecology under chapter 14
70A.515 RCW that a court has determined are confidential valuable 15
commercial information under RCW 70A.515.130; and 16
(32) Unaggregated financial, proprietary, or commercial 17
information submitted to or obtained by the liquor and cannabis board 18
in applications for licenses under RCW 66.24.140 or 66.24.145, or in 19
any reports or remittances submitted by a person licensed under RCW 20
66.24.140 or 66.24.145 under rules adopted by the liquor and cannabis 21
board under chapter 66.08 RCW. 22
Sec. 10. RCW 42.56.400 and 2023 c 149 s 12 are each amended to 23
read as follows: 24
The following information relating to insurance and financial 25
institutions is exempt from disclosure under this chapter:26
(1) Records maintained by the board of industrial insurance 27
appeals that are related to appeals of crime victims' compensation 28
claims filed with the board under RCW 7.68.110; 29
(2) Information obtained and exempted or withheld from public 30
inspection by the health care authority under RCW 41.05.026, whether 31
retained by the authority, transferred to another state purchased 32
health care program by the authority, or transferred by the authority 33
to a technical review committee created to facilitate the 34
development, acquisition, or implementation of state purchased health 35
care under chapter 41.05 RCW; 36
(3) The names and individual identification data of either all 37
owners or all insureds, or both, received by the insurance 38
commissioner under chapter 48.102 RCW; 39
p. 24 SB 5754
(4) Information provided under RCW 48.30A.045 through 48.30A.060;1
(5) Information provided under RCW 48.05.510 through 48.05.535, 2
48.43.200 through 48.43.225, 48.44.530 through 48.44.555, and 3
48.46.600 through 48.46.625; 4
(6) Examination reports and information obtained by the 5
department of financial institutions from banks under RCW 30A.04.075, 6
from savings banks under RCW 32.04.220, from savings and loan 7
associations under RCW 33.04.110, from credit unions under RCW 8
31.12.565, from chapter 43.--- RCW (the new chapter created in 9
section 15 of this act), from check cashers and sellers under RCW 10
31.45.030(3), and from securities brokers and investment advisers 11
under RCW 21.20.100, information that could reasonably be expected to 12
reveal the identity of a whistleblower under RCW 21.40.090, and 13
information received under RCW 43.320.190, all of which are 14
confidential and privileged information; 15
(7) Information provided to the insurance commissioner under RCW 16
48.110.040(3); 17
(8) Documents, materials, or information obtained by the 18
insurance commissioner under RCW 48.02.065, all of which are 19
confidential and privileged; 20
(9) Documents, materials, or information obtained or provided by 21
the insurance commissioner under RCW 48.31B.015(2) (l) and (m), 22
48.31B.025, 48.31B.030, 48.31B.035, and 48.31B.036, all of which are 23
confidential and privileged; 24
(10) Data filed under RCW 48.140.020, 48.140.030, 48.140.050, and 25
7.70.140 that, alone or in combination with any other data, may 26
reveal the identity of a claimant, health care provider, health care 27
facility, insuring entity, or self-insurer involved in a particular 28
claim or a collection of claims. For the purposes of this subsection:29
(a) "Claimant" has the same meaning as in RCW 48.140.010(2).30
(b) "Health care facility" has the same meaning as in RCW 31
48.140.010(6). 32
(c) "Health care provider" has the same meaning as in RCW 33
48.140.010(7). 34
(d) "Insuring entity" has the same meaning as in RCW 35
48.140.010(8). 36
(e) "Self-insurer" has the same meaning as in RCW 48.140.010(11);37
(11) Documents, materials, or information obtained by the 38
insurance commissioner under RCW 48.135.060; 39
p. 25 SB 5754
(12) Documents, materials, or information obtained by the 1
insurance commissioner under RCW 48.37.060; 2
(13) Confidential and privileged documents obtained or produced 3
by the insurance commissioner and identified in RCW 48.37.080;4
(14) Documents, materials, or information obtained by the 5
insurance commissioner under RCW 48.37.140; 6
(15) Documents, materials, or information obtained by the 7
insurance commissioner under RCW 48.17.595; 8
(16) Documents, materials, or information obtained by the 9
insurance commissioner under RCW 48.102.051(1) and 48.102.140 (3) and 10
(7)(a)(ii); 11
(17) Documents, materials, or information obtained by the 12
insurance commissioner in the commissioner's capacity as receiver 13
under RCW 48.31.025 and 48.99.017, which are records under the 14
jurisdiction and control of the receivership court. The commissioner 15
is not required to search for, log, produce, or otherwise comply with 16
the public records act for any records that the commissioner obtains 17
under chapters 48.31 and 48.99 RCW in the commissioner's capacity as 18
a receiver, except as directed by the receivership court;19
(18) Documents, materials, or information obtained by the 20
insurance commissioner under RCW 48.13.151; 21
(19) Data, information, and documents provided by a carrier 22
pursuant to section 1, chapter 172, Laws of 2010; 23
(20) Information in a filing of usage-based insurance about the 24
usage-based component of the rate pursuant to RCW 48.19.040(5)(b);25
(21) Data, information, and documents that are submitted to the 26
office of the insurance commissioner by an entity providing health 27
care coverage pursuant to RCW 28A.400.275; 28
(22) Data, information, and documents obtained by the insurance 29
commissioner under RCW 48.29.017; 30
(23) Information not subject to public inspection or public 31
disclosure under RCW 48.43.730(5); 32
(24) Documents, materials, or information obtained by the 33
insurance commissioner under chapter 48.05A RCW; 34
(25) Documents, materials, or information obtained by the 35
insurance commissioner under RCW 48.74.025, 48.74.028, 48.74.100(6), 36
48.74.110(2) (b) and (c), and 48.74.120 to the extent such documents, 37
materials, or information independently qualify for exemption from 38
disclosure as documents, materials, or information in possession of 39
p. 26 SB 5754
the commissioner pursuant to a financial conduct examination and 1
exempt from disclosure under RCW 48.02.065; 2
(26) Nonpublic personal health information obtained by, disclosed 3
to, or in the custody of the insurance commissioner, as provided in 4
RCW 48.02.068; 5
(27) Data, information, and documents obtained by the insurance 6
commissioner under RCW 48.02.230; 7
(28) Documents, materials, or other information, including the 8
corporate annual disclosure obtained by the insurance commissioner 9
under RCW 48.195.020; 10
(29) Findings and orders disapproving acquisition of a trust 11
institution under RCW 30B.53.100(3); 12
(30) All claims data, including health care and financial related 13
data received under RCW 41.05.890, received and held by the health 14
care authority; and 15
(31) Contracts not subject to public disclosure under RCW 16
48.200.040 and 48.43.731. 17
Sec. 11. RCW 43.10.067 and 1997 c 41 s 9 are each amended to 18
read as follows: 19
No officer, director, administrative agency, board, or commission 20
of the state, other than the attorney general, shall employ, appoint 21
or retain in employment any attorney for any administrative body, 22
department, commission, agency, or tribunal or any other person to 23
act as attorney in any legal or quasi legal capacity in the exercise 24
of any of the powers or performance of any of the duties specified by 25
law to be performed by the attorney general, except where it is 26
provided by law to be the duty of the judge of any court or the 27
prosecuting attorney of any county to employ or appoint such persons: 28
PROVIDED, That RCW 43.10.040, and 43.10.065 through 43.10.080 shall 29
not apply to the administration of the commission on judicial 30
conduct, the state law library, the law school of the state 31
university, the administration of the state bar act by the Washington 32
State Bar Association, ((or)) the representation of an estate 33
administered by the director of the department of revenue or the 34
director's designee pursuant to chapter 11.28 RCW, or the state 35
public bank to the extent provided in section 5(22) of this act.36
The authority granted by chapter 1.08 RCW, RCW 44.28.065, and 37
47.01.061 shall not be affected hereby. 38
p. 27 SB 5754
Sec. 12. RCW 43.84.080 and 2016 c 152 s 18 are each amended to 1
read as follows: 2
Wherever there is in any fund or in cash balances in the state 3
treasury more than sufficient to meet the current expenditures 4
properly payable therefrom, the state treasurer may invest or 5
reinvest such portion of such funds or balances as the state 6
treasurer deems expedient in the following: 7
(1) Certificates, notes, or bonds of the United States, or other 8
obligations of the United States or its agencies, or of any 9
corporation wholly owned by the government of the United States or 10
United States dollar denominated bonds, notes, or other obligations 11
that are issued or guaranteed by supranational institutions, provided 12
that, at the time of investment, the institution has the United 13
States government as its largest shareholder; 14
(2) In state, county, municipal, or school district bonds, notes, 15
or in warrants of taxing districts of the state. Such bonds and 16
warrants shall be only those found to be within the limit of 17
indebtedness prescribed by law for the taxing district issuing them 18
and to be general obligations. The state treasurer may purchase such 19
bonds or warrants directly from the taxing district or in the open 20
market at such prices and upon such terms as it may determine, and 21
may sell them at such times as it deems advisable;22
(3) In federal home loan bank notes and bonds, federal land bank 23
bonds and federal national mortgage association notes, debentures and 24
guaranteed certificates of participation, or the obligations of any 25
other government sponsored corporation whose obligations are or may 26
become eligible as collateral for advances to member banks as 27
determined by the board of governors of the federal reserve system;28
(4) Bankers' acceptances purchased on the secondary market;29
(5) Commercial paper purchased on the secondary market, provided 30
that the state treasurer adheres to the investment policies and 31
procedures adopted by the state investment board; 32
(6) General obligation bonds of any state and general obligation 33
bonds of local governments of other states, which bonds have at the 34
time of investment one of the three highest credit ratings of a 35
nationally recognized rating agency; ((and))36
(7) Corporate notes purchased on the secondary market, provided 37
that the state treasurer adheres to the investment policies and 38
procedures adopted by the state investment board; and39
p. 28 SB 5754
(8) Contributions to a public bank as defined in section 3 of 1
this act. 2
NEW SECTION. Sec. 13. If any provision of this act or its 3
application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the 4
remainder of the act or the application of the provision to other 5
persons or circumstances is not affected.6
NEW SECTION. Sec. 14. This act, being necessary for the welfare 7
of the state and its inhabitants, shall be liberally construed to 8
effect the purposes thereof.9
NEW SECTION. Sec. 15. Sections 1 through 6 of this act 10
constitute a new chapter in Title 43 RCW.11
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