The legislature finds that in 2020, the world faced an enormous challenge in responding to the novel coronavirus pandemic. Washington was no exception, having been the site of the first confirmed coronavirus infection in the United States.
The legislature further finds that Washington's response to the pandemic was one of the best in the nation; however, the state should continue on the path of refining its response mechanisms and devising new strategies for preparing for future outbreaks.
The legislature further finds that this important work is critical to public health and safety.
The legislature further finds that a task force of professionals from across the spectrum of affected stakeholders should be assembled to continue this work. The knowledge and experience of each field will be necessary for an effective study of Washington's response to the novel coronavirus pandemic and the creation of future response plans.
The legislature intends that the scope of the task force's authority be interpreted broadly to allow for the most complete analysis of pandemic preparation and response options.
The legislature further intends that the report produced by the task force be informative and comprehensive and include recommendations for future pandemic preparation and response by all levels of government in Washington.
A task force on statewide pandemic preparation and response is established. The task force is composed of the following members:
One member from each of the two largest caucuses of the senate, appointed by the president of the senate;
One member from each of the two largest caucuses of the house of representatives, appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives;
The secretary of the department of health, or the secretary's designee;
The adjutant general of the military department, or the adjutant general's designee;
The commissioner of the employment security department, or the commissioner's designee;
The director of the department of financial institutions, or the director's designee;
The insurance commissioner, or the commissioner's designee;
The secretary of the department of social and health services, or the secretary's designee;
The superintendent of public instruction, or the superintendent's designee;
The director of the department of labor and industries, or the director's designee;
The executive director of the pharmacy quality assurance commission, or the executive director's designee;
One member representing the Washington association of sheriffs and police chiefs; and
One member representing each of the following, to be appointed by the governor:
The office of the governor;
The association of Washington cities;
The Washington state association of counties;
Emergency and transitional housing providers;
A statewide association representing physicians;
A statewide association representing nurses;
A statewide association representing hospitals;
Local public health officials; and
ix. Local emergency management agencies.
The adjutant general, or the adjutant general's designee, and the secretary of the department of health, or the secretary's designee, shall cochair the task force and convene its initial meeting.
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The task force shall study and make recommendations regarding the following issues:
Developing strategies to facilitate a coordinated response by the health system prior to and during a pandemic;
Establishing protections for the business community and workers during a pandemic, including automating systems for extending expiring licenses, suspending nonessential deliveries, developing protections for farm workers, distributing small business loans, establishing methods for screening people with fevers before entering public places such as public transportation, public offices, and markets, and implementing hazard pay for medical professionals and stipends for unemployed and furloughed workers;
Implementing standards regarding flexible rent and repayment plans for residential and commercial tenants during a pandemic;
Establishing a multidisciplinary team of experts representing public health, emergency management, public safety, business community, social service providers, first responders, medical professionals, educators, and state and local officials to manage a coordinated and comprehensive statewide response to future pandemics;
Implementing additional emergency preparedness strategies which may include, but are not limited to:
(A) Establishing regional emergency management agencies;
(B) Creating a volunteer reserve disaster corps of individuals trained to assist with a pandemic response by performing tasks such as fever checking, contact tracing, hospital construction, food delivery, child care, basic nursing, lab technician work, or hospital decontamination;
(C) Devising tools to measure the scale of the impact caused by a pandemic and tailoring the pandemic response to affected regions based on the scale of the impact in those regions;
(D) Integrating and synthesizing existing local and regional pandemic response plans and condensing such plans into a statewide pandemic response master plan that incorporates lessons learned from the novel coronavirus pandemic; and
(E) Implementing policies adopted in other states that would improve Washington's ability to respond to and provide services during future pandemics;
vi. Developing strategies to increase health care system capacity such as determining which nonessential medical visits and elective procedures may be postponed, establishing facilities for the mildly and moderately ill to recover under the care and observation of appropriately trained health care providers, increasing the blood supply, and maximizing the health care workforce through increased participation in the medical reserve corps and the use of students in certain health-related fields of study;
vii. Developing strategies to monitor, track, and control positive and presumptive cases including issues related to testing, isolation and quarantine, monitoring and tracking outbreaks, and deploying medical supplies and personnel;
viii. Implementing guidelines for school closures during a pandemic; and
ix. Establishing new revenue sources for funding pandemic preparation and response efforts, creating a dedicated emergency response fund, or implementing an emergency revenue collection policy.
b. The topics identified in (a) of this subsection are intended to be illustrative and not exhaustive.
Staff support for the task force must be provided by the military department. The military department may receive gifts, grants, and donations from public and private sources for the purpose of funding the administrative costs of the task force and must deposit any such gifts, grants, and donations into the statewide pandemic preparation and response task force account created in section 3 of this act.
The task force shall consult with owners of small businesses, epidemiologists, and representatives of immigrant communities.
Legislative members of the task force are reimbursed for travel expenses in accordance with RCW 44.04.120. Nonlegislative members are not entitled to be reimbursed for travel expenses if they are elected officials or are participating on behalf of an employer, governmental entity, or other organization. Any reimbursement for other nonlegislative members is subject to chapter 43.03 RCW.
The task force shall report its findings and recommendations to the governor and the appropriate committees of the legislature by July 1, 2022.
This section expires August 1, 2022.
This section adds a new section to an existing chapter 38.52. Here is the modified chapter for context.
The statewide pandemic preparation and response task force account is created in the custody of the state treasurer to be used solely and exclusively for the statewide pandemic preparation and response task force created in section 2 of this act.
Revenues to the account must consist of deposits into the account, legislative appropriations, and any gifts, grants, or donations received by the military department for the purpose of funding the administrative costs of the statewide pandemic preparation and response task force.
Expenditures from the account may be used only for the administrative costs of the statewide pandemic preparation and response task force.
Only the adjutant general or his or her designee may authorize expenditures from the account.