wa-law.org > bill > 2023-24 > HB 1947 > Session Law
To achieve maximum benefit from advances in information technology the state establishes a centralized provider and procurer of certain information technology services as an agency to support the needs of state agencies. This agency shall be known as Washington technology solutions. To ensure maximum benefit to the state, state agencies shall rely on Washington technology solutions for those services with a business case of broad use, uniformity, scalability, and price sensitivity to aggregation and volume. The agency shall also establish clear policies and standards for efficient and acceptable use of technology in state government, providing guidance and leadership to state agencies in deploying technology to meet their business objectives.
To successfully meet agency needs and meet its obligation as the primary service provider for these services, Washington technology solutions must offer high quality services at the lowest possible price. It must be able to attract an adaptable and competitive workforce, be authorized to procure services where the business case justifies it, create policy and standards to address changes in the technology industry, and be accountable to its customers for the efficient and effective delivery of critical business services.
Washington technology solutions is established as an agency in state government. The agency is established with clear accountability to the agencies it serves and to the public. This accountability will come through enhanced transparency in the agency's operation and performance. The agency is also established with broad flexibility to adapt its operations, policies and standards, and service catalog to address the needs of customer agencies, and to do so in the most cost-effective ways.
Information technology is a tool used by state agencies to improve their ability to deliver public services efficiently and effectively. Advances in information technology, including advances in hardware, software, and business processes for implementing and managing these resources, offer new opportunities to improve the level of support provided to citizens and state agencies and to reduce the per-transaction cost of these services. These advances are one component in the process of reengineering how government delivers services to citizens.
To fully realize the service improvements and cost efficiency from the effective application of information technology to its business processes, state government must establish decision-making structures that connect business processes and information technology in an operating model. Many of these business practices transcend individual agency processes and should be worked at the enterprise level. To do this requires an effective partnership of executive management, business processes owners, and providers of support functions necessary to efficiently and effectively deliver services to citizens.
To maximize the potential for information technology to contribute to government business process reengineering, the state must establish clear central authority to plan, set enterprise policies and standards, and provide project oversight and management analysis of the various aspects of a business process.
Establishing Washington technology solutions will provide state government with the cohesive structure necessary to develop improved operating models with agency directors and reengineer business process to enhance service delivery while capturing savings.
To achieve maximum benefit from advances in information technology, the state establishes a centralized provider and procurer of certain information technology services as an agency to support the needs of public agencies. This agency shall be known as Washington technology solutions. To ensure maximum benefit to the state, state agencies shall rely on Washington technology solutions for those services with a business case of broad use, uniformity, scalability, and price sensitivity to aggregation and volume.
To successfully meet public agency needs and meet its obligation as the primary service provider for these services, Washington technology solutions must offer high quality services at the best value. It must be able to attract an adaptable and competitive workforce, be authorized to procure services where the business case justifies it, and be accountable to its customers for the efficient and effective delivery of critical business services.
Washington technology solutions is established with clear accountability to the agencies it serves and to the public. This accountability will come through enhanced transparency in the agency's operation and performance. The agency is also established with broad flexibility to adapt its operations and service catalog to address the needs of customer agencies, and to do so in the most cost-effective ways.
The definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter unless the context clearly requires otherwise.
"Agency" means Washington technology solutions.
"Board" means the technology services board.
"Cloud computing" has the same meaning as provided by the special publication 800-145 issued by the national institute of standards and technology of the United States department of commerce as of September 2011 or its successor publications.
"Customer agencies" means all entities that purchase or use information technology resources, telecommunications, or services from Washington technology solutions.
"Director" means the state chief information officer, who is the director of Washington technology solutions.
"Enterprise architecture" means an ongoing activity for translating business vision and strategy into effective enterprise change. It is a continuous activity. Enterprise architecture creates, communicates, and improves the key principles and models that describe the enterprise's future state and enable its evolution.
"Equipment" means the machines, devices, and transmission facilities used in information processing, including but not limited to computers, terminals, telephones, wireless communications system facilities, cables, and any physical facility necessary for the operation of such equipment.
"Information" includes, but is not limited to, data, text, voice, and video.
"Information security" means the protection of communication and information resources from unauthorized access, use, disclosure, disruption, modification, or destruction in order to:
Prevent improper information modification or destruction;
Preserve authorized restrictions on information access and disclosure;
Ensure timely and reliable access to and use of information; and
Maintain the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of information.
"Information technology" includes, but is not limited to, all electronic technology systems and services, automated information handling, system design and analysis, conversion of data, computer programming, information storage and retrieval, telecommunications, requisite system controls, simulation, electronic commerce, radio technologies, and all related interactions between people and machines.
"Information technology portfolio" or "portfolio" means a strategic management process documenting relationships between agency missions and information technology and telecommunications investments.
"K‑20 network" means the network established in RCW 43.41.391.
"Local governments" includes all municipal and quasi-municipal corporations and political subdivisions, and all agencies of such corporations and subdivisions authorized to contract separately.
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"Oversight" means a process of comprehensive risk analysis and management designed to ensure optimum use of information technology resources and telecommunications.
"Proprietary software" means that software offered for sale or license.
"Public agency" means any agency of this state or another state; any political subdivision or unit of local government of this state or another state including, but not limited to, municipal corporations, quasi-municipal corporations, special purpose districts, and local service districts; any public benefit nonprofit corporation; any agency of the United States; and any Indian tribe recognized as such by the federal government.
"Public benefit nonprofit corporation" means a public benefit nonprofit corporation as defined in RCW 24.03A.245 that is receiving local, state, or federal funds either directly or through a public agency other than an Indian tribe or political subdivision of another state.
"Public record" has the definitions in RCW 42.56.010 and chapter 40.14 RCW and includes legislative records and court records that are available for public inspection.
"Public safety" refers to any entity or services that ensure the welfare and protection of the public.
"Ransomware" means a type of malware that attempts to deny a user or organization access to data or systems, usually through encryption, until a sum of money or other currency is paid or the user or organization is forced to take a specific action.
"Security incident" means an accidental or deliberative event that results in or constitutes an imminent threat of the unauthorized access, loss, disclosure, modification, disruption, or destruction of communication and information resources.
"State agency" means every state office, department, division, bureau, board, commission, or other state agency, including offices headed by a statewide elected official.
"Telecommunications" includes, but is not limited to, wireless or wired systems for transport of voice, video, and data communications, network systems, requisite facilities, equipment, system controls, simulation, electronic commerce, and all related interactions between people and machines.
"Utility-based infrastructure services" includes personal computer and portable device support, servers and server administration, security administration, network administration, telephony, email, and other information technology services commonly used by state agencies.
There is created Washington technology solutions, an agency of state government. The agency shall be headed by a director, who is the state chief information officer. The director shall be appointed by the governor with the consent of the senate. The director shall serve at the governor's pleasure and shall receive such salary as determined by the governor. If a vacancy occurs in the position while the senate is not in session, the governor shall make a temporary appointment until the next meeting of the senate at which time he or she shall present to that body his or her nomination for the position.
The director shall:
Appoint a confidential secretary and such deputy and assistant directors as needed to administer the agency;
Appoint such professional, technical, and clerical assistants and employees as may be necessary to perform the duties imposed by this chapter in accordance with chapter 41.06 RCW, except as otherwise provided by law; and
Establish standards and policies to govern information technology in the state of Washington.
The director may create such administrative structures as he or she deems appropriate and may delegate any power or duty vested in him or her by this chapter or other law.
The director shall exercise all the powers and perform all the duties prescribed by law with respect to the administration of this chapter including:
Reporting to the governor any matters relating to abuses and evasions of this chapter;
Accepting and expending gifts and grants that are related to the purposes of this chapter;
Applying for grants from public and private entities, and receiving and administering any grant funding received for the purpose and intent of this chapter; and
Performing other duties as are necessary and consistent with law.
The agency shall:
Make available information services to public agencies and public benefit nonprofit corporations;
Establish rates and fees for services provided by the agency;
Develop a billing rate plan for a two-year period to coincide with the budgeting process. The rate plan must be subject to review at least annually by the office of financial management. The rate plan must show the proposed rates by each cost center and show the components of the rate structure as mutually determined by the agency and the office of financial management. The rate plan and any adjustments to rates must be approved by the office of financial management;
Develop a detailed business plan for any service or activity to be contracted under RCW 41.06.142(11)(b);
Develop plans for the agency's achievement of statewide goals and objectives set forth in the state strategic information technology plan required under RCW 43.105.220;
Enable the standardization and consolidation of information technology infrastructure across all state agencies to support enterprise-based system development and improve and maintain service delivery;
Prepare and lead the implementation of a strategic direction and enterprise architecture for information technology for state government;
Establish standards and policies for the consistent and efficient operation of information technology services throughout state government;
Educate and inform state managers and policymakers on technological developments, industry trends and best practices, industry benchmarks that strengthen decision making and professional development, and industry understanding for public managers and decision makers; and
Perform all other matters and things necessary to carry out the purposes and provisions of this chapter.
In the case of institutions of higher education, the powers of the agency and the provisions of this chapter apply to business and administrative applications but do not apply to: (a) Academic and research applications; and (b) medical, clinical, and health care applications, including the business and administrative applications for such operations. However, institutions of higher education must disclose to the agency any proposed academic applications that are enterprise-wide in nature relative to the needs and interests of other institutions of higher education. Institutions of higher education shall provide to the director sufficient data and information on proposed expenditures on business and administrative applications to permit the director to evaluate the proposed expenditures pursuant to RCW 43.88.092(3).
The legislature and the judiciary, which are constitutionally recognized as separate branches of government, are strongly encouraged to coordinate with the agency and participate in shared services initiatives and the development of enterprise-based strategies, where appropriate. Legislative and judicial agencies of the state may consult with the director on proposed information technology expenditures, where appropriate, to allow the director to provide feedback on an advisory basis.
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The agency shall have the following powers and duties related to the governance of information services:
a. To develop statewide standards and policies governing the:
i. Acquisition of equipment, software, and technology-related services;
ii. Disposition of equipment;
iii. Licensing of the radio spectrum by or on behalf of state agencies; and
iv. Confidentiality of computerized data;
b. To develop statewide and interagency technical policies, standards, and procedures;
c. To review and approve standards and common specifications for new or expanded telecommunications networks proposed by agencies, public postsecondary education institutions, educational service districts, or statewide or regional providers of K-12 information technology services;
d. With input from the legislature and the judiciary, to provide direction concerning strategic planning goals and objectives for the state;
e. To establish policies for the periodic review by the director of state agency performance which may include but are not limited to analysis of:
i. Planning, management, control, and use of information services;
ii. Training and education;
iii. Project management; and
iv. Cybersecurity, in coordination with the office of cybersecurity;
f. To coordinate with state agencies with an annual information technology expenditure that exceeds ten million dollars to implement a technology business management program to identify opportunities for savings and efficiencies in information technology expenditures and to monitor ongoing financial performance of technology investments;
g. To develop statewide standards for agency purchases of technology networking equipment and services;
h. To implement a process for detecting, reporting, and responding to security incidents consistent with the information security standards, policies, and guidelines adopted by the director;
i. To develop plans and procedures to ensure the continuity of commerce for information resources that support the operations and assets of state agencies in the event of a security incident; and
j. To work with the office of cybersecurity, department of commerce, and other economic development stakeholders to facilitate the development of a strategy that includes key local, state, and federal assets that will create Washington as a national leader in cybersecurity. The agency shall collaborate with, including but not limited to, community colleges, universities, the national guard, the department of defense, the department of energy, and national laboratories to develop the strategy.
Statewide technical standards to promote and facilitate electronic information sharing and access are an essential component of acceptable and reliable public access service and complement content-related standards designed to meet those goals. The agency shall:
Establish technical standards to facilitate electronic access to government information and interoperability of information systems, including wireless communications systems; and
Require agencies to include an evaluation of electronic public access needs when planning new information systems or major upgrades of systems.
In developing these standards, the agency is encouraged to include the state library, state archives, and appropriate representatives of state and local government.
The plan shall be updated as necessary and submitted to the governor and the legislature.
The agency shall prepare a biennial state performance report on information technology based on state agency performance reports required under RCW 43.105.235 and other information deemed appropriate by the agency. The report shall include, but not be limited to:
An analysis, based upon agency portfolios, of the state's information technology infrastructure, including its value, condition, and capacity;
An evaluation of performance relating to information technology;
An assessment of progress made toward implementing the state strategic information technology plan, including progress toward electronic access to public information and enabling citizens to have two-way access to public records, information, and services; and
An analysis of the success or failure, feasibility, progress, costs, and timeliness of implementation of major information technology projects under RCW 43.105.245. At a minimum, the portion of the report regarding major technology projects must include:
The total cost data for the entire life-cycle of the project, including capital and operational costs, broken down by staffing costs, contracted service, hardware purchase or lease, software purchase or lease, travel, and training. The original budget must also be shown for comparison;
The original proposed project schedule and the final actual project schedule;
Data regarding progress towards meeting the original goals and performance measures of the project;
Discussion of lessons learned on the project, performance of any contractors used, and reasons for project delays or cost increases; and
Identification of benefits generated by major information technology projects developed under RCW 43.105.245.
Copies of the report shall be distributed biennially to the governor and the legislature. The major technology section of the report must examine major information technology projects completed in the previous biennium.
Pursuant to RCW 43.88.092(3), at the request of the director of financial management, the agency shall evaluate both state agency information technology current spending and technology budget requests, including those proposed by the superintendent of public instruction, in conjunction with educational service districts, or statewide or regional providers of K-12 education information technology services. The agency shall submit recommendations for funding all or part of such requests to the director of financial management. The agency shall also submit recommendations regarding consolidation and coordination of similar proposals or other efficiencies it finds in reviewing proposals.
The agency shall establish criteria, consistent with portfolio-based information technology management, for the evaluation of agency budget requests under this section. Technology budget requests shall be evaluated in the context of the state's information technology portfolio; technology initiatives underlying budget requests are subject to review by the agency. Criteria shall include, but not be limited to: Feasibility of the proposed projects, consistency with the state strategic information technology plan and the state enterprise architecture, consistency with information technology portfolios, appropriate provision for public electronic access to information, evidence of business process streamlining and gathering of business and technical requirements, services, duration of investment, costs, and benefits.
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The agency shall establish standards and policies governing the planning, implementation, and evaluation of major information technology projects, including those proposed by the superintendent of public instruction, in conjunction with educational service districts, or statewide or regional providers of K-12 education information technology services. The standards and policies shall:
Establish criteria to identify projects which are subject to this section. Such criteria shall include, but not be limited to, significant anticipated cost, complexity, or statewide significance of the project; and
Establish a model process and procedures which state agencies shall follow in developing and implementing projects within their information technology portfolios. This process may include project oversight experts or panels, as appropriate. State agencies may propose, for approval by the agency, a process and procedures unique to the agency. The agency may accept or require modification of such agency proposals or the agency may reject those proposals and require use of the model process and procedures established under this subsection. Any process and procedures developed under this subsection shall require (A) distinct and identifiable phases upon which funding may be based, (B) user validation of products through system demonstrations and testing of prototypes and deliverables, and (C) other elements identified by the agency.
The director may suspend or terminate a major project if the director determines that the project is not meeting or is not expected to meet the project's anticipated performance standards. Upon suspension or termination of a major project, the director of the office of financial management shall direct that the project funds be placed into unallotted reserved status.
The agency shall establish policies and standards consistent with portfolio-based information technology management to govern the funding of projects developed under this section. The policies and standards shall provide for:
Funding of a project under terms and conditions mutually agreed to by the director, the director of financial management, and the head of the agency proposing the project. However, the agency, in consultation with the office of financial management, may require incremental funding of a project on a phase-by-phase basis whereby funds for a given phase of a project may be released only when the agency determines, with the advice of the director, that the previous phase is satisfactorily completed; and
Other elements deemed necessary by the agency.
Prior to making a commitment to purchase, acquire, or develop a major information technology project or service, state agencies must provide a proposal to the agency outlining the business case of the proposed product or service, including the up-front and ongoing cost of the proposal.
Within thirty days of receipt of a proposal, the agency shall approve the proposal, reject it, or propose modifications.
In reviewing a proposal, the agency must determine whether the product or service is consistent with:
The standards and policies developed by the director pursuant to RCW 43.105.054 and 43.105.025; and
The state's enterprise-based strategy.
If a substantially similar product or service is offered by the agency, the director may require the state agency to procure the product or service through the agency, if doing so would benefit the state as an enterprise.
The agency shall provide guidance to state agencies as to what threshold of information technology spending constitutes a major information technology product or service under this section.
The agency shall develop an enterprise‑based strategy for information technology in state government informed by portfolio management planning and information technology expenditure information collected from state agencies pursuant to RCW 43.88.092.
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The agency shall develop an ongoing enterprise architecture program for translating business vision and strategy into effective enterprise change. This program will create, communicate, and improve the key principles and models that describe the enterprise's future state and enable its evolution, in keeping with the priorities of government and the information technology strategic plan.
The enterprise architecture program will facilitate business process collaboration among agencies statewide; improving the reliability, interoperability, and sustainability of the business processes that state agencies use.
In developing an enterprise‑based strategy for the state, the agency is encouraged to consider the following strategies as possible opportunities for achieving greater efficiency:
Developing evaluation criteria for deciding which common enterprise-wide business processes should become managed as enterprise services;
Developing a road map of priorities for creating enterprise services;
Developing decision criteria for determining implementation criteria for centralized or decentralized enterprise services;
Developing evaluation criteria for deciding which technology investments to continue, hold, or drop; and
Performing such other duties as may be needed to promote effective enterprise change.
The agency will establish performance measurement criteria for each of its initiatives; will measure the success of those initiatives; and will assess its quarterly results with the director to determine whether to continue, revise, or disband the initiative.
The technology services board is created within the agency.
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The board shall be composed of thirteen members. Six members shall be appointed by the governor, three of whom shall be representatives of state agencies or institutions, and three of whom shall be representatives of the private sector. Of the state agency representatives, at least one of the representatives must have direct experience using the software projects overseen by the board or reasonably expect to use the new software developed under the oversight of the board. Two members shall represent the house of representatives and shall be selected by the speaker of the house of representatives with one representative chosen from each major caucus of the house of representatives; two members shall represent the senate and shall be appointed by the president of the senate with one representative chosen from each major caucus of the senate. One member shall be the director who shall be a voting member of the board and serve as chair. Two nonvoting members with information technology expertise must be appointed by the governor as follows:
One member representing state agency bargaining units shall be selected from a list of three names submitted by each of the general government exclusive bargaining representatives; and
One member representing local governments shall be selected from a list of three names submitted by commonly recognized local government organizations.
The governor may reject all recommendations and request new recommendations.
Of the initial members, three must be appointed for a one-year term, three must be appointed for a two-year term, and four must be appointed for a three-year term. Thereafter, members must be appointed for three-year terms.
Vacancies shall be filled in the same manner that the original appointments were made for the remainder of the member's term.
Members of the board shall be reimbursed for travel expenses as provided in RCW 43.03.050 and 43.03.060.
The agency shall provide staff support to the board.
The board shall have the following powers and duties related to information services:
To review and approve standards and policies, developed by the agency, governing the acquisition and disposition of equipment, proprietary software, and purchased services, licensing of the radio spectrum by or on behalf of state agencies, and confidentiality of computerized data;
To review and approve statewide or interagency technical policies and standards developed by the agency;
To review, approve, and provide oversight of major information technology projects to ensure that no major information technology project proposed by a state agency is approved or authorized funding by the board without consideration of the technical and financial business case for the project, including a review of:
The total cost of ownership across the life of the project;
All major technical options and alternatives analyzed, and reviewed, if necessary, by independent technical sources; and
Whether the project is technically and financially justifiable when compared against the state's enterprise-based strategy, long-term technology trends, and existing or potential partnerships with private providers or vendors;
To review and approve standards and common specifications for new or expanded telecommunications networks proposed by state agencies, public postsecondary education institutions, educational service districts, or statewide or regional providers of K-12 information technology services, and to assure the cost-effective development and incremental implementation of a statewide video telecommunications system to serve: Public schools; educational service districts; vocational-technical institutes; community colleges; colleges and universities; state and local government; and the general public through public affairs programming;
To develop a policy to determine whether a proposed project, product, or service should undergo an independent technical and financial analysis prior to submitting a request to the office of financial management for the inclusion in any proposed operating, capital, or transportation budget;
To approve contracting for services and activities under RCW 41.06.142(11) for the agency. To approve any service or activity to be contracted under RCW 41.06.142(11)(b), the board must also review the proposed business plan and recommendation submitted by the agency;
To consider, on an ongoing basis, ways to promote strategic investments in enterprise-level information technology projects that will result in service improvements and cost efficiency;
To provide a forum to solicit external expertise and perspective on developments in information technology, enterprise architecture, standards, and policy development; and
To provide a forum where ideas and issues related to information technology plans, policies, and standards can be reviewed.
The Washington technology solutions revolving account is created in the custody of the state treasurer. All receipts from agency fees and charges for services collected from public agencies must be deposited into the account. The account must be used for the:
Acquisition of equipment, software, supplies, and services; and
Payment of salaries, wages, and other costs incidental to the acquisition, development, maintenance, operation, and administration of: (i) Information services; (ii) telecommunications; (iii) systems; (iv) software; (v) supplies; and (vi) equipment, including the payment of principal and interest on debt by the agency and other users as determined by the office of financial management.
The director or the director's designee, with the approval of the technology services board, is authorized to expend up to one million dollars per fiscal biennium for the technology services board to conduct independent technical and financial analysis of proposed information technology projects.
Only the director or the director's designee may authorize expenditures from the account. The account is subject to allotment procedures under chapter 43.88 RCW, but no appropriation is required for expenditures except as provided in subsection (4) of this section.
Expenditures for the strategic planning and policy component of the agency are subject to appropriation.
The state library, with the assistance of the agency and the state archives, shall establish a pilot project to design and test an electronic information locator system, allowing members of the public to locate and access electronic public records. In designing the system, the following factors shall be considered: (1) Ease of operation by citizens; (2) access through multiple technologies, such as direct dial and toll-free numbers, kiosks, and the internet; (3) compatibility with private online services; and (4) capability of expanding the electronic public records included in the system. The pilot project may restrict the type and quality of electronic public records that are included in the system to test the feasibility of making electronic public records and information widely available to the public.
The office of privacy and data protection is created within the agency. The purpose of the office of privacy and data protection is to serve as a central point of contact for state agencies on policy matters involving data privacy and data protection.
The director shall appoint the chief privacy officer, who is the director of the office of privacy and data protection.
The primary duties of the office of privacy and data protection with respect to state agencies are:
To conduct an annual privacy review;
To conduct an annual privacy training for state agencies and employees;
To articulate privacy principles and best practices;
To coordinate data protection in cooperation with the agency; and
To participate with the agency in the review of major state agency projects involving personally identifiable information.
The office of privacy and data protection must serve as a resource to local governments and the public on data privacy and protection concerns by:
Developing and promoting the dissemination of best practices for the collection and storage of personally identifiable information, including establishing and conducting a training program or programs for local governments; and
Educating consumers about the use of personally identifiable information on mobile and digital networks and measures that can help protect this information.
By December 1, 2016, and every four years thereafter, the office of privacy and data protection must prepare and submit to the legislature a report evaluating its performance. The office of privacy and data protection must establish performance measures in its 2016 report to the legislature and, in each report thereafter, demonstrate the extent to which performance results have been achieved. These performance measures must include, but are not limited to, the following:
The number of state agencies and employees who have participated in the annual privacy training;
A report on the extent of the office of privacy and data protection's coordination with international and national experts in the fields of data privacy, data protection, and access equity;
A report on the implementation of data protection measures by state agencies attributable in whole or in part to the office of privacy and data protection's coordination of efforts; and
A report on consumer education efforts, including but not limited to the number of consumers educated through public outreach efforts, as indicated by how frequently educational documents were accessed, the office of privacy and data protection's participation in outreach events, and inquiries received back from consumers via telephone or other media.
Within one year of June 9, 2016, the office of privacy and data protection must submit to the joint legislative audit and review committee for review and comment the performance measures developed under subsection (5) of this section and a data collection plan.
The office of privacy and data protection shall submit a report to the legislature on the: (a) Extent to which telecommunications providers in the state are deploying advanced telecommunications capability; and (b) existence of any inequality in access to advanced telecommunications infrastructure experienced by residents of tribal lands, rural areas, and economically distressed communities. The report may be submitted at a time within the discretion of the office of privacy and data protection, at least once every four years, and only to the extent the office of privacy and data protection is able to gather and present the information within existing resources.
Except as provided by subsection (2) of this section, state agencies shall locate all existing and new information or telecommunications investments in the state data center or within third-party, commercial cloud computing services.
State agencies with a service requirement that precludes them from complying with subsection (1) of this section must receive a waiver from the agency. Waivers must be based upon written justification from the requesting state agency citing specific service or performance requirements for locating servers outside the state's common platform.
The legislature and the judiciary, which are constitutionally recognized as separate branches of government, may enter into an interagency agreement with the agency to migrate its servers into the state data center or third-party, commercial cloud computing services.
This section does not apply to institutions of higher education.
The agency shall conduct a needs assessment and develop a migration strategy to ensure that, over time, all state agencies are moving towards using the agency as their central service provider for all utility-based infrastructure services, including centralized PC and infrastructure support. State agency-specific application services shall remain managed within individual agencies.
The agency shall develop short-term and long-term objectives as part of the migration strategy.
This section does not apply to institutions of higher education.
The office of cybersecurity is created within the agency.
The director shall appoint a state chief information security officer, who is the director of the office of cybersecurity.
The primary duties of the office of cybersecurity are:
To establish security standards and policies to protect the state's information technology systems and infrastructure, to provide appropriate governance and application of the standards and policies across information technology resources used by the state, and to ensure the confidentiality, availability, and integrity of the information transacted, stored, or processed in the state's information technology systems and infrastructure;
To develop a centralized cybersecurity protocol for protecting and managing state information technology assets and infrastructure;
To detect and respond to security incidents consistent with information security standards and policies;
To create a model incident response plan for agency adoption, with the office of cybersecurity as the incident response coordinator for incidents that: (i) Impact multiple agencies; (ii) impact more than 10,000 citizens; (iii) involve a nation state actor; or (iv) are likely to be in the public domain;
To ensure the continuity of state business and information resources that support the operations and assets of state agencies in the event of a security incident;
To provide formal guidance to agencies on leading practices and applicable standards to ensure a whole government approach to cybersecurity, which shall include, but not be limited to, guidance regarding: (i) The configuration and architecture of agencies' information technology systems, infrastructure, and assets; (ii) governance, compliance, and oversight; and (iii) incident investigation and response;
To serve as a resource for local and municipal governments in Washington in the area of cybersecurity;
To develop a service catalog of cybersecurity services to be offered to state and local governments;
To define core services that must be managed by agency information technology security programs; and
To perform all other matters and things necessary to carry out the purposes of this chapter.
In performing its duties, the office of cybersecurity must address the highest levels of security required to protect confidential information transacted, stored, or processed in the state's information technology systems and infrastructure that is specifically protected from disclosure by state or federal law and for which strict handling requirements are required.
In executing its duties under subsection (3) of this section, the office of cybersecurity shall use or rely upon existing, industry standard, widely adopted cybersecurity standards, with a preference for United States federal standards.
Each state agency, institution of higher education, the legislature, and the judiciary must develop an information technology security program consistent with the office of cybersecurity's standards and policies.
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Each state agency information technology security program must adhere to the office of cybersecurity's security standards and policies. Each state agency must review and update its program annually, certify to the office of cybersecurity that its program is in compliance with the office of cybersecurity's security standards and policies, and provide the office of cybersecurity with a list of the agency's cybersecurity business needs and agency program metrics.
The office of cybersecurity shall require a state agency to obtain an independent compliance audit of its information technology security program and controls at least once every three years to determine whether the state agency's information technology security program is in compliance with the standards and policies established by the agency and that security controls identified by the state agency in its security program are operating efficiently.
If a review or an audit conducted under (a) or (b) of this subsection identifies any failure to comply with the standards and policies of the office of cybersecurity or any other material cybersecurity risk, the office of cybersecurity must require the state agency to formulate and implement a plan to resolve the failure or risk. On an annual basis, the office of cybersecurity must provide a confidential report to the governor and appropriate committees of the legislature identifying and describing the cybersecurity risk or failure to comply with the office of cybersecurity's security policy or implementing cybersecurity standards and policies, as well as the agency's plan to resolve such failure or risk. Risks that are not mitigated are to be tracked by the office of cybersecurity and reviewed with the governor and the chair and ranking member of the appropriate committees of the legislature on a quarterly basis.
The reports produced, and information compiled, pursuant to this subsection (7) are confidential and may not be disclosed under chapter 42.56 RCW.
In the case of institutions of higher education, the judiciary, and the legislature, each information technology security program must be comparable to the intended outcomes of the office of cybersecurity's security standards and policies.
The director shall appoint a state interoperability executive committee, the membership of which must include, but not be limited to, representatives of the military department, the Washington state patrol, the department of transportation, Washington technology solutions, the department of natural resources, the department of fish and wildlife, the department of health, the department of corrections, city and county governments, state and local fire chiefs, police chiefs, and sheriffs, state and local emergency management directors, tribal nations, and public safety answering points, commonly known as 911 call centers. The chair and legislative members of the board will serve as nonvoting ex officio members of the committee. Voting membership may not exceed twenty-two members.
The director shall appoint the chair of the committee from among the voting members of the committee.
The state interoperability executive committee has the following responsibilities:
Develop policies and make recommendations for technical standards for state wireless radio communications systems, including emergency communications systems. The standards must address, among other things, the interoperability of systems, taking into account both existing and future systems and technologies;
Coordinate and manage on behalf of the department the licensing and use of state-designated and state-licensed radio frequencies, including the spectrum used for public safety and emergency communications, and serve as the point of contact with the federal communications commission and the first responders network authority on matters relating to allocation, use, and licensing of radio spectrum;
Coordinate the purchasing of all state wireless radio communications system equipment to ensure that:
Any new trunked radio system shall be, at a minimum, project‑25; and
Any new land-mobile radio system that requires advanced digital features shall be, at a minimum, project-25;
Seek support, including possible federal or other funding, for state-sponsored wireless communications systems;
Develop recommendations for legislation that may be required to promote interoperability of state wireless communications systems;
Foster cooperation and coordination among public safety and emergency response organizations;
Work with wireless communications groups and associations to ensure interoperability among all public safety and emergency response wireless communications systems; and
Perform such other duties as may be assigned by the director to promote interoperability of wireless communications systems.
The department shall provide administrative support to the committee.
Unless otherwise specified by rule of the supreme court, the jury source list and master jury list for each county shall be created as provided by this section.
The superior court of each county, after consultation with the county clerk and county auditor of that jurisdiction, shall annually notify Washington technology solutions not later than March 1st of each year of its election to use either a jury source list that is merged by the county or a jury source list that is merged by Washington technology solutions. Washington technology solutions shall annually furnish at no charge to the superior court of each county a separate list of the registered voters residing in that county as supplied annually by the secretary of state and a separate list of driver's license and identicard holders residing in that county as supplied annually by the department of licensing, or a merged list of all such persons residing in that county, in accordance with the annual notification required by this subsection. The lists provided by Washington technology solutions shall be in an electronic format mutually agreed upon by the superior court requesting it and Washington technology solutions. The annual merger of the list of registered voters residing in each county with the list of licensed drivers and identicard holders residing in each county to form a jury source list for each county shall be in accordance with the standards and methodology established in this chapter or by superseding court rule whether the merger is accomplished by Washington technology solutions or by a county.
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Persons on the lists of registered voters and driver's license and identicard holders shall be identified by a minimum of last name, first name, middle initial where available, date of birth, gender, and county of residence. Identifying information shall be used when merging the lists to ensure to the extent reasonably possible that persons are only listed once on the merged list. Conflicts in addresses are to be resolved by using the most recent record by date of last vote in a general election, date of driver's license or identicard address change or date of voter registration.
After July 1, 2024, persons who:
Apply for a driver's license or identicard in this state shall have the ability to opt in to allow the department of licensing to share the person's email address with Washington technology solutions for the purpose of electronically receiving jury summons and other communications related to jury service; and
Apply online to register to vote shall, immediately after completing the voter registration transaction, be directed by the secretary of state to a website where the person shall have the ability to opt in to share the person's email address with Washington technology solutions for the purpose of electronically receiving jury summons and other communications related to jury service. The provisions of this subsection (2)(b)(ii) are subject to appropriation.
Washington technology solutions shall provide counties that elect to receive a jury source list merged by Washington technology solutions with a list of names which are possible duplicates that cannot be resolved based on the identifying information required under subsection (2) of this section. If a possible duplication cannot subsequently be resolved satisfactorily through reasonable efforts by the county receiving the merged list, the possible duplicate name shall be stricken from the jury source list until the next annual jury source list is prepared.
The supreme court is requested to adopt court rules regarding methodology and standards for merging the list of registered voters in Washington state with the list of licensed drivers and identicard holders in Washington state for purposes of creating an expanded jury source list. The rules should specify the standard electronic format or formats in which the lists will be provided to requesting superior courts by Washington technology solutions. In the interim, and until such court rules become effective, the methodology and standards provided in RCW 2.36.054 shall apply. An expanded jury source list shall be available to the courts for use by September 1, 1994.
The secretary of state, the department of licensing, and Washington technology solutions shall adopt administrative rules as necessary to provide for the implementation of the methodology and standards established pursuant to RCW 2.36.057 and 2.36.054 or by supreme court rule.
The administrative office of the courts, under the direction of the judicial information system committee, shall:
Develop a judicial information system information technology portfolio consistent with the provisions of RCW 43.105.341;
Participate in the development of an enterprise-based statewide information technology strategy;
Ensure the judicial information system information technology portfolio is organized and structured to clearly indicate participation in and use of enterprise-wide information technology strategies;
As part of the biennial budget process, submit the judicial information system information technology portfolio to the chair and ranking member of the ways and means committees of the house of representatives and the senate, the office of financial management, and Washington technology solutions.
The building code council, in consultation with Washington technology solutions, shall assess the costs and benefits of the potential acquisition and implementation of open public access information technologies to enhance the council's code adoption process and report back to the appropriate committees of the legislature by November 15, 2018.
The secretary of state shall provide a duplicate copy of the master statewide computer file or electronic data file of registered voters to Washington technology solutions for purposes of creating the jury source list without cost. The information contained in a voter registration application is exempt from inclusion until the applicant reaches age eighteen. Disclosure of information on individuals under the age of 18 is subject to RCW 29A.08.725. Restrictions as to the commercial use of the information on the statewide computer data file of registered voters, and penalties for its misuse, shall be the same as provided in RCW 29A.08.720 and 29A.08.740.
There is hereby created the emergency management council (hereinafter called the council), to consist of not more than 21 members who shall be appointed by the adjutant general. The membership of the council shall include, but not be limited to, representatives of city and county governments, two representatives of federally recognized tribes, sheriffs and police chiefs, county coroners and medical examiners, the Washington state patrol, the military department, the department of ecology, state and local fire chiefs, seismic safety experts, state and local emergency management directors, search and rescue volunteers, medical professions who have expertise in emergency medical care, building officials, private industry, and the office of the superintendent of public instruction. The representatives of private industry shall include persons knowledgeable in emergency and hazardous materials management. The councilmembers shall elect a chair from within the council membership. The members of the council shall serve without compensation, but may be reimbursed for their travel expenses incurred in the performance of their duties in accordance with RCW 43.03.050 and 43.03.060 as now existing or hereafter amended.
The emergency management council shall advise the governor and the director on all matters pertaining to state and local emergency management. The council may appoint such ad hoc committees, subcommittees, and working groups as are required to develop specific recommendations for the improvement of emergency management practices, standards, policies, or procedures. The council shall ensure that the governor receives an annual assessment of statewide emergency preparedness including, but not limited to, specific progress on hazard mitigation and reduction efforts, implementation of seismic safety improvements, reduction of flood hazards, mitigation of cybersecurity risks to critical infrastructure, and coordination of hazardous materials planning and response activities. The council shall review administrative rules governing state and local emergency management practices and recommend necessary revisions to the director.
The council or a council subcommittee shall serve and periodically convene in special session as the state emergency response commission required by the emergency planning and community right-to-know act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 11001 et seq.). The state emergency response commission shall conduct those activities specified in federal statutes and regulations and state administrative rules governing the coordination of hazardous materials policy including, but not limited to, review of local emergency planning committee emergency response plans for compliance with the planning requirements in the emergency planning and community right-to-know act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 11001 et seq.). Committees shall annually review their plans to address changed conditions, and submit their plans to the state emergency response commission for review when updated, but not less than at least once every five years. The department may employ staff to assist local emergency planning committees in the development and annual review of these emergency response plans, with an initial focus on the highest risk communities through which trains that transport oil in bulk travel. By March 1, 2018, the department shall report to the governor and legislature on progress towards compliance with planning requirements. The report must also provide budget and policy recommendations for continued support of local emergency planning.
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The cybersecurity advisory committee is created and is a subcommittee of the emergency management council. The purpose of the cybersecurity advisory committee is to provide advice and recommendations that strengthen cybersecurity in both industry and public sectors across all critical infrastructure sectors.
The cybersecurity advisory committee shall bring together organizations with expertise and responsibility for cybersecurity and incident response among local government, tribes, state agencies, institutions of higher education, the technology sector, and first responders with the goal of providing recommendations on building and sustaining the state's capability to identify and mitigate cybersecurity risk and to respond to and recover from cybersecurity-related incidents, including but not limited to ransomware incidents. With respect to critical infrastructure, the cybersecurity advisory committee shall work with relevant federal agencies, state agencies, institutions of higher education as defined in chapter 28B.92 RCW, industry experts, and technical specialists to:
Identify which local, tribal, and industry infrastructure sectors are at the greatest risk of cyberattacks and need the most enhanced cybersecurity measures;
Use federal guidance to analyze categories of critical infrastructure in the state that could reasonably result in catastrophic consequences if unauthorized cyber access to the infrastructure occurred;
Recommend cyber incident response exercises that relate to risk and risk mitigation in the water, transportation, communications, health care, elections, agriculture, energy, and higher education sectors, or other sectors as the cybersecurity advisory committee deems appropriate, in consultation with appropriate state agencies including, but not limited to, the energy resilience and emergency management office at the department of commerce and the secretary of state's office; and
Examine the inconsistencies between state and federal law regarding cybersecurity.
In fulfilling its duties under this section, the military department and the cybersecurity advisory committee shall collaborate with Washington technology solutions and the technology services board security subcommittee created in RCW 43.105.291.
In order to protect sensitive security topics and information, the cybersecurity advisory committee must follow 6 C.F.R. Part 29, as it existed on July 23, 2023, procedures for handling critical infrastructure information. The reports produced, and information compiled, pursuant to this subsection are confidential and may not be disclosed under chapter 42.56 RCW.
The cybersecurity advisory committee must contribute, as appropriate, to the emergency management council annual report and must meet quarterly. The cybersecurity advisory committee shall hold a joint meeting once a year with the technology services board security subcommittee created in RCW 43.105.291.
For the purpose of this subsection, "ransomware" has the same meaning as in RCW 43.105.020.
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The intrastate mutual aid committee is created and is a subcommittee of the emergency management council. The intrastate mutual aid committee consists of not more than five members who must be appointed by the council chair from council membership. The chair of the intrastate mutual aid committee is the military department representative appointed as a member of the council. Meetings of the intrastate mutual aid committee must be held at least annually.
In support of the intrastate mutual aid system established in chapter 38.56 RCW, the intrastate mutual aid committee shall develop and update guidelines and procedures to facilitate implementation of the intrastate mutual aid system by member jurisdictions, including but not limited to the following: Projected or anticipated costs; checklists and forms for requesting and providing assistance; recordkeeping; reimbursement procedures; and other implementation issues. These guidelines and procedures are not subject to the rule-making requirements of chapter 34.05 RCW.
On emergency management issues that involve early learning, kindergarten through twelfth grade, or higher education, the emergency management council must consult with representatives from the following organizations: The department of children, youth, and families; the office of the superintendent of public instruction; the state board for community and technical colleges; and an association of public baccalaureate degree-granting institutions.
The director shall:
Establish overall state policies, standards, and procedures regarding the procurement of goods and services by all state agencies;
Develop policies and standards for the use of credit cards or similar methods to make purchases;
Establish procurement processes for information technology goods and services, using technology standards and policies established by Washington technology solutions under chapter 43.105 RCW;
Enter into contracts or delegate the authority to enter into contracts on behalf of the state to facilitate the purchase, lease, rent, or otherwise acquire all goods and services and equipment needed for the support, maintenance, and use of all state agencies, except as provided in RCW 39.26.100;
Have authority to delegate to agencies authorization to purchase goods and services. The authorization must specify restrictions as to dollar amount or to specific types of goods and services, based on a risk assessment process developed by the department. Acceptance of the purchasing authorization by an agency does not relieve the agency from conformance with this chapter or from policies established by the director. Also, the director may not delegate to a state agency the authorization to purchase goods and services if the agency is not in substantial compliance with overall procurement policies as established by the director;
Develop procurement policies and procedures, such as unbundled contracting and subcontracting, that encourage and facilitate the purchase of goods and services from Washington small businesses, microbusinesses, and minibusinesses, and minority and women-owned businesses to the maximum extent practicable and consistent with international trade agreement commitments;
Develop and implement an enterprise system for electronic procurement;
Provide for a commodity classification system and provide for the adoption of goods and services commodity standards;
Establish overall state policy for compliance by all agencies regarding:
Food procurement procedures and materials that encourage and facilitate the purchase of Washington grown food by state agencies and institutions to the maximum extent practicable and consistent with international trade agreement commitments; and
Policies requiring all food contracts to include a plan to maximize to the extent practicable and consistent with international trade agreement commitments the availability of Washington grown food purchased through the contract;
Develop guidelines and criteria for the purchase of vehicles, high gas mileage vehicles, and alternate vehicle fuels and systems, equipment, and materials, that reduce overall energy-related costs and energy use by the state, including investigations into all opportunities to aggregate the purchasing of clean technologies by state and local governments, and including the requirement that new passenger vehicles purchased by the state meet the minimum standards for passenger automobile fuel economy established by the United States secretary of transportation pursuant to the energy policy and conservation act (15 U.S.C. Sec. 2002); and
Develop and enact rules to implement the provisions of this chapter.
The provisions of this chapter do not apply in any manner to the operation of the state legislature except as requested by the legislature.
The provisions of this chapter do not apply to the contracting for services, equipment, and activities that are necessary to establish, operate, or manage the state data center, including architecture, design, engineering, installation, and operation of the facility, that are approved by the technology services board or the acquisition of proprietary software, equipment, and information technology services necessary for or part of the provision of services offered by Washington technology solutions.
Primary authority for the purchase of specialized equipment, and instructional and research material, for their own use rests with the institutions of higher education as defined in RCW 28B.10.016.
Universities operating hospitals with approval from the director, as the agent for state hospitals as defined in RCW 72.23.010, and for health care programs provided in state correctional institutions as defined in RCW 72.65.010(3) and veterans' institutions as defined in RCW 72.36.010 and 72.36.070, may make purchases for hospital operation by participating in contracts for materials, supplies, and equipment entered into by nonprofit cooperative hospital group purchasing organizations if documented to be more cost-effective.
Primary authority for the purchase of materials, supplies, and equipment, for resale to other than public agencies, rests with the state agency concerned.
The authority for the purchase of insurance and bonds rests with the risk manager under RCW 43.19.769, except for institutions of higher education that choose to exercise independent purchasing authority under RCW 28B.10.029.
The provisions of this chapter do not apply to information technology purchases by state agencies, other than institutions of higher education and agencies of the judicial branch, if (a) the purchase is less than one hundred thousand dollars, (b) the initial purchase is approved by the chief information officer of the state, and (c) the agency director and the chief information officer of the state jointly prepare a public document providing a detailed justification for the expenditure.
The authority to purchase interpreter services on behalf of applicants and recipients of public assistance who are sensory-impaired rests with the department of social and health services and the health care authority.
State agencies that are purchasing wireless devices or services must make such purchases through the state master contract, unless the state agency provides to Washington technology solutions evidence that the state agency is securing its wireless devices or services from another source for a lower cost than through participation in the state master contract.
For the purposes of this section, "state agency" means any office, department, board, commission, or other unit of state government, but does not include a unit of state government headed by a statewide elected official, an institution of higher education as defined in RCW 28B.10.016, the student achievement council, the state board for community and technical colleges, or agencies of the legislative or judicial branches of state government.
(1) Except as provided in RCW 28B.10.022, the state may not enter into any financing contract for itself if the aggregate principal amount payable thereunder is greater than an amount to be established from time to time by the state finance committee or participate in a program providing for the issuance of certificates of participation, including any contract for credit enhancement, without the prior approval of the state finance committee. Except as provided in RCW 28B.10.022, the state finance committee shall approve the form of all financing contracts or a standard format for all financing contracts. The state finance committee also may:
All public records shall be and remain the property of the state of Washington. They shall be delivered by outgoing officials and employees to their successors and shall be preserved, stored, transferred, destroyed or disposed of, and otherwise managed, only in accordance with the provisions of this chapter. In order to insure the proper management and safeguarding of public records, the division of archives and records management is established in the office of the secretary of state. The state archivist, who shall administer the division and have reasonable access to all public records, wherever kept, for purposes of information, surveying, or cataloguing, shall undertake the following functions, duties, and responsibilities:
To manage the archives of the state of Washington;
To centralize the archives of the state of Washington, to make them available for reference and scholarship, and to insure their proper preservation;
To inspect, inventory, catalog, and arrange retention and transfer schedules on all record files of all state departments and other agencies of state government;
To insure the maintenance and security of all state public records and to establish safeguards against unauthorized removal or destruction;
To establish and operate such state record centers as may from time to time be authorized by appropriation, for the purpose of preserving, servicing, screening and protecting all state public records which must be preserved temporarily or permanently, but which need not be retained in office space and equipment;
To adopt rules under chapter 34.05 RCW:
Setting standards for the durability and permanence of public records maintained by state and local agencies;
Governing procedures for the creation, maintenance, transmission, cataloging, indexing, storage, or reproduction of photographic, optical, electronic, or other images of public documents or records in a manner consistent with current standards, policies, and procedures of Washington technology solutions for the acquisition of information technology;
Governing the accuracy and durability of, and facilitating access to, photographic, optical, electronic, or other images used as public records; or
To carry out any other provision of this chapter;
To gather and disseminate to interested agencies information on all phases of records management and current practices, methods, procedures, techniques, and devices for efficient and economical management and preservation of records;
To operate a central microfilming bureau which will microfilm, at cost, records approved for filming by the head of the office of origin and the archivist; to approve microfilming projects undertaken by state departments and all other agencies of state government; and to maintain proper standards for this work;
To maintain necessary facilities for the review of records approved for destruction and for their economical disposition by sale or burning; directly to supervise such destruction of public records as shall be authorized by the terms of this chapter;
To assist and train state and local agencies in the proper methods of creating, maintaining, cataloging, indexing, transmitting, storing, and reproducing photographic, optical, electronic, or other images used as public records;
To solicit, accept, and expend donations as provided in RCW 43.07.037 for the purpose of the archive program. These purposes include, but are not limited to, acquisition, accession, interpretation, and display of archival materials. Donations that do not meet the criteria of the archive program may not be accepted.
Unless authorized by law, an agency may not collect, capture, purchase, or otherwise obtain a biometric identifier without first providing notice and obtaining the individual's consent, as follows:
The notice provided must clearly specify the purpose and use of the biometric identifier; and
The consent obtained must be specific to the terms of the notice, and must be recorded and maintained by the agency for the duration of the retention of the biometric identifier.
Any biometric identifier obtained by an agency:
May not be sold;
May only be used consistent with the terms of the notice and consent obtained under subsection (1) of this section, or as authorized by law; and
May be shared, including with other state agencies or local governments, only:
As needed to execute the purposes of the collection, consistent with the notice and consent obtained under subsection (1) of this section, or as authorized by law; or
If such sharing is specified within the original consent.
An agency that collects, purchases, or otherwise obtains biometric identifiers must:
Establish security policies that ensure the integrity and appropriate confidentiality of the biometric identifiers;
Address biometric identifiers in the agency's privacy policies;
Only retain biometric identifiers necessary to fulfill the original purpose and use, as specified in the notice and consent obtained under subsection (1) of this section, or as authorized by law;
Set record retention schedules tailored to the original purpose of the collection of biometric identifiers;
Otherwise minimize the review and retention of the biometric identifiers, consistent with state record retention requirements; and
Design a biometric policy to ensure that the agency is minimizing the collection of biometric identifiers to the fewest number necessary to accomplish the agency mission.
The use and storage of biometric identifiers obtained by an agency must comply with all other applicable state and federal laws and regulations, including the health insurance portability and accountability act (HIPAA), the family educational rights and privacy act (FERPA), regulations regarding data breach notifications and individual privacy protections, and any policies or standards published by Washington technology solutions.
Biometric identifiers may not be disclosed under the public records act, chapter 42.56 RCW.
Agency policies, regulations, guidance, and retention schedules regarding biometric identifiers must be reviewed annually to incorporate any new technology, as appropriate, and respond to citizen complaints.
The definitions in this subsection apply throughout this section unless the context requires otherwise.
"Agency" means every state office, department, division, bureau, board, commission, or other state agency.
"Biometric identifier" means any information, regardless of how it is captured, converted, stored, or shared, based on an individual's retina or iris scan, fingerprint, voiceprint, DNA, or scan of hand or face geometry, except when such information is derived from:
Writing samples, written signatures, photographs, human biological samples used for valid scientific testing or screening, demographic data, tattoo descriptions, or physical descriptions such as height, weight, hair color, or eye color;
Donated organ tissues or parts, or blood or serum stored on behalf of recipients or potential recipients of living or cadaveric transplants and obtained or stored by a federally designated organ procurement agency;
Information captured from a patient in a health care setting or information collected, used, or stored for health care treatment, payment, or operations under the federal health insurance portability and accountability act of 1996; or
X-ray, roentgen process, computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), positron emission tomography (PET) scan, mammography, or other image or film of the human anatomy used to diagnose, develop a prognosis for, or treat an illness or other medical condition or to further validate scientific testing or screening.
Subsection (1) of this section does not apply to general authority Washington law enforcement agencies, as defined under RCW 10.93.020.
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For purposes of the restrictions and obligations in subsection (1) of this section, "biometric identifier" does not include fingerprints or DNA for the following:
Limited authority Washington law enforcement agencies, as defined under RCW 10.93.020;
Agencies authorized by statute to confine a person involuntarily, or to petition for such confinement; and
The attorney general's office when obtaining or using biometric identifiers is necessary for law enforcement, legal advice, or legal representation.
When an agency listed under (a) of this subsection has a need to collect, capture, purchase, or otherwise obtain a biometric identifier other than a fingerprint or DNA to fulfill a purpose authorized by law, for either an individual circumstance or a categorical circumstance, the requirements of subsection (1) of this section are waived upon such agency providing prompt written notice to the state's chief privacy officer and to the appropriate committees of the legislature, stating the type of biometric identifier at issue and the general circumstances requiring the waiver.
The Washington state health information technology office is located within the authority. The following state agencies are directed to cooperate with the authority to establish appropriate health care information systems in their programs: The department of social and health services, the department of health, the department of labor and industries, the basic health plan, the department of veterans affairs, the department of corrections, the department of children, youth, and families, and the superintendent of public instruction.
The authority, in conjunction with these agencies and in collaboration with Washington technology solutions, shall determine:
Definitions of health care services;
Health care data elements common to all agencies;
Health care data elements unique to each agency; and
A mechanism for program and budget review of health care data.
The provisions of this chapter do not apply to:
The members of the legislature or to any employee of, or position in, the legislative branch of the state government including members, officers, and employees of the legislative council, joint legislative audit and review committee, statute law committee, and any interim committee of the legislature;
The justices of the supreme court, judges of the court of appeals, judges of the superior courts or of the inferior courts, or to any employee of, or position in the judicial branch of state government;
Officers, academic personnel, and employees of technical colleges;
The officers of the Washington state patrol;
Elective officers of the state;
The chief executive officer of each agency;
In the departments of employment security and social and health services, the director and the director's confidential secretary; in all other departments, the executive head of which is an individual appointed by the governor, the director, his or her confidential secretary, and his or her statutory assistant directors;
In the case of a multimember board, commission, or committee, whether the members thereof are elected, appointed by the governor or other authority, serve ex officio, or are otherwise chosen:
All members of such boards, commissions, or committees;
If the members of the board, commission, or committee serve on a part-time basis and there is a statutory executive officer: The secretary of the board, commission, or committee; the chief executive officer of the board, commission, or committee; and the confidential secretary of the chief executive officer of the board, commission, or committee;
If the members of the board, commission, or committee serve on a full-time basis: The chief executive officer or administrative officer as designated by the board, commission, or committee; and a confidential secretary to the chair of the board, commission, or committee;
If all members of the board, commission, or committee serve ex officio: The chief executive officer; and the confidential secretary of such chief executive officer;
The confidential secretaries and administrative assistants in the immediate offices of the elective officers of the state;
Assistant attorneys general;
Commissioned and enlisted personnel in the military service of the state;
Inmate, student, and temporary employees, and part-time professional consultants, as defined by the director;
Officers and employees of the Washington state fruit commission;
Officers and employees of the Washington apple commission;
Officers and employees of the Washington state dairy products commission;
Officers and employees of the Washington tree fruit research commission;
Officers and employees of the Washington state beef commission;
Officers and employees of the Washington grain commission;
Officers and employees of any commission formed under chapter 15.66 RCW;
Officers and employees of agricultural commissions formed under chapter 15.65 RCW;
Executive assistants for personnel administration and labor relations in all state agencies employing such executive assistants including but not limited to all departments, offices, commissions, committees, boards, or other bodies subject to the provisions of this chapter and this subsection shall prevail over any provision of law inconsistent herewith unless specific exception is made in such law;
In each agency with fifty or more employees: Deputy agency heads, assistant directors or division directors, and not more than three principal policy assistants who report directly to the agency head or deputy agency heads;
Staff employed by the department of commerce to administer energy policy functions;
The manager of the energy facility site evaluation council;
A maximum of ten staff employed by the department of commerce to administer innovation and policy functions, including the three principal policy assistants exempted under (v) of this subsection;
Staff employed by Washington State University to administer energy education, applied research, and technology transfer programs under RCW 43.21F.045 as provided in RCW 28B.30.900(5);
aa. Officers and employees of Washington technology solutions created in RCW 43.105.006 that perform the following functions or duties: Systems integration; data center engineering and management; network systems engineering and management; information technology contracting; information technology customer relations management; and network and systems security;
bb. The executive director of the Washington statewide reentry council.
The following classifications, positions, and employees of institutions of higher education and related boards are hereby exempted from coverage of this chapter:
Members of the governing board of each institution of higher education and related boards, all presidents, vice presidents, and their confidential secretaries, administrative, and personal assistants; deans, directors, and chairs; academic personnel; and executive heads of major administrative or academic divisions employed by institutions of higher education; principal assistants to executive heads of major administrative or academic divisions; other managerial or professional employees in an institution or related board having substantial responsibility for directing or controlling program operations and accountable for allocation of resources and program results, or for the formulation of institutional policy, or for carrying out personnel administration or labor relations functions, legislative relations, public information, development, senior computer systems and network programming, or internal audits and investigations; and any employee of a community college district whose place of work is one which is physically located outside the state of Washington and who is employed pursuant to RCW 28B.50.092 and assigned to an educational program operating outside of the state of Washington;
The governing board of each institution, and related boards, may also exempt from this chapter classifications involving research activities, counseling of students, extension or continuing education activities, graphic arts or publications activities requiring prescribed academic preparation or special training as determined by the board: PROVIDED, That no nonacademic employee engaged in office, clerical, maintenance, or food and trade services may be exempted by the board under this provision;
Printing craft employees in the department of printing at the University of Washington.
In addition to the exemptions specifically provided by this chapter, the director may provide for further exemptions pursuant to the following procedures. The governor or other appropriate elected official may submit requests for exemption to the office of financial management stating the reasons for requesting such exemptions. The director shall hold a public hearing, after proper notice, on requests submitted pursuant to this subsection. If the director determines that the position for which exemption is requested is one involving substantial responsibility for the formulation of basic agency or executive policy or one involving directing and controlling program operations of an agency or a major administrative division thereof, or is a senior expert in enterprise information technology infrastructure, engineering, or systems, the director shall grant the request. The total number of additional exemptions permitted under this subsection shall not exceed one percent of the number of employees in the classified service not including employees of institutions of higher education and related boards for those agencies not directly under the authority of any elected public official other than the governor, and shall not exceed a total of twenty-five for all agencies under the authority of elected public officials other than the governor.
The salary and fringe benefits of all positions presently or hereafter exempted except for the chief executive officer of each agency, full-time members of boards and commissions, administrative assistants and confidential secretaries in the immediate office of an elected state official, and the personnel listed in subsections (1)(j) through (t) and (2) of this section, shall be determined by the director. Changes to the classification plan affecting exempt salaries must meet the same provisions for classified salary increases resulting from adjustments to the classification plan as outlined in RCW 41.06.152.
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Any person holding a classified position subject to the provisions of this chapter shall, when and if such position is subsequently exempted from the application of this chapter, be afforded the following rights: If such person previously held permanent status in another classified position, such person shall have a right of reversion to the highest class of position previously held, or to a position of similar nature and salary.
Any classified employee having civil service status in a classified position who accepts an appointment in an exempt position shall have the right of reversion to the highest class of position previously held, or to a position of similar nature and salary.
A person occupying an exempt position who is terminated from the position for gross misconduct or malfeasance does not have the right of reversion to a classified position as provided for in this section.
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Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (5) of this section, a person cannot exercise the right of reversion to a classified position if the employee has been given written notice that they are the subject of an active workplace investigation in which the allegations being investigated, if founded, could result in a finding of gross misconduct or malfeasance. The right of reversion is suspended during the pendency of the investigation. For the purposes of this subsection, written notice includes notice sent by email to the employee's work email address.
The office of financial management must adopt rules implementing this section.
In addition to the exemptions under RCW 41.06.070, the provisions of this chapter shall not apply in Washington technology solutions to the chief information officer, the chief information officer's confidential secretary, and assistant directors, and up to twelve positions in the planning component involved in policy development and/or senior professionals.
If any department, agency, or institution of higher education intends to contract for services that, on or after July 1, 2005, have been customarily and historically provided by, and would displace or relocate, employees in the classified service under this chapter, a department, agency, or institution of higher education may do so by contracting with individuals, nonprofit organizations, businesses, employee business units, or other entities if the following criteria are met:
A comprehensive impact assessment is completed by the agency, department, or institution of higher education to assist it in determining whether the decision to contract out is beneficial.
(A) An estimate of the cost of performance of the service by employees, including the fully allocated costs of the service, the cost of the employees' salaries and benefits, space, equipment, materials, and other costs necessary to perform the function. The estimate must not include the state's indirect overhead costs unless those costs can be attributed directly to the function in question and would not exist if that function were not performed in state service;
(B) An estimate of the cost of performance of the services if contracted out, including the cost of administration of the program and allocating sufficient employee staff time and resources to monitor the contract and ensure its proper performance by the contractor;
(C) The reason for proposing to contract out, including the objective the agency would like to achieve; and
(D) The reasons for the determination made under (e) of this subsection.
ii. When the contract will result in termination of state employees or elimination of state positions, the comprehensive impact assessment may also include an assessment of the potential adverse impacts on the public from outsourcing the contract, such as loss of employment, effect on social services and public assistance programs, economic impacts on local businesses and local tax revenues, and environmental impacts;
b. The invitation for bid or request for proposal contains measurable standards for the performance of the contract;
c. Employees whose positions or work would be displaced by the contract are provided an opportunity to offer alternatives to purchasing services by contract and, if these alternatives are not accepted, compete for the contract under competitive contracting procedures in subsection (7) of this section;
d. The department, agency, or institution of higher education has established a contract monitoring process to measure contract performance, costs, service delivery quality, and other contract standards, and to cancel contracts that do not meet those standards; and
e. The department, agency, or institution of higher education has determined that the contract results in savings or efficiency improvements. The contracting agency, department, or institution of higher education must consider the consequences and potential mitigation of improper or failed performance by the contractor.
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The agency, department, or institution of higher education must post on its website the request for proposal, the contract or a statement that the agency, department, or institution of higher education did not move forward with contracting out, and the comprehensive impact assessment pursuant to subsection (1) of this section.
The agency, department, or institution of higher education must maintain the information in (a) of this subsection in its files in accordance with the record retention schedule under RCW 40.14.060.
Every five years or upon completion of the contract, whichever comes first, the agency, department, or institution of higher education must prepare and maintain in the contract file a report, which must include at a minimum the following information:
Documentation of the contractor's performance as measured by the itemized performance standards;
Itemization of any contract extensions or change orders that resulted in a change in the dollar value or cost of the contract; and
A report of any remedial actions that were taken to enforce compliance with the contract, together with an estimate of the cost incurred by the agency, department, or institution of higher education in enforcing such compliance.
In addition to any other terms required by law, the terms of any agreement to contract out a service pursuant to this section must include terms that address the following:
The contract's contract management provision must allow review of the contractor's performance;
The contract's termination clauses must allow termination of the contract if the contractor fails to meet the terms of the contract, including failure to meet performance standards or failure to provide the services at the contracted price;
The contract's damages provision must allow recovery of direct damages and when applicable, indirect damages that the agency, department, or institution of higher education incurs due to the contractor's breach of the agreement;
If the contractor will be using a subcontractor for performance of services under the contract, the contract must allow the agency, department, or institution of higher education to obtain information about the subcontractor, as applicable to the performance of services under the agreement; and
A provision requiring the contractor to consider employment of employees who may be displaced by the contract, if the contract is with an entity other than an employee business unit.
Any provision contrary to or in conflict with this section in any collective bargaining agreement in effect on July 1, 2005, is not effective beyond the expiration date of the agreement.
When contracting out for services as authorized in this section the agency, department, or institution of higher education must ensure firms adhere to the values of the state of Washington under RCW 49.60.030, which provide its citizens freedom from discrimination. Any relationship with a potential or current industry partner that is found to have violated RCW 49.60.030 by the attorney general shall not be considered and must be immediately terminated unless:
The industry partner has fulfilled the conditions or obligations associated with any court order or settlement resulting from that violation; or
The industry partner has taken significant and meaningful steps to correct the violation, as determined by the Washington state human rights commission.
Competitive contracting shall be implemented as follows:
At least ninety days prior to the date the contracting agency, department, or institution of higher education requests bids from private entities for a contract for services provided by employees, the contracting agency, department, or institution of higher education shall notify the employees whose positions or work would be displaced by the contract. The employees shall have sixty days from the date of notification to offer alternatives to purchasing services by contract, and the agency, department, or institution of higher education shall consider the alternatives before requesting bids.
If the employees decide to compete for the contract, they shall notify the contracting agency, department, or institution of higher education of their decision. Employees must form one or more employee business units for the purpose of submitting a bid or bids to perform the services.
The department of enterprise services, with the advice and assistance of the office of financial management, shall develop and make available to employee business units training in the bidding process and general bid preparation.
The director of enterprise services, with the advice and assistance of the office of financial management, shall, by rule, establish procedures to ensure that bids are submitted and evaluated in a fair and objective manner and that there exists a competitive market for the service. Such rules shall include, but not be limited to: (i) Prohibitions against participation in the bid evaluation process by employees who prepared the business unit's bid or who perform any of the services to be contracted; (ii) provisions to ensure no bidder receives an advantage over other bidders and that bid requirements are applied equitably to all parties; and (iii) procedures that require the contracting agency, department, or institution of higher education to receive complaints regarding the bidding process and to consider them before awarding the contract. Appeal of an agency's, department's, or institution of higher education's actions under this subsection is an adjudicative proceeding and subject to the applicable provisions of chapter 34.05 RCW, the administrative procedure act, with the final decision to be rendered by an administrative law judge assigned under chapter 34.12 RCW.
An employee business unit's bid must include the fully allocated costs of the service, including the cost of the employees' salaries and benefits, space, equipment, materials, and other costs necessary to perform the function. An employee business unit's cost shall not include the state's indirect overhead costs unless those costs can be attributed directly to the function in question and would not exist if that function were not performed in state service.
A department, agency, or institution of higher education may contract with the department of enterprise services to conduct the bidding process.
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As used in this section:
"Employee business unit" means a group of employees who perform services to be contracted under this section and who submit a bid for the performance of those services under subsection (7) of this section.
"Indirect overhead costs" means the pro rata share of existing agency administrative salaries and benefits, and rent, equipment costs, utilities, and materials associated with those administrative functions.
"Competitive contracting" means the process by which employees of a department, agency, or institution of higher education compete with businesses, individuals, nonprofit organizations, or other entities for contracts authorized by subsection (1) of this section.
Unless otherwise specified, for the purpose of chapter 269, Laws of 2020, "employee" means state employees in the classified service under this chapter except employees in the Washington management service as defined under RCW 41.06.022 and 41.06.500.
The processes set forth in subsections (1)(a), (2), (3), and (4)(a) through (d) of this section do not apply to contracts:
Awarded for the purposes of or by the department of transportation;
With an estimated cost of contract performance of twenty thousand dollars or less;
With an estimated cost of contract performance that exceeds five hundred thousand dollars for public work as defined by RCW 39.04.010; or
Relating to mechanical, plumbing as described in chapter 18.106 RCW, and electrical as described in chapter 19.28 RCW, procured to install systems for new construction or life-cycle replacement with an estimated cost of contract performance of seventy-five thousand dollars or more.
The processes set forth in subsections (1) through (4), (7), and (8) of this section do not apply to:
RCW 74.13.031(6);
The acquisition of printing services by a state agency; and
Contracts for services expressly mandated by the legislature, including contracts for fire suppression awarded by the department of natural resources under RCW 76.04.181, or authorized by law prior to July 1, 2005, including contracts and agreements between public entities.
The processes set forth in subsections (1) through (4), (7), and (8) of this section do not apply to Washington technology solutions when contracting for services or activities as follows:
Contracting for services and activities that are necessary to establish, operate, or manage the state data center, including architecture, design, engineering, installation, and operation of the facility that are approved by the technology services board created in RCW 43.105.285.
Contracting for services and activities recommended by the chief information officer through a business plan and approved by the technology services board created in RCW 43.105.285.
The office of financial management is authorized to administer, maintain, and operate the central personnel-payroll system and to provide its services for any state agency designated by the director of financial management.
State agencies shall convert personnel and payroll processing to the central personnel-payroll system as soon as administratively and technically feasible as determined by the office of financial management and Washington technology solutions. It is the intent of the legislature to provide, through the central personnel-payroll system, for uniform reporting to the office of financial management and to the legislature regarding salaries and related costs, and to reduce present costs of manual procedures in personnel and payroll recordkeeping and reporting.
It is the intent of the legislature to ensure that the commission provide the general public timely access to all contribution and expenditure reports submitted by candidates, continuing political committees, bona fide political parties, lobbyists, and lobbyists' employers. The legislature finds that failure to meet goals for full and timely disclosure threatens to undermine our electoral process.
Furthermore, the legislature intends for the commission to consult with Washington technology solutions as it seeks to implement chapter 401, Laws of 1999, and that the commission follow the standards and procedures established by Washington technology solutions in chapter 43.105 RCW as they relate to information technology.
For the purposes of RCW 42.17A.700, "executive state officer" includes:
The chief administrative law judge, the director of agriculture, the director of the department of services for the blind, the secretary of children, youth, and families, the director of the state system of community and technical colleges, the director of commerce, the director of Washington technology solutions, the secretary of corrections, the director of ecology, the commissioner of employment security, the chair of the energy facility site evaluation council, the director of enterprise services, the secretary of the state finance committee, the director of financial management, the director of fish and wildlife, the executive secretary of the forest practices appeals board, the director of the gambling commission, the secretary of health, the administrator of the Washington state health care authority, the executive secretary of the health care facilities authority, the executive secretary of the higher education facilities authority, the executive secretary of the horse racing commission, the executive secretary of the human rights commission, the executive secretary of the indeterminate sentence review board, the executive director of the state investment board, the director of labor and industries, the director of licensing, the director of the lottery commission, the director of the office of minority and women's business enterprises, the director of parks and recreation, the executive director of the public disclosure commission, the executive director of the Puget Sound partnership, the director of the recreation and conservation office, the director of retirement systems, the director of revenue, the secretary of social and health services, the chief of the Washington state patrol, the executive secretary of the board of tax appeals, the secretary of transportation, the secretary of the utilities and transportation commission, the director of veterans affairs, the president of each of the regional and state universities and the president of The Evergreen State College, and each district and each campus president of each state community college;
Each professional staff member of the office of the governor;
Each professional staff member of the legislature; and
Central Washington University board of trustees, the boards of trustees of each community college and each technical college, each member of the state board for community and technical colleges, state convention and trade center board of directors, Eastern Washington University board of trustees, Washington economic development finance authority, Washington energy northwest executive board, The Evergreen State College board of trustees, executive ethics board, fish and wildlife commission, forest practices appeals board, forest practices board, gambling commission, Washington health care facilities authority, student achievement council, higher education facilities authority, horse racing commission, state housing finance commission, human rights commission, indeterminate sentence review board, board of industrial insurance appeals, state investment board, commission on judicial conduct, legislative ethics board, life sciences discovery fund authority board of trustees, state liquor and cannabis board, lottery commission, Pacific Northwest electric power and conservation planning council, parks and recreation commission, Washington personnel resources board, board of pilotage commissioners, pollution control hearings board, public disclosure commission, public employees' benefits board, recreation and conservation funding board, salmon recovery funding board, shorelines hearings board, board of tax appeals, transportation commission, University of Washington board of regents, utilities and transportation commission, Washington State University board of regents, and Western Washington University board of trustees.
The office has the duty to govern and oversee the technical design, implementation, and operation of the K-20 network including, but not limited to, the following duties: Establishment and implementation of K-20 network technical policy, including technical standards and conditions of use; review and approval of network design; and resolving user/provider disputes.
The office has the following powers and duties:
In cooperation with the educational sectors and other interested parties, to establish goals and measurable objectives for the network;
To ensure that the goals and measurable objectives of the network are the basis for any decisions or recommendations regarding the technical development and operation of the network;
To adopt, modify, and implement policies to facilitate network development, operation, and expansion. Such policies may include but need not be limited to the following issues: Quality of educational services; access to the network by recognized organizations and accredited institutions that deliver educational programming, including public libraries; prioritization of programming within limited resources; prioritization of access to the system and the sharing of technological advances; network security; identification and evaluation of emerging technologies for delivery of educational programs; future expansion or redirection of the system; network fee structures; and costs for the development and operation of the network;
To prepare and submit to the governor and the legislature a coordinated budget for network development, operation, and expansion. The budget shall include the recommendations of the director of Washington technology solutions on (i) any state funding requested for network transport and equipment, distance education facilities and hardware or software specific to the use of the network, and proposed new network end sites, (ii) annual copayments to be charged to public educational sector institutions and other public entities connected to the network, and (iii) charges to nongovernmental entities connected to the network;
To adopt and monitor the implementation of a methodology to evaluate the effectiveness of the network in achieving the educational goals and measurable objectives;
To establish by rule acceptable use policies governing user eligibility for participation in the K-20 network, acceptable uses of network resources, and procedures for enforcement of such policies. The office shall set forth appropriate procedures for enforcement of acceptable use policies, that may include suspension of network connections and removal of shared equipment for violations of network conditions or policies. The office shall have sole responsibility for the implementation of enforcement procedures relating to technical conditions of use.
The statewide information technology system development revolving account is created in the custody of the state treasurer. All receipts from legislative appropriations and assessments to agencies for the development and acquisition of enterprise information technology systems must be deposited into the account. Moneys in the account may be spent only after appropriation. The account must be used solely for the development and acquisition of enterprise information technology systems that are consistent with the enterprise-based strategy established by Washington technology solutions in RCW 43.105.025. Expenditures from the account may not be used for maintenance and operations of enterprise information technology systems. The account may be used for the payment of salaries, wages, and other costs directly related to the development and acquisition of enterprise information technology systems.
All payment of principal and interest on debt issued for enterprise information technology systems must be paid from the account.
The office may contract for the development or acquisition of enterprise information technology systems.
For the purposes of this section and RCW 43.41.442, "enterprise information technology system" means an information technology system that serves agencies with a certain business need or process that are required to use the system unless the agency has received a waiver from the state chief information officer. "Enterprise information technology system" also includes projects that are of statewide significance including enterprise-level solutions, enterprise resource planning, and shared services initiatives.
The statewide information technology system maintenance and operations revolving account is created in the custody of the state treasurer. All receipts from fees, charges for services, and assessments to agencies for the maintenance and operations of enterprise information technology systems must be deposited into the account. The account must be used solely for the maintenance and operations of enterprise information technology systems.
Only the director or the director's designee may authorize expenditures from the account. The account is subject to allotment procedures under chapter 43.88 RCW, but no appropriation is required for expenditure.
The office may contract with Washington technology solutions for the billing of fees, charges for services, and assessments to agencies, and for the maintenance and operations of enterprise information technology systems.
"Enterprise information technology system" has the definition in RCW 43.41.440.
The shared information technology system revolving account is created in the custody of the state treasurer. All receipts from fees, charges for services, and assessments to agencies for shared information technology systems must be deposited into the account.
Only the director or the director's designee may authorize expenditures from the account. The account is subject to allotment procedures under chapter 43.88 RCW, but no appropriation is required for expenditure.
The office may contract with Washington technology solutions for the billing of fees, charges for services, and assessments to agencies, and for the development, maintenance, and operations of shared information technology systems.
For the purposes of this section, "shared information technology system" means an information technology system that is available to, but not required for use by, agencies.
The department shall assist in the process of inventorying and collecting data on public and private land for the acquisition of data describing land uses, demographics, infrastructure, critical areas, transportation corridors physical features, housing, and other information useful in managing growth throughout the state. For this purpose the department may contract with Washington technology solutions and shall form an advisory group consisting of representatives from state, local, and federal agencies, colleges and universities, and private firms with expertise in land planning, and geographic information systems.
The department shall establish a sequence for acquiring data, giving priority to rapidly growing areas. The data shall be retained in a manner to facilitate its use in preparing maps, aggregating with data from multiple jurisdictions, and comparing changes over time. Data shall further be retained in a manner which permits its access via computer.
The department shall work with other state agencies, local governments, and private organizations that are inventorying public and private lands to ensure close coordination and to ensure that duplication of efforts does not occur.
To promote the public interest consistent with chapter 267, Laws of 1995, the department of health, in cooperation with the director of Washington technology solutions established in RCW 43.105.025, shall develop health care data standards to be used by, and developed in collaboration with, consumers, purchasers, health carriers, providers, and state government as consistent with the intent of chapter 492, Laws of 1993 as amended by chapter 267, Laws of 1995, to promote the delivery of quality health services that improve health outcomes for state residents. The data standards shall include content, coding, confidentiality, and transmission standards for all health care data elements necessary to support the intent of this section, and to improve administrative efficiency and reduce cost. Purchasers, as allowed by federal law, health carriers, health facilities and providers as defined in chapter 48.43 RCW, and state government shall utilize the data standards. The information and data elements shall be reported as the department of health directs by rule in accordance with data standards developed under this section.
The health care data collected, maintained, and studied by the department under this section or any other entity: (a) Shall include a method of associating all information on health care costs and services with discrete cases; (b) shall not contain any means of determining the personal identity of any enrollee, provider, or facility; (c) shall only be available for retrieval in original or processed form to public and private requesters; (d) shall be available within a reasonable period of time after the date of request; and (e) shall give strong consideration to data standards that achieve national uniformity.
The cost of retrieving data for state officials and agencies shall be funded through state general appropriation. The cost of retrieving data for individuals and organizations engaged in research or private use of data or studies shall be funded by a fee schedule developed by the department that reflects the direct cost of retrieving the data or study in the requested form.
All persons subject to this section shall comply with departmental requirements established by rule in the acquisition of data, however, the department shall adopt no rule or effect no policy implementing the provisions of this section without an act of law.
The department shall submit developed health care data standards to the appropriate committees of the legislature by December 31, 1995.
The estimates shall include statements or tables which indicate, by agency, the state funds which are required for the receipt of federal matching revenues. The estimates shall be revised as necessary to reflect legislative enactments and adopted appropriations and shall be included with the initial biennial allotment submitted under RCW 43.88.110. The estimates must reflect that the agency considered any alternatives to reduce costs or improve service delivery identified in the findings of a performance audit of the agency by the joint legislative audit and review committee. Nothing in this subsection requires performance audit findings to be published as part of the budget.
Each state agency shall define its mission and establish measurable goals for achieving desirable results for those who receive its services and the taxpayers who pay for those services. Each agency shall also develop clear strategies and timelines to achieve its goals. This section does not require an agency to develop a new mission or goals in place of identifiable missions or goals that meet the intent of this section. The mission and goals of each agency must conform to statutory direction and limitations.
For the purpose of assessing activity performance, each state agency shall establish quality and productivity objectives for each major activity in its budget. The objectives must be consistent with the missions and goals developed under this section. The objectives must be expressed to the extent practicable in outcome-based, objective, and measurable form unless an exception to adopt a different standard is granted by the office of financial management and approved by the legislative committee on performance review. Objectives must specifically address the statutory purpose or intent of the program or activity and focus on data that measure whether the agency is achieving or making progress toward the purpose of the activity and toward statewide priorities. The office of financial management shall provide necessary professional and technical assistance to assist state agencies in the development of strategic plans that include the mission of the agency and its programs, measurable goals, strategies, and performance measurement systems.
Each state agency shall adopt procedures for and perform continuous self-assessment of each activity, using the mission, goals, objectives, and measurements required under subsections (2) and (3) of this section. The assessment of the activity must also include an evaluation of major information technology systems or projects that may assist the agency in achieving or making progress toward the activity purpose and statewide priorities. The evaluation of proposed major information technology systems or projects shall be in accordance with the standards and policies established by the technology services board. Agencies' progress toward the mission, goals, objectives, and measurements required by subsections (2) and (3) of this section is subject to review as set forth in this subsection.
The office of financial management shall regularly conduct reviews of selected activities to analyze whether the objectives and measurements submitted by agencies demonstrate progress toward statewide results.
The office of financial management shall consult with: (i) The four-year institutions of higher education in those reviews that involve four-year institutions of higher education; and (ii) the state board for community and technical colleges in those reviews that involve two-year institutions of higher education.
The goal is for all major activities to receive at least one review each year.
Washington technology solutions shall review major information technology systems in use by state agencies periodically.
It is the policy of the legislature that each agency's budget recommendations must be directly linked to the agency's stated mission and program, quality, and productivity goals and objectives. Consistent with this policy, agency budget proposals must include integration of performance measures that allow objective determination of an activity's success in achieving its goals. When a review under subsection (4) of this section or other analysis determines that the agency's objectives demonstrate that the agency is making insufficient progress toward the goals of any particular program or is otherwise underachieving or inefficient, the agency's budget request shall contain proposals to remedy or improve the selected programs. The office of financial management shall develop a plan to merge the budget development process with agency performance assessment procedures. The plan must include a schedule to integrate agency strategic plans and performance measures into agency budget requests and the governor's budget proposal over three fiscal biennia. The plan must identify those agencies that will implement the revised budget process in the 1997-1999 biennium, the 1999-2001 biennium, and the 2001-2003 biennium. In consultation with the legislative fiscal committees, the office of financial management shall recommend statutory and procedural modifications to the state's budget, accounting, and reporting systems to facilitate the performance assessment procedures and the merger of those procedures with the state budget process. The plan and recommended statutory and procedural modifications must be submitted to the legislative fiscal committees by September 30, 1996.
In reviewing agency budget requests in order to prepare the governor's biennial budget request, the office of financial management shall consider the extent to which the agency's activities demonstrate progress toward the statewide budgeting priorities, along with any specific review conducted under subsection (4) of this section.
In the year of the gubernatorial election, the governor shall invite the governor-elect or the governor-elect's designee to attend all hearings provided in RCW 43.88.100; and the governor shall furnish the governor-elect or the governor-elect's designee with such information as will enable the governor-elect or the governor-elect's designee to gain an understanding of the state's budget requirements. The governor-elect or the governor-elect's designee may ask such questions during the hearings and require such information as the governor-elect or the governor-elect's designee deems necessary and may make recommendations in connection with any item of the budget which, with the governor-elect's reasons therefor, shall be presented to the legislature in writing with the budget document. Copies of all such estimates and other required information shall also be submitted to the standing committees on ways and means of the house and senate.
As part of the biennial budget process, the office of financial management shall collect from agencies, and agencies shall provide, information to produce reports, summaries, and budget detail sufficient to allow review, analysis, and documentation of all current and proposed expenditures for information technology by state agencies. Information technology budget detail must be included as part of the budget submittal documentation required pursuant to RCW 43.88.030.
The office of financial management must collect, and present as part of the biennial budget documentation, information for all existing information technology projects as defined by technology services board policy. The office of financial management must work with the office of the state chief information officer to maximize the ability to draw this information from the information technology portfolio management data collected by Washington technology solutions. Connecting project information collected through the portfolio management process with financial data developed under subsection (1) of this section provides transparency regarding expenditure data for existing technology projects.
The director of Washington technology solutions shall evaluate proposed information technology expenditures and establish priority ranking categories of the proposals. No more than one-third of the proposed expenditures shall be ranked in the highest priority category.
The biennial budget documentation submitted by the office of financial management pursuant to RCW 43.88.030 must include an information technology plan and a technology budget for the state identifying current baseline funding for information technology, proposed and ongoing major information technology projects, and their associated costs. This plan and technology budget must be presented using a method similar to the capital budget, identifying project costs through stages of the project and across fiscal periods and biennia from project initiation to implementation. This information must be submitted electronically, in a format to be determined by the office of financial management and the legislative evaluation and accountability program committee.
The office of financial management shall also institute a method of accounting for information technology-related expenditures, including creating common definitions for what constitutes an information technology investment.
For the purposes of this section, "major information technology projects" includes projects that have a significant anticipated cost, complexity, or are of statewide significance, such as enterprise-level solutions, enterprise resource planning, and shared services initiatives.
This section sets forth the major fiscal duties and responsibilities of officers and agencies of the executive branch. The regulations issued by the governor pursuant to this chapter shall provide for a comprehensive, orderly basis for fiscal management and control, including efficient accounting and reporting therefor, for the executive branch of the state government and may include, in addition, such requirements as will generally promote more efficient public management in the state.
To ensure the database is meeting the needs of state agencies and other data users, the authority shall convene a state agency coordinating structure, consisting of state agencies with related data needs and the Washington health benefit exchange to ensure effectiveness of the database and the agencies' programs. The coordinating structure must collaborate in a private/public manner with the lead organization and other partners key to the broader success of the database. The coordinating structure shall advise the authority and lead organization on the development of any database policies and rules relevant to agency data needs.
The office must participate as a key part of the coordinating structure and evaluate progress towards meeting the goals of the database, and, as necessary, recommend strategies for maintaining and promoting the progress of the database in meeting the intent of this section, and report its findings biennially to the governor and the legislature. The authority shall facilitate the office obtaining the information needed to complete the report in a manner that is efficient and not overly burdensome for the parties. The authority must provide the office with access to database processes, procedures, nonproprietary methodologies, and outcomes to conduct the review and issue the biennial report. The biennial review shall assess, at a minimum the following:
The list of approved agency use case projects and related data requirements under RCW 43.371.050(4);
Successful and unsuccessful data requests and outcomes related to agency and nonagency health researchers pursuant to RCW 43.371.050(4);
Online data portal access and effectiveness related to research requests and data provider review and reconsideration;
Adequacy of data security and policy consistent with the policy of Washington technology solutions; and
Timeliness, adequacy, and responsiveness of the database with regard to requests made under RCW 43.371.050(4) and for potential improvements in data sharing, data processing, and communication.
To promote the goal of improving health outcomes through better cost and quality information, the authority, in consultation with the agency coordinating structure, the office, lead organization, and data vendor shall make recommendations to the Washington state performance measurement coordinating committee as necessary to improve the effectiveness of the state common measure set as adopted under RCW 70.320.030.
To provide meaningful customer service that informs project planning and decision making by the citizens and businesses served, each agency must make available to permit applicants the following information through a link from the agency's website to the office's website, as provided in subsection (4) of this section:
A list of the types of permit assistance available and how such assistance may be accessed;
An estimate of the time required by the agency to process a permit application and issue a decision;
Other tools to help applicants successfully complete a thorough application, such as:
Examples of model completed applications;
Examples of approved applications, appropriately redacted to remove sensitive information; and
Checklists for ensuring a complete application.
Each agency shall update at reasonable intervals the information it posts pursuant to this section.
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Agencies must post the information required under subsection (1) of this section for all permits as soon as practicable, and no later than the deadlines established in this section.
The agency shall post the permit inventory for that agency and the information required under subsection (1)(a) and (c) of this section no later than June 30, 2014.
The agency shall post the estimates of application completion and permit decision times required under subsection (1)(b) of this section based on actual data for calendar year 2015 by March 1, 2016, and update this information for the previous calendar year, by March 1st of each year thereafter.
Agencies must consider the customer experience in ensuring all permit assistance information is simple to use, easy to access, and designed in a customer‑friendly manner.
To ensure agencies can post the required information online with minimal expenditure of agency resources, Washington technology solutions shall, in consultation with the office of regulatory assistance, establish a central repository of this information, hosted on the office of regulatory assistance's website. Each agency shall include at least one link to the central repository from the agency's website. Agencies shall place the link or links in such locations as the agency deems will be most customer‑friendly and maximize accessibility of the information to users of the website.
The office shall ensure the searchability of the information posted on the central repository, applying industry best practices such as search engine optimization, to ensure that the permit performance and assistance information is readily findable and accessible by members of the public.
Subject to funds appropriated for this specific purpose, the office of financial management may establish an information technology investment pool and may enter into financial contracts for the acquisition of information technology projects for state agencies. Information technology projects funded under this section must meet the following requirements:
The project begins or continues replacement of information technology systems with modern and more efficient information technology systems;
The project improves the ability of an agency to recover from major disaster; or
The project provides future savings and efficiencies for an agency through reduced operating costs, improved customer service, or increased revenue collections.
Preference for project approval under this section must be given to an agency that has prior project approval from Washington technology solutions and an approved business plan, and the primary hurdle to project funding is the lack of funding capacity.
The office of financial management with assistance from Washington technology solutions shall report to the governor and the fiscal committees of the legislature by November 1st of each year on the status of distributions and expenditures on information technology projects and improved statewide or agency performance results achieved by project funding.
The office has the power and duty to:
Serve as the central broadband planning body for the state of Washington;
Coordinate with local governments, tribes, public and private entities, public housing agencies, nonprofit organizations, and consumer-owned and investor-owned utilities to develop strategies and plans promoting deployment of broadband infrastructure and greater broadband access, while protecting proprietary information;
Review existing broadband initiatives, policies, and public and private investments;
Develop, recommend, and implement a statewide plan to encourage cost-effective broadband access and to make recommendations for increased usage, particularly in rural and other unserved areas;
Update the state's broadband goals and definitions for broadband service in unserved areas as technology advances, except that the state's definition for broadband service may not be actual speeds less than twenty-five megabits per second download and three megabits per second upload; and
Encourage public-private partnerships to increase deployment and adoption of broadband services and applications.
When developing plans or strategies for broadband deployment, the office must consider:
Partnerships between communities, tribes, nonprofit organizations, local governments, consumer-owned and investor-owned utilities, and public and private entities;
Funding opportunities that provide for the coordination of public, private, state, and federal funds for the purposes of making broadband infrastructure or broadband services available to rural and unserved areas of the state;
Barriers to the deployment, adoption, and utilization of broadband service, including affordability of service and project coordination logistics; and
Requiring minimum broadband service of twenty-five megabits per second download and three megabits per second upload speed, that is scalable to faster service.
The office may assist applicants for the grant and loan program created in RCW 43.155.160, the digital equity opportunity program created in RCW 43.330.412, and the digital equity planning grant program created in RCW 43.330.5393 with seeking federal funding or matching grants and other grant opportunities for deploying or increasing adoption of broadband services.
The office may take all appropriate steps to seek and apply for federal funds for which the office is eligible, and other grants, and accept donations, and must deposit these funds in the statewide broadband account created in RCW 43.155.165.
The office shall coordinate an outreach effort to hard-to-reach communities and low-income communities across the state to provide information about broadband programs available to consumers of these communities. The outreach effort must include, but is not limited to, providing information to applicable communities about the federal lifeline program and other low-income broadband benefit programs. The outreach effort must be reviewed by the office of equity annually. The office may contract with other public or private entities to conduct outreach to communities as provided under this subsection.
In carrying out its purpose, the office may collaborate with the utilities and transportation commission, Washington technology solutions, the department of commerce, the community economic revitalization board, the department of transportation, the public works board, the state librarian, and all other relevant state agencies.
The office shall establish a statewide all-payer health care claims database. On January 1, 2020, the office must transfer authority and oversight for the database to the authority. The office and authority must develop a transition plan that sustains operations by July 1, 2019. The database shall support transparent public reporting of health care information. The database must improve transparency to: Assist patients, providers, and hospitals to make informed choices about care; enable providers, hospitals, and communities to improve by benchmarking their performance against that of others by focusing on best practices; enable purchasers to identify value, build expectations into their purchasing strategy, and reward improvements over time; and promote competition based on quality and cost. The database must systematically collect all medical claims and pharmacy claims from private and public payers, with data from all settings of care that permit the systematic analysis of health care delivery.
The authority shall use a competitive procurement process, in accordance with chapter 39.26 RCW, to select a lead organization from among the best potential bidders to coordinate and manage the database.
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(A) Has a current relationship or had a relationship within the last three years with any organization that bids on the procurement that would constitute a conflict with the proper discharge of official duties under chapter 42.52 RCW; or
(B) Is a compensated or uncompensated member of a bidding organization's board of directors, advisory committee, or has held such a position in the past three years.
ii. If any relationship or interest described in (a)(i) of this subsection is discovered during the procurement process, the officer or employee with the prohibited relationship must withdraw from involvement in the procurement process.
b. Due to the complexities of the all-payer claims database and the unique privacy, quality, and financial objectives, the authority must give strong consideration to the following elements in determining the appropriate lead organization contractor: (i) The organization's degree of experience in health care data collection, analysis, analytics, and security; (ii) whether the organization has a long-term self-sustainable financial model; (iii) the organization's experience in convening and effectively engaging stakeholders to develop reports, especially among groups of health providers, carriers, and self-insured purchasers; (iv) the organization's experience in meeting budget and timelines for report generations; and (v) the organization's ability to combine cost and quality data to assess total cost of care.
c. The successful lead organization must apply to be certified as a qualified entity pursuant to 42 C.F.R. Sec. 401.703(a) by the centers for medicare and medicaid services.
d. The authority may not select a lead organization that:
i. Is a health plan as defined by and consistent with the definitions in RCW 48.43.005;
ii. Is a hospital as defined in RCW 70.41.020;
iii. Is a provider regulated under Title 18 RCW;
iv. Is a third-party administrator as defined in RCW 70.290.010; or
v. Is an entity with a controlling interest in any entity covered in (d)(i) through (iv) of this subsection.
As part of the competitive procurement process referenced in subsection (2) of this section, the lead organization shall enter into a contract with a data vendor or multiple data vendors to perform data collection, processing, aggregation, extracts, and analytics. A data vendor must:
Establish a secure data submission process with data suppliers;
Review data submitters' files according to standards established by the authority;
Assess each record's alignment with established format, frequency, and consistency criteria;
Maintain responsibility for quality assurance, including, but not limited to: (i) The accuracy and validity of data suppliers' data; (ii) accuracy of dates of service spans; (iii) maintaining consistency of record layout and counts; and (iv) identifying duplicate records;
Assign unique identifiers, as defined in RCW 43.371.010, to individuals represented in the database;
Ensure that direct patient identifiers, indirect patient identifiers, and proprietary financial information are released only in compliance with the terms of this chapter;
Demonstrate internal controls and affiliations with separate organizations as appropriate to ensure safe data collection, security of the data with state of the art encryption methods, actuarial support, and data review for accuracy and quality assurance;
Store data on secure servers that are compliant with the federal health insurance portability and accountability act and regulations, with access to the data strictly controlled and limited to staff with appropriate training, clearance, and background checks; and
The lead organization and data vendor must submit detailed descriptions to Washington technology solutions to ensure robust security methods are in place. Washington technology solutions must report its findings to the authority and the appropriate committees of the legislature.
The lead organization is responsible for internal governance, management, funding, and operations of the database. At the direction of the authority, the lead organization shall work with the data vendor to:
Collect claims data from data suppliers as provided in RCW 43.371.030;
Design data collection mechanisms with consideration for the time and cost incurred by data suppliers and others in submission and collection and the benefits that measurement would achieve, ensuring the data submitted meet quality standards and are reviewed for quality assurance;
Ensure protection of collected data and store and use any data in a manner that protects patient privacy and complies with this section. All patient-specific information must be deidentified with an up-to-date industry standard encryption algorithm;
Consistent with the requirements of this chapter, make information from the database available as a resource for public and private entities, including carriers, employers, providers, hospitals, and purchasers of health care;
Report performance on cost and quality pursuant to RCW 43.371.060 using, but not limited to, the performance measures developed under RCW 41.05.690;
Develop protocols and policies, including prerelease peer review by data suppliers, to ensure the quality of data releases and reports;
Develop a plan for the financial sustainability of the database as may be reasonable and customary as compared to other states' databases and charge fees for reports and data files as needed to fund the database. Any fees must be approved by the authority and should be comparable, accounting for relevant differences across data requests and uses. The lead organization may not charge providers or data suppliers fees other than fees directly related to requested reports and data files; and
Convene advisory committees with the approval and participation of the authority, including: (i) A committee on data policy development; and (ii) a committee to establish a data release process consistent with the requirements of this chapter and to provide advice regarding formal data release requests. The advisory committees must include in-state representation from key provider, hospital, public health, health maintenance organization, large and small private purchasers, consumer organizations, and the two largest carriers supplying claims data to the database.
The lead organization governance structure and advisory committees for this database must include representation of the third-party administrator of the uniform medical plan. A payer, health maintenance organization, or third-party administrator must be a data supplier to the all-payer health care claims database to be represented on the lead organization governance structure or advisory committees.
The legislative service center, under the direction of the joint legislative systems administrative committee, shall:
Develop a legislative information technology portfolio consistent with the provisions of RCW 43.105.341;
Participate in the development of an enterprise-based statewide information technology strategy;
Ensure the legislative information technology portfolio is organized and structured to clearly indicate participation in and use of enterprise-wide information technology strategies;
As part of the biennial budget process, submit the legislative information technology portfolio to the chair and ranking member of the ways and means committees of the house of representatives and the senate, the office of financial management, and Washington technology solutions.
The department may implement a facial recognition matching system for drivers' licenses, permits, and identicards. Any facial recognition matching system selected by the department must be used only to verify the identity of an applicant for or holder of a driver's license, permit, or identicard to determine whether the person has been issued a driver's license, permit, or identicard under a different name or names.
Any facial recognition matching system selected by the department must be capable of highly accurate matching, and must be compliant with appropriate standards established by the American association of motor vehicle administrators that exist on June 7, 2012, or such subsequent date as may be provided by the department by rule, consistent with the purposes of this section.
The department shall post notices in conspicuous locations at all department driver licensing offices, make written information available to all applicants at department driver licensing offices, and provide information on the department's website regarding the facial recognition matching system. The notices, written information, and information on the website must address how the facial recognition matching system works, all ways in which the department may use results from the facial recognition matching system, how an investigation based on results from the facial recognition matching system would be conducted, and a person's right to appeal any determinations made under this chapter.
Results from the facial recognition matching system:
Are not available for public inspection and copying under chapter 42.56 RCW;
May only be disclosed when authorized by a court order;
May only be disclosed to a federal government agency if specifically required under federal law; and
May only be disclosed by the department to a government agency, including a court or law enforcement agency, for use in carrying out its functions if the department has determined that person has committed one of the prohibited practices listed in RCW 46.20.0921 and this determination has been confirmed by a hearings examiner under this chapter or the person declined a hearing or did not attend a scheduled hearing.
All personally identifying information derived from the facial recognition matching system must be stored with appropriate security safeguards. Washington technology solutions shall develop the appropriate security standards for the department's use of the facial recognition matching system, subject to approval and oversight by the technology services board.
The department shall develop procedures to handle instances in which the facial recognition matching system fails to verify the identity of an applicant for a renewal or duplicate driver's license, permit, or identicard. These procedures must allow an applicant to prove identity without using the facial recognition matching system.
Except as provided in subsection (2) of this section, the department shall annually provide to Washington technology solutions an electronic data file. The data file must:
Contain information on all licensed drivers and identicard holders who are eighteen years of age or older and whose records have not expired for more than two years;
Be provided at no charge; and
Contain the following information on each such person: Full name, date of birth, residence address including county, sex, and most recent date of application, renewal, replacement, or change of driver's license or identicard.
Before complying with subsection (1) of this section, the department shall remove from the file the names of any certified participants in the Washington state address confidentiality program under chapter 40.24 RCW that have been identified to the department by the secretary of state.
(1) The department may enter into data-sharing contracts and may disclose records and information deemed confidential to state or local government agencies under this chapter only if permitted under subsection (2) of this section and RCW 50A.25.090. A state or local government agency must need the records or information for an official purpose and must also provide:
The environmental justice council is established to advise covered agencies on incorporating environmental justice into agency activities.
The council consists of 14 members, except as provided in RCW 70A.65.040(3), appointed by the governor. The councilmembers must be persons who are well-informed regarding and committed to the principles of environmental justice and who, to the greatest extent practicable, represent diversity in race, ethnicity, age, and gender, urban and rural areas, and different regions of the state. The members of the council shall elect two members to serve as cochairs for two-year terms. The council must include:
Seven community representatives, including one youth representative, the nominations of which are based upon applied and demonstrated work and focus on environmental justice or a related field, such as racial or economic justice, and accountability to vulnerable populations and overburdened communities;
The youth representative must be between the ages of 18 and 25 at the time of appointment;
The youth representative serves a two-year term. All other community representatives serve four-year terms, with six representatives initially being appointed to four-year terms and five being initially appointed to two-year terms, after which they will be appointed to four-year terms;
Two members representing tribal communities, one from eastern Washington and one from western Washington, appointed by the governor, plus two tribal members as specified in RCW 70A.65.040. The governor shall solicit and consider nominees from each of the federally recognized tribes in Washington state. The governor shall collaborate with federally recognized tribes on the selection of tribal representatives. The tribal representatives serve four-year terms. One representative must be initially appointed for a four-year term. The other representative must be initially appointed for a two-year term, after which, that representative must be appointed for a four-year term;
Two representatives who are environmental justice practitioners or academics to serve as environmental justice experts, the nominations of which are based upon applied and demonstrated work and focus on environmental justice;
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One representative of a business that is regulated by a covered agency and whose ordinary business conditions are significantly affected by the actions of at least one other covered agency; and
One representative who is a member or officer of a union representing workers in the building and construction trades; and
One representative at large, the nomination of which is based upon applied and demonstrated work and focus on environmental justice.
Covered agencies shall serve as nonvoting, ex officio liaisons to the council. Each covered agency must identify an executive team level staff person to participate on behalf of the agency.
Nongovernmental members of the council must be compensated and reimbursed in accordance with RCW 43.03.050, 43.03.060, and 43.03.220.
The department of health must:
Hire a manager who is responsible for overseeing all staffing and administrative duties in support of the council; and
Provide all administrative and staff support for the council.
In collaboration with the office of equity, the office of financial management, the council, and covered agencies, the department of health must:
Establish standards for the collection, analysis, and reporting of disaggregated data as it pertains to tracking population level outcomes of communities;
Create statewide and agency-specific process and outcome measures to show performance:
Using outcome-based methodology to determine the effectiveness of agency programs and services on reducing environmental disparities; and
Taking into consideration community feedback from the council on whether the performance measures established accurately measure the effectiveness of covered agency programs and services in the communities served; and
Create an online performance dashboard to publish performance measures and outcomes as referenced in RCW 70A.02.090 for the state and each covered agency.
The department of health must coordinate with Washington technology solutions to address cybersecurity and data protection for all data collected by the department.
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With input and assistance from the council, the department of health must establish an interagency work group to assist covered agencies in incorporating environmental justice into agency decision making. The work group must include staff from each covered agency directed to implement environmental justice provisions under this chapter and may include members from the council. The department of health shall provide assistance to the interagency work group by:
Facilitating information sharing among covered agencies on environmental justice issues and between agencies and the council;
Developing and providing assessment tools for covered agencies to use in the development and evaluation of agency programs, services, policies, and budgets;
Providing technical assistance and compiling and creating resources for covered agencies to use; and
Training covered agency staff on effectively using data and tools for environmental justice assessments.
The duties of the interagency work group include:
Providing technical assistance to support agency compliance with the implementation of environmental justice into their strategic plans, environmental justice obligations for budgeting and funding criteria and decisions, environmental justice assessments, and community engagement plans;
Assisting the council in developing a suggested schedule and timeline for sequencing the types of: (A) Funding and expenditure decisions subject to rules; and (B) criteria incorporating environmental justice principles;
Identifying other policies, priorities, and projects for the council's review and guidance development;
Identifying goals and metrics that the council may use to assess agency performance in meeting the requirements of chapter 314, Laws of 2021 for purposes of communicating progress to the public, the governor, and the legislature; and
Developing the guidance under subsection (9)(c) of this section in coordination with the council.
The council has the following powers and duties:
To provide a forum for the public to:
Provide written or oral testimony on their environmental justice concerns;
Assist the council in understanding environmental justice priorities across the state in order to develop council recommendations to agencies for issues to prioritize; and
Identify which agencies to contact with their specific environmental justice concerns and questions;
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The council shall work in an iterative fashion with the interagency work group to develop guidance for environmental justice implementation into covered agency strategic plans pursuant to RCW 70A.02.040, environmental justice assessments pursuant to RCW 70A.02.060, budgeting and funding criteria for making budgeting and funding decisions pursuant to RCW 70A.02.080, and community engagement plans pursuant to RCW 70A.02.050;
The council and interagency work group shall regularly update its guidance;
In consultation with the interagency work group, the council:
Shall provide guidance to covered agencies on developing environmental justice assessments pursuant to RCW 70A.02.060 for significant agency actions;
Shall make recommendations to covered agencies on which agency actions may cause environmental harm or may affect the equitable distribution of environmental benefits to an overburdened community or a vulnerable population and therefore should be considered significant agency actions that require an environmental justice assessment under RCW 70A.02.060;
Shall make recommendations to covered agencies:
(A) On the identification and prioritization of overburdened communities under this chapter; and
(B) Related to the use by covered agencies of the environmental and health disparities map in agency efforts to identify and prioritize overburdened communities;
iv. May make recommendations to a covered agency on the timing and sequencing of a covered agencies' efforts to implement RCW 70A.02.040 through 70A.02.080; and
v. May make recommendations to the governor and the legislature regarding ways to improve agency compliance with the requirements of this chapter;
d. By December 1, 2023, and biennially thereafter, and with consideration of the information shared on September 1st each year in covered agencies' annual updates to the council required under RCW 70A.02.090, the council must:
i. Evaluate the progress of each agency in applying council guidance, and update guidance as needed; and
ii. Communicate each covered agency's progress to the public, the governor, and the legislature. This communication is not required to be a report and may take the form of a presentation or other format that communicates the progress of the state and its agencies in meeting the state's environmental justice goals in compliance with chapter 314, Laws of 2021, and summarizing the work of the council pursuant to (a) through (d) of this subsection, and subsection (11) of this section; and
e. To fulfill the responsibilities established for the council in RCW 70A.65.040.
By November 30, 2023, and in compliance with RCW 43.01.036, the council must submit a report to the governor and the appropriate committees of the house of representatives and the senate on:
The council's recommendations to covered agencies on the identification of significant agency actions requiring an environmental justice assessment under subsection (9)(c)(ii) of this section;
The summary of covered agency progress reports provided to the council under RCW 70A.02.090(1), including the status of agency plans for performing environmental justice assessments required by RCW 70A.02.060; and
Guidance for environmental justice implementation into covered agency strategic plans, environmental justice assessments, budgeting and funding criteria, and community engagement plans under subsection (9)(c)(i) of this section.
The council may:
Review incorporation of environmental justice implementation plans into covered agency strategic plans pursuant to RCW 70A.02.040, environmental justice assessments pursuant to RCW 70A.02.060, budgeting and funding criteria for making budgeting and funding decisions pursuant to RCW 70A.02.080, and community engagement plans pursuant to RCW 70A.02.050;
Make recommendations for amendments to this chapter or other legislation to promote and achieve the environmental justice goals of the state;
Review existing laws and make recommendations for amendments that will further environmental justice;
Recommend to specific agencies that they create environmental justice-focused, agency-requested legislation;
Provide requested assistance to state agencies other than covered agencies that wish to incorporate environmental justice principles into agency activities; and
Recommend funding strategies and allocations to build capacity in vulnerable populations and overburdened communities to address environmental justice.
The role of the council is purely advisory and council decisions are not binding on an agency, individual, or organization.
The department of health must convene the first meeting of the council by January 1, 2022.
All council meetings are subject to the open public meetings requirements of chapter 42.30 RCW and a public comment period must be provided at every meeting of the council.
For the purpose of development and implementation of technology and platforms by the department and the authority under RCW 71.24.890, the department and the authority shall create a sophisticated technical and operational plan. The plan shall not conflict with, nor delay, the department meeting and satisfying existing 988 federal requirements that are already underway and must be met by July 16, 2022, nor is it intended to delay the initial planning phase of the project, or the planning and deliverables tied to any grant award received and allotted by the department or the authority prior to April 1, 2021. To the extent that funds are appropriated for this specific purpose, the department and the authority must contract for a consultant to critically analyze the development and implementation technology and platforms and operational challenges to best position the solutions for success. Prior to initiation of a new information technology development, which does not include the initial planning phase of this project or any contracting needed to complete the initial planning phase, the department and authority shall submit the technical and operational plan to the governor, office of financial management, steering committee of the crisis response improvement strategy committee created under RCW 71.24.892, and appropriate policy and fiscal committees of the legislature, which shall include the committees referenced in this section. The plan must be approved by Washington technology solutions, the director of the office of financial management, and the steering committee of the crisis response improvement strategy committee, which shall consider any feedback received from the senate ways and means committee chair, the house of representatives appropriations committee chair, the senate environment, energy and technology committee chair, the senate behavioral health subcommittee chair, and the house of representatives health care and wellness committee chair, before any funds are expended for the solutions, other than those funds needed to complete the initial planning phase. A draft technical and operational plan must be submitted no later than January 1, 2022, and a final plan by August 31, 2022.
The plan submitted must include, but not be limited to:
Data management;
Data security;
Data flow;
Data access and permissions;
Protocols to ensure staff are following proper health information privacy procedures;
Cybersecurity requirements and how to meet these;
Service level agreements by vendor;
Maintenance and operations costs;
Identification of what existing software as a service products might be applicable, to include the:
Vendor name;
Vendor offerings to include product module and functionality detail and whether each represent add-ons that must be paid separately;
Vendor pricing structure by year through implementation; and
Vendor pricing structure by year post implementation;
Integration limitations by system;
Data analytic and performance metrics to be required by system;
Liability;
Which agency will host the electronic health record software as a service;
Regulatory agency;
The timeline by fiscal year from initiation to implementation for each solution in chapter 302, Laws of 2021;
How to plan in a manner that ensures efficient use of state resources and maximizes federal financial participation; and
A complete comprehensive business plan analysis.
RCW 43.105.331 is recodified as a section in chapter 38.52 RCW.