wa-law.org > bill > 2025-26 > HB 2435 > Original Bill
In November 1999, various leaders of American Indian nations and the state met at the tribal and state leaders' summit to strengthen the government-to-government relationship and cooperation on issues of mutual concern. As a product of that meeting, the leaders developed the new millennium agreement wherein they made various commitments in the spirit and mutual respect of the 1989 centennial accord, including a commitment to encourage the legislature to establish a structure to address issues of mutual concern to the state and tribes. The purpose of this act is to carry out that commitment by establishing a new legislative office on Indian affairs to provide educational and informational resources to the legislature to further support the vision of the centennial accord to achieve complete institutionalization of the government-to-government relationship.
It is not the legislature's intent to replace the work of the governor's office of Indian affairs, but rather to complement that work by adding a legislative resource for the senate, the house of representatives, and professional legislative staff.
The legislature does not intend this new office to act as a liaison between the legislature and tribal leaders or organizations. However, in recognition of the new millennium agreement's acknowledgment that intertribal organizations and associations serve as an additional vehicle to advance the principles and objectives contained in the centennial accord, it is the legislature's intent that the legislative office on Indian affairs communicate with intertribal organizations for the purpose of being well-informed of developments and issues of mutual concern.
The definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter unless the context clearly requires otherwise.
"Office" means the legislative office on Indian affairs.
"Professional legislative staff" means all individuals retained on a full or part-time basis whose primary responsibilities require the exercise of judgment and discretion in policy-related matters including, but not limited to, individuals who are involved in the development of legislation. "Professional legislative staff" does not include individuals retained primarily for clerical, ministerial, or internal accounting and bookkeeping purposes.
The legislative office on Indian affairs is created to provide informational resources relating to tribal affairs to legislative members and professional legislative staff of the senate, the house of representatives, and the office of the code reviser. All operations of the office are subject to RCW 44.04.260.
The secretary of the senate and the chief clerk of the house of representatives, in consultation with the senate facilities and operations committee and the house executive rules committee, shall employ a director of the office. The director serves at the pleasure of the secretary of the senate and the chief clerk of the house of representatives, who shall fix the director's salary.
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The director serves as the executive and administrative head of the office.
In accordance with an adopted personnel plan, the director shall employ and fix the compensation for personnel required to carry out the purposes of this chapter.
The director may enter into contracts for:
The sale, exchange, or acquisition of equipment, supplies, services, and facilities required to carry out the purposes of this chapter; and
The distribution of legislative information.
The office shall provide educational and informational resources to legislative members and the professional legislative staff of the senate, the house of representatives, and the office of the code reviser including, but not limited to:
Training as follows:
One annual training on: Improving cultural awareness and understanding of the state's tribal members; understanding tribal sovereignty; the appropriate use of shared definitions and terminology; legal issues impacting the government-to-government relationship; best practices for policymaking when dealing with policies that have the potential to impact tribal policies; the similarities and differences between federally recognized tribes, nonfederally recognized tribes, treaty tribes, nontreaty tribes, state recognized tribes, urban tribal organizations, and other tribal organizations; and other topics as the office deems appropriate and necessary to further the purpose of this chapter; and
As needed, training sessions as the office deems appropriate to provide continuing education on tribal policy and issues of mutual concern, including information on legal issues as they arise;
Assistance in locating educational and informational resources relating to tribal affairs or tribal organizations; and
Expertise on the centennial accord, millennium agreement, and the government-to-government relationship.
The office shall coordinate with the statute law committee to include in any bill drafting guide produced by the committee best practices for drafting policy relating to tribes, including the appropriate use of shared definitions and terminology.
The office may contract out for consultants as needed.
The annual training provided by the office under section 5 of this act is mandatory for professional legislative staff of the senate, house of representatives, and the office of the code reviser. The directors of these work groups must ensure that this annual requirement is met. Legislative members of the senate and house of representatives as well as legislative staff who do not meet the definition of professional legislative staff under section 2 of this act are encouraged to attend the annual training.
Subject to RCW 44.04.260, all expenses incurred, including salaries and expenses of employees, shall be paid upon voucher forms as provided and signed by the director of the legislative office on Indian affairs. Vouchers may be drawn on funds appropriated by law for the office. The senate and house of representatives may transfer moneys appropriated for legislative expenses to the office.
The definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter unless the context clearly requires otherwise.
"Director" means the director of the office of legislative support services employed under RCW 44.80.040.
"Legislative agencies" means: The joint legislative audit and review committee, the joint transportation committee, the office of the state actuary, the legislative evaluation and accountability program committee, the office of legislative support services, the legislative service center, the legislative office on Indian affairs, and the statute law committee.
"Office" means the office of legislative support services.
The joint legislative audit and review committee, the joint transportation committee, the select committee on pension policy, the legislative evaluation and accountability program committee, the office of legislative support services, the joint higher education committee, and the joint legislative systems committee legislative office on Indian affairs are subject to such operational policies, procedures, and oversight as are deemed necessary by the facilities and operations committee of the senate and the executive rules committee of the house of representatives to ensure operational adequacy of the agencies of the legislative branch. As used in this section, "operational policies, procedures, and oversight" includes the development process of biennial budgets, contracting procedures, personnel policies, and compensation plans, selection of a chief administrator, facilities, and expenditures. This section does not grant oversight authority to the facilities and operations committee of the senate over any standing committee of the house of representatives or oversight authority to the executive rules committee of the house of representatives over any standing committee of the senate.
For the purposes of this chapter, the statute law committee, the joint legislative audit and review committee, the joint transportation committee, the legislative evaluation and accountability program committee, the office of legislative support services, the joint higher education committee, the office of state actuary, the legislative office on Indian affairs, and all legislative standing committees of both houses shall be deemed a part of the legislative branch of state government.
The definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter unless the context clearly requires otherwise.
"Collective bargaining" means the performance of the mutual obligations of the employer and the exclusive bargaining representative to meet at reasonable times, except that neither party may be compelled to negotiate during a legislative session or on committee assembly days, to confer and negotiate in good faith, and to execute a written agreement with respect to the subjects of bargaining specified under RCW 44.90.090. The obligation to bargain does not compel either party to agree to a proposal or to make a concession unless otherwise provided in this chapter.
"Commission" means the legislative commission created in RCW 41.58.100 at the public employment relations commission, until the legislative commission expires on December 31, 2027. After December 31, 2027, "commission" means the public employment relations commission created under RCW 41.58.010(1).
"Confidential employee" means an employee designated by the employer: (a) To assist in a confidential capacity, or serve as counsel to, persons who formulate, determine, and effectuate employer policies with regard to labor relations and personnel matters; or (b) who as part of the employee's job duties has authorized access to information that contributes to the development of, or relates to the effectuation or review of, the employer's collective bargaining policies, strategies, or process; or (c) who assists or aids an employee with managerial authority.
"Director" means the director of the office of state legislative labor relations.
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"Employee" means:
Any regular partisan employee of the house of representatives or the senate who is covered by this chapter; and
Any regular employee who is staff of the:
(A) Office of legislative support services;
(B) Legislative service center;
(C) Office of the code reviser who, during any legislative session, does not work full time on drafting and finalizing legislative bills to be included in the Revised Code of Washington; and
(D) House of representatives and senate administrations.
b. "Employee" also includes temporary staff hired to perform substantially similar work to that performed by employees included under (a) of this subsection.
c. All other regular employees and temporary employees, including employees in the legislative office on Indian affairs created under section 3 of this act, casual employees, interns, and pages, and employees in the office of program research and senate committee services work groups of the house of representatives and the senate, are excluded from the definition of "employee" for the purposes of this chapter.
"Employee organization" means any organization, union, or association in which employees participate and that exists for the purpose, in whole or in part, of collective bargaining with employers.
"Employee with managerial authority" means any employee designated by the employer who, regardless of job title: (a) Directs the staff who work for a legislative chamber, caucus, agency, or subdivision thereof; (b) has substantial responsibility in personnel administration, or the preparation and administration of the employer's budgets; and (c) exercises authority that is not merely routine or clerical in nature and requires the use of independent judgment.
"Employer" means:
The chief clerk of the house of representatives, or the chief clerk's designee, for employees of the house of representatives;
The secretary of the senate, or the secretary's designee, for employees of the senate; and
The chief clerk of the house of representatives and the secretary of the senate, acting jointly, or their designees, for the regular employees who are staff of the office of legislative support services, the legislative service center, and the office of the code reviser.
"Exclusive bargaining representative" means any employee organization that has been certified under this chapter as the representative of the employees in an appropriate bargaining unit.
"Labor dispute" means any controversy concerning terms, tenure, or conditions of employment, or concerning the association or representation of persons in negotiating, fixing, maintaining, changing, or seeking to arrange terms or conditions of employment with respect to the subjects of bargaining provided in this chapter, regardless of whether the disputants stand in the proximate relation of employer and employee.
"Legislative agencies" means the joint legislative audit and review committee, the statute law committee, the legislative ethics board, the legislative evaluation and accountability program committee, the office of the state actuary, the legislative service center, the office of legislative support services, the joint transportation committee, and the redistricting commission.
"Office" means the office of state legislative labor relations.
"Supervisor" means an employee designated by the employer to provide supervision to legislative employees as part of the employee's regular and usual job duties. Supervision includes directing employees, approving and denying leave, and participating in decisions to hire, transfer, suspend, lay off, recall, promote, discharge, direct, reward, or discipline employees, or to adjust employee grievances, when the exercise of the authority is not of a merely routine nature but requires the exercise of individual judgment, regardless of whether such duties are the employee's primary duties and regardless of whether the employee spends a preponderance of the employee's time exercising such duties. However, "supervisor" does not include a legislative assistant to a legislator of the senate or house of representatives.
Sections 5 and 6 of this act take effect July 1, 2027.