Bill - HB 1340, Statewide Pandemic Preparation and Response Task Force (67th Legislature, 2021)

Summary

House Bill 1340 of the State of Washington, 67th Legislature, 2021 Regular Session, by Representatives Lovick, Harris, Fitzgibbon and others. It was read first time 01/21/21 and referred to the Committee on Community & Economic Development. The bill is an act relating to the creation of the statewide pandemic preparation and response task force and adds a new section to chapter 38.52 RCW. The task force is to be cochaired by the adjutant general and the secretary of the department of health, and to study and make recommendations on issues including coordinated health system response, protections for the business community and workers, flexible rent and repayment plans, school closures and new revenue sources. A new section creates a task force account in the custody of the state treasurer.

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Full text

     H-0099.2

                                 HOUSE BILL 1340


     State of Washington       67th Legislature           2021 Regular Session

     By Representatives Lovick, Harris, Fitzgibbon, Ryu, Taylor, Wicks,
     Dolan, Ramel, Valdez, Leavitt, Goodman, J. Johnson, Chopp, Orwall,
     Santos, Peterson, Gregerson, Shewmake, Davis, Ormsby, Berg, Bronoske,
     Duerr, Fey, Bateman, Lekanoff, Senn, Callan, Frame, Pollet, Harris-
     Talley, and Macri

     Read first time 01/21/21.      Referred   to   Committee   on   Community   &
     Economic Development.




 1       AN ACT Relating to the creation of the statewide pandemic
 2   preparation and response task force; adding a new section to chapter
 3   38.52 RCW; creating new sections; and providing an expiration date.


 4   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:


 5       NEW SECTION.   Sec. 1.   (1) The legislature finds that in 2020,
 6   the world faced an enormous challenge in responding to the novel
 7   coronavirus pandemic. Washington was no exception, having been the
 8   site of the first confirmed coronavirus infection in the United
 9   States.
10       (2) The legislature further finds that Washington's response to
11   the pandemic was one of the best in the nation; however, the state
12   should continue on the path of refining its response mechanisms and
13   devising new strategies for preparing for future outbreaks.
14       (3) The legislature further finds that this important work is
15   critical to public health and safety.
16       (4) The legislature further finds that a task force of
17   professionals from across the spectrum of affected stakeholders
18   should be assembled to continue this work. The knowledge and
19   experience of each field will be necessary for an effective study of
20   Washington's response to the novel coronavirus pandemic and the
21   creation of future response plans.
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1        (5) The legislature intends that the scope of the task force's
2    authority be interpreted broadly to allow for the most complete
3    analysis of pandemic preparation and response options.
4        (6) The legislature further intends that the report produced by
5    the task force be informative and comprehensive and include
6    recommendations for future pandemic preparation and response by all
7    levels of government in Washington.

 8       NEW SECTION.   Sec. 2.   (1) A task force on statewide pandemic
 9   preparation and response is established. The task force is composed
10   of the following members:
11       (a) One member from each of the two largest caucuses of the
12   senate, appointed by the president of the senate;
13       (b) One member from each of the two largest caucuses of the house
14   of representatives, appointed by the speaker of the house of
15   representatives;
16       (c) The secretary of the department of health, or the secretary's
17   designee;
18       (d) The adjutant general of the military department, or the
19   adjutant general's designee;
20       (e) The commissioner of the employment security department, or
21   the commissioner's designee;
22       (f) The director of the department of financial institutions, or
23   the director's designee;
24       (g) The insurance commissioner, or the commissioner's designee;
25       (h) The secretary of the department of social and health
26   services, or the secretary's designee;
27       (i)   The   superintendent   of   public   instruction,   or   the
28   superintendent's designee;
29       (j) The director of the department of labor and industries, or
30   the director's designee;
31       (k) The executive director of the pharmacy quality assurance
32   commission, or the executive director's designee;
33       (l) One member representing the Washington association of
34   sheriffs and police chiefs; and
35       (m) One member representing each of the following, to be
36   appointed by the governor:
37       (i) The office of the governor;
38       (ii) The association of Washington cities;
39       (iii) The Washington state association of counties;
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 1       (iv) Emergency and transitional housing providers;
 2       (v) A statewide association representing physicians;
 3       (vi) A statewide association representing nurses;
 4       (vii) A statewide association representing hospitals;
 5       (viii) Local public health officials; and
 6       (ix) Local emergency management agencies.
 7       (2) The adjutant general, or the adjutant general's designee, and
 8   the secretary of the department of health, or the secretary's
 9   designee, shall cochair the task force and convene its initial
10   meeting.
11       (3)(a) The task force shall study and make recommendations
12   regarding the following issues:
13       (i) Developing strategies to facilitate a coordinated response by
14   the health system prior to and during a pandemic;
15       (ii) Establishing protections for the business community and
16   workers during a pandemic, including automating systems for extending
17   expiring licenses, suspending nonessential deliveries, developing
18   protections for farm workers, distributing small business loans,
19   establishing methods for screening people with fevers before entering
20   public places such as public transportation, public offices, and
21   markets, and implementing hazard pay for medical professionals and
22   stipends for unemployed and furloughed workers;
23       (iii)   Implementing  standards   regarding   flexible    rent   and
24   repayment plans for residential and commercial tenants during a
25   pandemic;
26       (iv)   Establishing   a   multidisciplinary    team    of    experts
27   representing public health, emergency management, public safety,
28   business community, social service providers, first responders,
29   medical professionals, educators, and state and local officials to
30   manage a coordinated and comprehensive statewide response to future
31   pandemics;
32       (v) Implementing additional emergency preparedness strategies
33   which may include, but are not limited to:
34       (A) Establishing regional emergency management agencies;
35       (B) Creating a volunteer reserve disaster corps of individuals
36   trained to assist with a pandemic response by performing tasks such
37   as fever checking, contact tracing, hospital construction, food
38   delivery, child care, basic nursing, lab technician work, or hospital
39   decontamination;


                                      p. 3                           HB 1340
 1       (C) Devising tools to measure the scale of the impact caused by a
 2   pandemic and tailoring the pandemic response to affected regions
 3   based on the scale of the impact in those regions;
 4       (D) Integrating and synthesizing existing local and regional
 5   pandemic response plans and condensing such plans into a statewide
 6   pandemic response master plan that incorporates lessons learned from
 7   the novel coronavirus pandemic; and
 8       (E) Implementing policies adopted in other states that would
 9   improve Washington's ability to respond to and provide services
10   during future pandemics;
11       (vi) Developing strategies to increase health care system
12   capacity such as determining which nonessential medical visits and
13   elective procedures may be postponed, establishing facilities for the
14   mildly and moderately ill to recover under the care and observation
15   of appropriately trained health care providers, increasing the blood
16   supply, and maximizing the health care workforce through increased
17   participation in the medical reserve corps and the use of students in
18   certain health-related fields of study;
19       (vii) Developing strategies to monitor, track, and control
20   positive and presumptive cases including issues related to testing,
21   isolation and quarantine, monitoring and tracking outbreaks, and
22   deploying medical supplies and personnel;
23       (viii) Implementing guidelines for school closures during a
24   pandemic; and
25       (ix) Establishing new revenue sources for funding pandemic
26   preparation and response efforts, creating a dedicated emergency
27   response fund, or implementing an emergency revenue collection
28   policy.
29       (b) The topics identified in (a) of this subsection are intended
30   to be illustrative and not exhaustive.
31       (4) Staff support for the task force must be provided by the
32   military department. The military department may receive gifts,
33   grants, and donations from public and private sources for the purpose
34   of funding the administrative costs of the task force and must
35   deposit any such gifts, grants, and donations into the statewide
36   pandemic preparation and response task force account created in
37   section 3 of this act.
38       (5) The task force shall consult with owners of small businesses,
39   epidemiologists, and representatives of immigrant communities.


                                     p. 4                          HB 1340
 1       (6) Legislative members of the task force are reimbursed for
 2   travel expenses in accordance with RCW 44.04.120. Nonlegislative
 3   members are not entitled to be reimbursed for travel expenses if they
 4   are elected officials or are participating on behalf of an employer,
 5   governmental entity, or other organization. Any reimbursement for
 6   other nonlegislative members is subject to chapter 43.03 RCW.
 7       (7) The task force shall report its findings and recommendations
 8   to the governor and the appropriate committees of the legislature by
 9   July 1, 2022.
10       (8) This section expires August 1, 2022.


11       NEW SECTION.   Sec. 3.   A new section is added to chapter 38.52
12   RCW to read as follows:
13       (1) The statewide pandemic preparation and response task force
14   account is created in the custody of the state treasurer to be used
15   solely and exclusively for the statewide pandemic preparation and
16   response task force created in section 2 of this act.
17       (2) Revenues to the account must consist of deposits into the
18   account, legislative appropriations, and any gifts, grants, or
19   donations received by the military department for the purpose of
20   funding   the  administrative   costs   of the statewide pandemic
21   preparation and response task force.
22       (3) Expenditures from the account may be used only for the
23   administrative costs of the statewide pandemic preparation and
24   response task force.
25       (4) Only the adjutant general or his or her designee may
26   authorize expenditures from the account.

                                  --- END ---




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