Official Text and Analysis.

Authorizes the Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) to implement an Individual Provider Employment Administrator (IPEA) program to act as the legal employer of individual providers.

Limits the contract duration for consumer directed employers to four years and directs the department of social and health services to examine whether other more qualified vendors exist before renewing the contract of a consumer directed employer.

Removes the language that exempts DSHS's activities to identify, select, and contract with a consumer directed employer from the state procurement laws.

Requires consumer directed employers to comply with the public records act.

Prohibits any consumer directed employer from sharing an affiliation with the bargaining representative of individual providers.

Removes language that describes the rate setting process.

Requires the consumer directed employer to implement an electronic visit verification that complies with federalrequirements, striking the exception in the underlying bill thatallowed for merely monitoring a sample of individual provider claims.

Prohibits the consumer directed employer or the exclusive bargaining representative that sit on the rate setting board as voting members from contributing to any candidate for Governor.

Removes language that permits the exclusive bargaining representative to direct the CDE to make voluntary deductions for individual providers as required by the collective bargaining agreement. Adds language that prohibits requiring IPs to become or remain a member of a labor organization, and prohibits requiring IPs to pay any dues, fees, assessments, or other charges to a labor organization. IPs must be able to join or resign labor organization membership at any time. Requires DSHS to receive an individual provider's written authorization before deducting labor organization dues, fees, assessments, or other charges.

Prohibits exclusive bargaining representatives from charging union dues or fees to employees in excess of one and one- half percent of the employee's base rate of pay.

Provides that nothing in the act shall be deemed to result in individual providers becoming state employees or vesting in the state's PERS pension system.

Removes the exception to the electronic visit verification system implementation requirement that allows the consumer directed employer to monitor a sample of individual provider claims for services.

Removes the exemption from the state procurement laws for the Department of Social and Health Services' activities related to identifying, selecting, and contracting with a consumer directed employer.

Prohibits any consumer directed employer from sharing an affiliation with the bargaining representative of individual 7 providers, including shared officers or financial relationships.

Limits the contract duration for consumer directed employers to four years. Directs the Department to examine whether other more qualified vendors exist before renewing the contract of a consumer directed employer..

Removes the authority of the exclusive bargaining representative to direct the consumer-directed employer (CDE) to make voluntary deductions for individual providers (IPs) as required by the collective bargaining agreement so long as those deductions do not conflict with federal or state law. Prohibits IPs from being required to become or remain members of a labor organization, and from paying any dues, fees, assessments or other charges to the CDE or Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) on behalf of a labor organization. Specifies that no IP may be prevented from joining or resigning membership in a labor organization at any time. Requires DSHS or the CDE to receive an IP's written authorization before deducting labor organization dues, fees, assessments, or other charges..

Removes the rate-setting board and the rate-setting process for establishing labor and administrative rates for the consumer directed employer.

Prohibits exclusive bargaining representatives from charging union dues or fees to employees in excess of one and one- half percent of the employee's base rate of pay.