CSHB 288(L&C) am PROCUREMENT PREFERENCE/DISABLED PERSONS  CHAIRMAN KELLY called the Senate Labor and Commerce Committee meeting to order at 1:00 p.m. and announced CSHB 288(L&C) am to be up for consideration. WALT WILCOX, Legislative Aide for Representataive Jeannette James, explained that HB 288 is for for-profit corporations that are in partnerships or are totally disabled-owned. Currently, disabled- owned sole proprietorships are allowed a better preference when bidding on public contracts. This would merely add partnerships and corporations that are totally disabled to that status. The second portion of the bill relates to saving money through allowing the administration to negotiate leases and find windows of opportunity to reduce those lease costs over the next eight years resulting in unknown savings from hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars. The administration supports this legislation. DUGAN PETTY, Director, Division of General Services, testified that the state had saved approximately $1.5 million in 1993 by negotiating 39 leases. Over the life of the leases they extended the state will save $18,866,000. SENATOR KELLY asked if these leases had already gone through the competitive bid process. MR. PETTY said that was correct. Number 75 SENATOR TORGERSON asked why a,b, and c were being repealed in the year 2000. MR. PETTY answered that this was not to be a permanent opportunity. What doesn't repeal immediately is the report that they would provide annually to the legislature. The first authorization of this bill gave them a two-year window. This bill gives them a five-year window on which they could renegotiate these leases. SENATOR TORGERSON said he supported the bill, but was concerned with setting up corporations that might be subsidized with public dollars and giving them an undue bidding advantage based upon the bid preference and upon monies they might receive through a public subsidy. MR. WILCOX replied that none of these corporations are non-profit, publicly-funded corporations. The corporations this bill addresses are privately-owned, free-enterprise, for-profit corporations owned by disabled individuals. Those individuals would have to be the owners and operators. SENATOR TORGERSON asked if the partnerships would also be controlled under for-profit partnerships. MR. WILCOX replied that hopefully it would be for profit partnerships; but the partnerships would not necessarily be of corporations doing a joint venture, but of two individuals going into business together. SENATOR KELLY asked what advantage we are giving the disabled folks. MR. WILCOX explained that they get a 10% bidders preference on public contracts - currently as sole proprietors, but not as partnerships or corporations. SENATOR SALO asked if there was a legal way to differentiate between those two types of partnerships. MR. WILCOX explained that a partnership is a partnership whether it is of individuals or of corporations and as long as they were totally disabled-owned, they would fall within the scope of this proposed legislation. SENATOR SALO asked if being totally disabled-owned meant that every employee had to be disabled. MR. WILCOX replied that only the owners must be disabled. There is a provision under current law that says if a business is partially disabled-owned, they can have disabled employees. SENATOR TORGERSON moved to pass CSHB 288(L&C) am from committee with individual recommendations. There were no objections and it was so ordered.