Shown verbatim: the complete text as captured from the official page posted by the Washington Legislature, fetched 2026-08-29. This is the chaptered version. The official bill page.
CERTIFICATION OF ENROLLMENT HOUSE BILL 2309 Chapter 38, Laws of 2026 69TH LEGISLATURE 2026 REGULAR SESSION STATE EMPLOYMENT—POSTGRADUATE DEGREES EFFECTIVE DATE: June 11, 2026 Passed by the House January 29, 2026 Yeas 97 Nays 0 LAURIE JINKINS Speaker of the House of Representatives Passed by the Senate March 4, 2026 Yeas 48 Nays 0 DENNY HECK President of the Senate CERTIFICATE I, Bernard Dean, Chief Clerk of the House of Representatives of the State of Washington, do hereby certify that the attached is HOUSE BILL 2309 as passed by the House of Representatives and the Senate on the dates hereon set forth. BERNARD DEAN Chief Clerk Chief Clerk Approved March 14, 2026 11:06 AM FILED March 16, 2026 BOB FERGUSON Governor of the State of Washington Secretary of State State of Washington HOUSE BILL 2309 Passed Legislature - 2026 Regular Session State of Washington 69th Legislature 2026 Regular Session By Representatives Leavitt, Rude, Reed, Zahn, Kloba, Doglio, Ormsby, and Jacobsen; by request of Office of Financial Management Prefiled 01/07/26. Read first time 01/12/26. Referred to Committee on State Government & Tribal Relations. AN ACT Relating to reducing barriers to state employment by eliminating postgraduate degree requirements that are unnecessary; and reenacting and amending RCW 41.06.157. BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON: Sec. 1. RCW 41.06.157 and 2024 c 330 s 11 and 2024 c 70 s 2 are each reenacted and amended to read as follows: (1) To promote the most effective use of the state's workforce and improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the delivery of services to the citizens of the state, the director shall adopt and maintain a comprehensive classification plan for all positions in the classified service. The classification plan must: (a) Be simple and streamlined; (b) Support state agencies in responding to changing technologies, economic and social conditions, and the needs of its citizens; (c) Value workplace diversity; (d) Facilitate the reorganization and decentralization of governmental services; (e) Enhance mobility and career advancement opportunities; (f) Consider rates in other public employment and private employment in the state; (g) Not require a two-year ((or )), four-year, or postgraduate college degree as the only way to demonstrate qualifications for the role unless that degree is required by law for an employee to perform the essential functions of a classification; and (h) Recognize that persons legally authorized to work in the United States under federal law, including deferred action for childhood arrivals recipients, are eligible for employment unless prohibited by other state or federal law. (2) An appointing authority and an employee organization representing classified employees of the appointing authority for collective bargaining purposes may jointly request the director of financial management to initiate a classification study. (3) For institutions of higher education and related boards, the director may adopt special salary ranges to be competitive with positions of a similar nature in the state or the locality in which the institution of higher education or related board is located. (4) The director may undertake salary surveys of positions in other public and private employment to establish market rates. Any salary survey information collected from private employers which identifies a specific employer with salary rates which the employer pays to its employees shall not be subject to public disclosure under chapter 42.56 RCW. Passed by the House January 29, 2026. Passed by the Senate March 4, 2026. Approved by the Governor March 14, 2026. Filed in Office of Secretary of State March 16, 2026.
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