Gov. Inslee has signed SHB 1170. According to the bill,

the legislature intends to identify and invest in strategies to ensure every geographic region of the state can benefit from a strong manufacturing and research and development base, with the goal of doubling the state’s manufacturing employment base, the number of small businesses, and the number of women and minority-owned manufacturing businesses in the next 10 years.

Under the bill, the Department of Commerce “must support the development of regionally tailored strategies to facilitate the continued existence and development of manufacturing workforce across the state.”

The bill creates a “manufacturing cluster acceleration” subaccount within the economic development strategic reserve account. The Department of Commerce may use the subaccount for projects that help “manufacturers to diversify their customer base and supply chain,” for “pilot or demonstration manufacturing projects coordination with organized cluster initiatives,” and for projects “intended to increase manufacturing and research and development jobs regionally.”

Additionally, the Department of Commerce must report each biennium “on the state of the manufacturing and research and development industry and workforce.” The department must also report every four years on “the progress made in developing, recruiting, and retaining research and development employers and workforce; and a description of how the state’s policy toolkit for developing strength in research and development as a sector compares to competitor states.”

The House-passed 2021–23 operating budget would appropriate $2.8 million from the general fund–state for implementation of the bill. The Senate-passed budget does not include funding for it.