Yesterday, the House Appropriations Committee passed (14-13) HB 2473, a labor-initiated bill that would make it more difficult for state agencies to outsource work. From the bill report, here’s a bit of what it requires:

• Requires agencies to prepare a written record of the basis of the decision and a comprehensive impact assessment when contracting out to purchase services that were formerly provided by public employees.
• Requires agencies to file with the Department of Enterprise Services (DES) the written basis of decisions and reports on contractors’ performance.
• Requires inclusion of a number of contract terms in agreements to contract out.
• Specifies additional procedures, terms, and criteria that the DES must include in uniform policies and procedures for agency management of contracts.
• Makes changes to existing law requiring the DES to identify services that can be contracted out at reduced cost, including authorizing this only when taxpayers will save 10 percent or more.

As per usual, this measure is dressed up as “accountability and transparency” rather than “roadblocks and hurdles.” But there’s no question that this is designed to slow the pace of outsourcing in state government, sort of like attempting to trip a tortoise — it’s not like things were moving very fast anyway.

For a refresher on the benefits of competitive sourcing, take a look at our Thrive Washington report, The Case for Contracting Out.