The bill amends RCW 41.56.021 and RCW 41.80.040 and adds new sections to chapter 41.56 RCW (section 3) and chapter 41.80 RCW (section 4) to require an employer or institution to bargain when it decides to adopt artificial intelligence technology or to materially modify current uses of artificial intelligence technology if that adoption or modification affects employees’ wages or performance evaluations. It also narrows the management right labeled “use of technology” in those RCWs by excepting actions covered by the new AI bargaining sections. This is a procedural change that creates a new collective bargaining obligation and modifies existing management rights; it does not create a new crime or change penalties. Affected parties specifically include institutions of higher education employees exempted from civil service under RCW 41.06.070(2), employers covered by chapter 41.80 RCW, exclusive bargaining representatives, certain excluded employees, and referenced collective bargaining units. Section 5 preserves the terms of existing contracts in effect before the effective date of the new sections until those contracts expire, are renewed, or are reopened. The text provided does not define “artificial intelligence” or “artificial intelligence technology,” does not state an effective date for the new sections, and does not include procedural details about how bargaining over AI adoption or modification must be conducted (for example, notice, timelines, or dispute resolution).

If enacted, state agencies and public colleges and universities will generally have to negotiate with employee bargaining representatives before they introduce or change any artificial intelligence tools that affect employee pay or how employees are evaluated. That limits managers’ ability to adopt AI unilaterally in those situations, so decisions about deploying such technology are likely to take longer, require time from HR and legal staff, and could be altered or constrained by negotiated agreements. Contracts already in force when the law takes effect stay in place until they expire, are renewed, or are reopened, so immediate changes will be limited for covered employees under existing contracts. The groups most affected are employers covered by chapter 41.80 RCW and institutions of higher education with employees exempted from civil service, plus their exclusive bargaining representatives and the employees whose wages or performance reviews could be affected. Bargaining representatives gain real leverage to shape or restrict AI use, and employers face increased responsibility and potential costs for negotiating, defending, or modifying AI plans and any resulting wage or evaluation outcomes. Key details are unclear from the provided text—there’s no definition of “artificial intelligence,” no effective date shown here, and no description of the bargaining process or timelines—so the exact scope and timing of these impacts are uncertain.