This bill amends existing collective bargaining law (amending RCW 41.80.010 and 2022 c 297 s 951) and makes procedural changes to how state employer bargaining is conducted. It designates the governor or the governor's designee as the employer representative for negotiating master collective bargaining agreements except for institutions of higher education whose governing boards remain the employer unless they elect otherwise. It requires exclusive bargaining representatives that each represent fewer than 500 employees to form coalitions and negotiate a single master agreement for all employees in the coalition, but creates several specific exceptions and adjustments: higher education representatives are generally exempt from the coalition rule, assistant attorneys general negotiate one master agreement with the governor or designee, and exclusive representatives for department of corrections employees with interest arbitration rights are exempted from the coalition requirement (except for marine department employees at the department of corrections) and instead negotiate one master agreement with the governor or designee. The bill also allows supplemental, agency-specific bargaining to be included as addenda to master agreements when mutually agreed. The bill changes procedural funding and timing requirements: the governor must submit requests for funds to implement compensation and fringe benefits to the Office of Financial Management (OFM) by October 1 prior to the legislative session and such requests must be certified by OFM as financially feasible where required. Special rules apply to the University of Washington for requests at or above $10,000, including OFM certification and a requirement to bargain modifications if OFM does not certify feasibility. After a collective bargaining agreement expires, its terms remain in effect until a subsequent agreement takes effect, not to exceed one year, after which the employer may implement changes consistent with law. The legislature is given limited authority to approve funding for certain previously negotiated and ratified agreements in specified past biennia, and for the 2021–2023 biennium the legislature may approve funding for specified agreements involving Eastern Washington University, Yakima Valley College, and named bargaining units provided those agreements are ratified before final legislative action on the omnibus appropriations act. Affected parties named include the governor and the governor's designee, institutions of higher education and their governing boards, exclusive bargaining representatives and their coalitions, OFM, independent state elected officials listed in RCW 43.01.010, assistant attorneys general, department of corrections employees, and specific colleges and unions referenced. The extracted texts are incomplete (they begin and end mid-sentence in places), and do not include full definitions for some terms (for example, a full statutory definition of "governor's designee") or the complete bill language, so some details and any additional provisions or limitations in the remainder of the bill are not available from these excerpts.

If enacted, the bill shifts most day-to-day collective bargaining for state employees to the governor or the governor’s designee, requires one master contract when a union represents multiple bargaining units, and forces smaller exclusive representatives (those under 500 employees) to join coalitions and negotiate a single master agreement rather than separate deals. That will change how unions organize and negotiate: small unions lose the option of independent bargaining and must coordinate with others, the governor and OFM gain more centralized control and visibility over statewide labor costs, and department of corrections bargaining units with interest arbitration rights are explicitly handled outside the coalition rule so their representatives will still negotiate a single master agreement with the governor or designee. Institutions of higher education remain the named employers unless they ask the governor to conduct negotiations, and their governing boards must consult OFM about budget impacts before bargaining. On money and timing, the governor must submit requests for funds to OFM by October 1 before the legislative session and OFM must certify whether proposed compensation and benefits are financially feasible; for the University of Washington there is a special $10,000 threshold and parties must renegotiate if OFM won’t certify feasibility. Agreements stay in effect after expiration for up to one year, after which the employer may act unilaterally if no new agreement is in place. The bill also creates a narrow route for the legislature to fund certain 2021–2023 agreements (naming Eastern Washington University and Yakima Valley College deals) only if those agreements are ratified before final omnibus budget action. Key implementation details and the remainder of one subsection are missing from the provided text, so some operational questions and limits on these changes are unclear.