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Q & A

Q: Why has the governor formed the Washington Competitiveness Council, and why now?
Q: What issues will the Council address?
Q: What is the time frame for the work of the Council?
Q: How will this affect the governor's committment to environmental and safety regulation?
Q: Who will serve on the Council?
Q: How were the Council members chosen?

Q: Why has the governor formed the Washington Competitiveness Council, and why now?

A: The decade of the 1990s was very prosperous for Washington, and especially the Puget Sound area. But recent events have made us realize that we cannot take this prosperity for granted. The recent economic downturn has been a wake-up call. The fact is that a prosperous economy requires that we occasionally reassess our position in the global economy. We must take a look at how we can do a better job at providing an environment where new companies can grow and thrive while helping our existing companies remain competitive.

Q: What issues will the Council address?

A: There have been many committees that have looked at business climate in Washington and made recommendations about how to move forward. One thing we don't need is another study. The Washington Roundtable, the Association of Washington Business, and the Washington Research Council recently jointed forces as the Washington Alliance for a Competitive Economy (ACE) and published the report Keeping Washington Competitive: The need for a Healthy Business Climate (October 2000). This report highlights the issues facing those interested in improving Washington's business climate and offers an appropriate starting point for the Washington Competitiveness Council's agenda. The Council will address a subset of the business climate issues identified in the ACE report. It will try not to duplicate the work of other groups that are already working on some of these issues, but will endorse that work where appropriate.

Q: What is the time frame for the work of the Council?

A: The Council is designed to take quick action. It will develop its recommendations, solutions, and agreements by December. We expect that some of these solutions can be implemented within existing statutory authority. Others may require state and/or local legislation. So we need the recommendations by December to be ready for the 2002 legislative session. Some issues may require longer-term deliberation, but these longer-term issues will have to be handled by a different, longer-term group.

Q: How will this affect the governor's committment to environmental and safety regulation?

A: The governor believes that regulation is an important function of government. Regulatory actions are essential to counter threats to competition, protect the economically disadvantaged and vulnerable, protect consumers, and preserve our environment. But we can find ways to accomplish these important missions in ways that make sense to businesses and provide them with some level of certainty.

Q: Who will serve on the Council?

A: The Council will be co-chaired by Kerry Killinger, Norm Rice, Judy Runstad, Alan Mulally and Bud Mercer. Dick Thompson, on loan from the University of Washington, will lead the staff work as the executive director. The remaining members include representatives from a variety of industries, labor leaders, local government and legislative leadership.

Q: How were the Council members chosen?

A: The objective was to form a group that could identify an action agenda, develop solutions, negotiate agreements and support those agreements among the business and political community.

The first step was to find leaders in the business community with a broad view of business climate, who would bring talent and commitment and lend credibility to the effort. The five co-chairs are leaders in their community who understand the importance of this issue, are willing to commit their time and also understand the art of negotiation. They will lead the effort and ensure its success.

Then we tried to include representatives from many of the most important industries in Washington. Washington has a very diverse economy and it was very difficult to pick from among the many important industries. We tried to ensure that a variety of viewpoints would be represented.

We tried to ensure some diversity, both ethnically and geographically. We looked for representatives from across the state. However, the fact is that many of the largest businesses in Washington are headquartered in the Puget Sound. Consequently, many of the members of the council are from that area. We have included members from other areas.

We added state and local government leaders whose participation is essential to securing agreements on important state/local regulatory and taxation issues. We will need support among the cities, counties and the state Legislature in order to enact the reforms developed by the Council.

We tried to hold the membership down to a reasonable working number. The membership on the Council is limited to ensure that each member can provide input in a manageable setting. However, many staff will be contributing to this effort from state and local government, chambers of commerce, economic development councils and the member companies.