Today marks the end of the first week of Washington’s legislative session. With nearly 750 bills now introduced (a typical legislative session sees approximately 2,500 bills introduced) and legislators meeting in policy and fiscal committees to hear many of them, the session has gotten off to a fast start.  The Legislature’s first major cut off is scheduled for February 21 where bills need to be successfully voted out of their house of origin policy committee by this date.

This week also saw the swearing in of the newly elected and returning legislative and statewide office holders, the governor’s inaugural ball, and an inaugural address by new Governor Bob Ferguson with themes of bipartisanship, fiscal constraint, governmental efficiency, and a focus on addressing affordability and public safety.  Here’s a run-down of the top issues from week one, with a look ahead to week two:

Budget & Taxes

The fiscal committees of the House and Senate spent much of the week in largely ceremonial public hearings of outgoing Governor Inslee’s operating, transportation, and capital budgets. This was largely ceremonial as Governor Inslee’s lame duck budgets, released in December, started the conversation but will undergo extensive change over the course of the session as the new Governor and House and Senate budget writers hammer out agreements. Nevertheless, three new tax bills were introduced arising from Inslee’s budget: HB 1319, the one percent “wealth tax” on unrealized capital gains over $100 million, HB 1320, increasing state B&O taxes, and HB 1334, raising the annual limit on property tax increases from one to three percent. For his part, Governor Ferguson called upon state agencies to begin implementing six percent reductions in spending over the next four years as part of his goal to trim $4.4 billion from the looming deficit from spending cuts.

Transportation & Construction

As the House and Senate transportation committees held work sessions and hearings this week on the state of the transportation budget, new estimates are penning the anticipated shortfall through 2031 at $6.5 billion, driven by increasing construction project costs and declining gas tax revenues. Democrats are continuing discussions on a new Road Usage Charge of possibly 2.5 cents per mile driven as part of the solution, while Republican transportation leaders favor using more of the state’s sales tax on projects. On Friday, the Senate State Government Committee heard SB 5176, a bill requiring “prompt pay” to contractors and subcontractors on public works projects, and the bill is scheduled for a committee vote this Friday. On Wednesday, the House Labor & Workplace Standards Committee held a hearing on a proposal to extend prevailing wage requirements to private sector employees in “high hazard” occupations such as oil refineries. The bill is set for a committee vote this Wednesday.  

Business Regulation

On Monday, the House Committee on Housing held a hearing on HB 1217, adopting a statewide seven percent cap on residential rent increases, and it is scheduled for a committee vote this Monday. On the artificial intelligence front, the House Technology, Economic Development & Veterans Committee heard HB 1168 and 1170, bills to require transparency and detection tools to consumers when a developer releases an AI system. The tech and business industry generally opposed these bills due to concerns over private right of action enforcement.

Labor & Employment

Regulating the employment relationship continues to be a very active area. On Wednesday, the House Labor Committee heard HB 1155, prohibiting non-compete agreements and limiting non-solicitation agreements and HB 1184, exempting non-profits and small businesses from the state’s minimum wage for overtime exemption. The Senate Labor & Commerce Committee will hear SB 5041, extending unemployment insurance benefits to striking workers, and SB 5292, changing the way in which premiums are set for paid family and medical leave insurance. On the same day, the House Labor Committee will take up HB 1213, expanding job protection and other coverage in the paid family & medical leave insurance system. On Wednesday, the House Civil Rights & Judiciary Committee will hear HB 1297, requiring self-employed and gig economy workers be reported to the state’s child support division.  

Insurance

Public hearings on insurance bills got underway this week with HB 1006 on Tuesday and its companion, SB 5108 on Thursday. These bills provider greater options for service contract providers to back the financial obligations of their contracts. The House version is set for a committee vote on Tuesday. This week, HB 1230 and SB 5141 will receive hearings, companions that excuse disability income insurers from single case filings for rate changes. In property & casualty, HB 1078 was heard in House Consumer Protection & Business, barring consideration of pre-existing conditions in pet insurance coverage, while this Friday, the committee will hear HB 1199, a request of new Insurance Commissioner Patty Kuderer to provide explicit authority to order restitution in insurance disputes and extend the current cap on penalties for non-compliance from $10,000 total to $10,000 per violation.

Financial Services

On Friday, the Senate Labor & Commerce Committee heard SB 5070, barring credit card companies from charging processing fees on employee tips and sales tax. On Thursday, the House Education Committee will hear HB 1285, a bi-partisan bill to require financial literacy education in high school graduation standards.

Upcoming Events

Local Government (Senate) - SHR 3 and Virtual JACB - 1/20 @ 1:30pm

• SB 5107 - Public Hearing - Concerning underinsured motorist coverage for local government employees. (Remote Testimony Available).

Transportation (Senate) - SHR 1 and Virtual J.A. Cherberg - 1/20 @ 4:00pm

• SB 5127 - Public Hearing - Creating additional requirements for collector vehicle and horseless carriage license plates to improve compliance and public safety. (Remote Testimony Available).

Labor & Workplace Standards (House) - HHR D and Virtual JLOB - 1/21 @ 10:30am

• HB 1213 - Public Hearing - Expanding protections for workers in the state paid family and medical leave program. (Remote Testimony Available).

Consumer Protection & Business (House) - HHR B and Virtual JLOB - 1/21 @ 1:30pm

• HB 1006 - Exec Session - Regulating service contracts and protection product guarantees.

Community Safety (House) - HHR D and Virtual JLOB - 1/21 @ 4:00pm

• HB 1315 - Public Hearing - Concerning impaired driving. (Remote Testimony Available).

Civil Rights & Judiciary (House) - HHR A and Virtual JLOB - 1/22 @ 8:00am

• HB 1046 - Exec Session - Protecting the vulnerable by providing immunity from civil liability for damage to a motor vehicle arising from the rescue of vulnerable persons or domestic animals.

Labor & Workplace Standards (House) - HHR D and Virtual JLOB - 1/22 @ 8:00am

• HB 1308 - Public Hearing - Concerning access to personnel records. (Remote Testimony Available).

Transportation (House) - HHR B and Virtual JLOB - 1/22 @ 4:00pm

• HB 1194 - Public Hearing - Creating additional requirements for collector vehicle and horseless carriage license plates to improve compliance and public safety. (Remote Testimony Available).

Consumer Protection & Business (House) - HHR B and Virtual JLOB - 1/24 @ 8:00am

• HB 1199 - Public Hearing - Strengthening consumer protection through increased insurer accountability for violations of the insurance code. (Remote Testimony Available).

Technology, Economic Development, & Veterans (House) - HHR C and Virtual JLOB - 1/24 @ 10:30am

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Bill #	Abbrev. Title	Short Description	Status	Sponsor	Position	Priority
HB 1006 (SB 5108)	Service contracts	Regulating service contracts and protection product guarantees.	H ConsPro&Bus	Ryu
HB 1046	Motor vehicle damage/rescue	Protecting the vulnerable by providing immunity from civil liability for damage to a motor vehicle arising from the rescue of vulnerable persons or domestic animals.	H Civil R & Judi	Leavitt
HB 1078	Pet insurance	Concerning pet insurance.	H ConsPro&Bus	Walen
HB 1168	Artificial intelligence info	Increasing transparency in artificial intelligence.	H Tech, Econ Dev	Shavers
HB 1170	AI content notices	Informing users when content is developed or modified by artificial intelligence.	H Tech, Econ Dev	Shavers
HB 1181	Labor standards	Concerning labor standards and the Washington minimum wage act.	H Labor & Workpl	Mena
HB 1194 (SB 5127)	Collector vehicle licenses	Creating additional requirements for collector vehicle and horseless carriage license plates to improve compliance and public safety.	H Transportation	Goodman
HB 1197 (SB 5166)	Operating budget, supp.	Making 2023-2025 fiscal biennium second supplemental operating appropriations.	H Approps	Ormsby
HB 1198 (SB 5167)	Operating budget	Making 2025-2027 fiscal biennium operating appropriations.	H Approps	Ormsby
HB 1199 (SB 5331)	Insurance code violations	Strengthening consumer protection through increased insurer accountability for violations of the insurance code.	H ConsPro&Bus	Taylor
HB 1213	Paid family & medical leave	Expanding protections for workers in the state paid family and medical leave program.	H Labor & Workpl	Berry
HB 1308 (SB 5345)	Access to personnel records	Concerning access to personnel records.	H Labor & Workpl	Reed
HB 1315	Impaired driving	Concerning impaired driving.	H Community Safe	Donaghy
HB 1334	Property tax revenue growth	Modifying the annual regular property tax revenue growth limit.	H Finance	Pollet
SB 5042	Autonomous vehicles	Concerning vehicle and operator requirements for autonomous vehicles.	S Transportation	Lovick
SSB 5067	Impaired driving	Concerning impaired driving.	S Transportation	Lovick
SB 5107	Local gov. vehicle insurance	Concerning underinsured motorist coverage for local government employees.	S Loc Gov	Boehnke
SB 5108 (HB 1006)	Service contracts	Regulating service contracts and protection product guarantees.	S Business, Fin	Kauffman
SB 5127 (HB 1194)	Collector vehicle licenses	Creating additional requirements for collector vehicle and horseless carriage license plates to improve compliance and public safety.	S Transportation	Lovick
SB 5166 (HB 1197)	Operating budget, supp.	Making 2023-2025 fiscal biennium second supplemental operating appropriations.	S Ways & Means	Robinson
SB 5167 (HB 1198)	Operating budget	Making 2025-2027 fiscal biennium operating appropriations.	S Ways & Means	Robinson
SB 5262	Insurance statutes	Correcting obsolete or erroneous references in statutes administered by the insurance commissioner.	S Business, Fin	Kauffman
SB 5331 (HB 1199)	Insurance code violations	Strengthening consumer protection through increased insurer accountability for violations of the insurance code.	S Business, Fin	Cortes
SB 5345 (HB 1308)	Access to personnel records	Concerning access to personnel records.	S Labor & Comm	Saldana

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