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2025 Legislation of Note

Legislation of Note

TAX & FISCAL POLICY

Max Martin, AWB’s tax and fiscal policy director, is engaging on this year’s budget and tax proposals:

  • Operating budget: On Tuesday afternoon, lawmakers will hold hearings on their operating budget proposals for the 2025-2027 biennium. The House budget (House Bill 1198) will receive a public hearing at 4 p.m. Tuesday in the House Appropriations Committee. The Senate budget (Senate Bill 5167) will be heard in the Senate Ways & Means Committee at the same time.

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TRANSPORTATION

Morgan Irwin, AWB’s transportation lead, is monitoring the following transportation bills:

  • Transportation budget: On Tuesday, lawmakers will also hold hearings on the state’s proposed transportation budget, which was unveiled today. The House’s transportation budget (House Bill 1227 and 2043) will receive a public hearing at 4 p.m. Tuesday in the House Transportation Committee. The Senate’s transportation budget (Senate Bill 5160 and 5161) will be heard at the same time in the Senate Transportation Committee.

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HEALTH CARE

Emily Wittman, AWB’s health care policy lead, is engaging on these health care bills:

  • Cutting hospital funding: At 4 p.m. today, the House Appropriations Committee is expected to vote on Senate Bill 5083. The bill would then move to the House floor. AWB opposes this bill, which would cap the reimbursements that the state’s public employee insurance plans pay to hospitals for services. Hospitals have already been losing money for several years, and these cuts would force them to consider cuts to patient services — especially if the federal government makes cuts, too. Hospitals serving high numbers of PEBB/SEBB patients will be the most vulnerable, but these cuts will affect everyone in the community.

  • ARNP/PA reimbursement: House Bill 1430 would require health insurers to reimburse advanced practice registered nurse practitioners and physician assistants at the same rate as doctors. AWB opposes this bill because it will result in another increase to commercial health insurance plans. The Senate Health & Long-Term Care committee will hold a hearing on the bill at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday.

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WORKFORCE

Emily Wittman, AWB’s lead on workforce and education, is tracking this bill and others:

  • Career opportunities for students: Students engaged in career and technical education programs face barriers to employment due to their age. House Bills 1722, sponsored by Rep. April Connors, R-Kennewick, is one of two bills that would allow students to receive their credentials and begin their careers before their 18th birthday. AWB supports this bill, which will have a hearing at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday in the Senate Labor & Commerce Committee.

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EMPLOYMENT LAW

Lindsey Hueer, AWB’s lead on employment law issues, is tracking these bills:

  • Personnel records: House Bill 1308 had a hearing in the Senate Labor Committee on Monday morning. This bill would require employers to provide a copy of an employee's personnel file to the employee or former employee within 21 days of the request, or face a potential private right of action lawsuit. While AWB supports transparency and providing an employee/former employee with a copy of their personnel file, the bill is drafted so broadly that it could lead to significant frivolous litigation.

  • Paid family leave expansion: House Bill 1213 was also heard in the Senate Labor Committee Monday morning. The bill would require all businesses, regardless of size, to provide job protection to employees who take Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML). It would also increase grants for small businesses, prohibit consecutive stacking of federal FMLA and state PFML, and reduce the minimum PFML claim from eight to four hours. Under the bill, employees would be eligible for job protection after 180 days of employment. AWB believes the bill would create a hardship on small employers and is an inappropriate of expansion of a program adopted as a compromise in 2017.

  • Pay transparency updates: Senate Bill 5408 — which makes important updates to Washington’s pay transparency law — has a hearing at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday in the House Labor & Workplace Standards Committee. The bill would require notice to employers of job postings that allegedly fail to meet salary disclosure requirements. The employer would then be able to correct the posting, or contact the third party job site to demand the correction. If this is done in 14 days, the employer would not face civil action liability. AWB worked closely with lawmakers on this bill and was pleased to see it pass with bipartisan support in the Senate earlier this month.

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