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Association of Washington Business – Updated Weekly

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AWB Policy Summit kicks off Tuesday

policy summit

Speaker change: AWB is excited to announce that former U.S. Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken will join former New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu during our dinner keynote Wednesday at the AWB Policy Summit in Spokane. Secretary Blinken will take the place of Rahm Emanuel, who is unable to attend due to a personal emergency.

  • Antony J. Blinken served as the 71st U.S. Secretary of State under President Biden from January 2021 to January 2025 and held senior foreign policy positions under Presidents Clinton and Obama. A seasoned diplomat and foreign policy expert, Secretary Blinken has spent decades advancing American interests, restoring alliances, and making diplomacy central to U.S. foreign policy.

  • Chris Sununu served four terms as New Hampshire governor from 2017 to 2025. As governor, he worked closely with both the Trump and Biden administrations and had a front-row seat to New Hampshire’s first-in-the-nation presidential primary.

  • Austin Jenkins, a veteran journalist and staff writer with Pluribus News, will moderate the keynote conversation.

Insights and connections: The Policy Summit kicks off Tuesday evening with a legislative reception. We'll have giveaways, a free massage chair (book your time slot here), lots of networking opportunities and many other ways to grow as a business leader.

The full agenda is available here. We’ll see you in Spokane!

Comcast lawsuit argues WA’s new sales tax on digital ads is illegal

gavel

Lawsuit over digital ad tax: Comcast has sued to block part of a new state law that imposes a sales tax on digital advertising. Comcast contends that the law, set to take effect Oct. 1, violates federal law because it does not apply the tax to all advertising services in the same manner. The lawsuit also argues the law violates the federal Internet Tax Freedom Act, which bans state and local governments from imposing “discriminatory” taxes on internet access.

“Almost all forms of advertising conducted over the Internet are subject to the tax, while most forms of advertising conducted off the Internet are not subject to the tax,” states the lawsuit, filed Sept. 9 in Thurston County Superior Court.

Major expansion of sales tax: The Legislature passed Senate Bill 5814 this spring, imposing a sales tax on digital advertising, IT support, temporary staffing, security and other services. In his latest newspaper column, AWB President Kris Johnson writes how the rushed law will raise costs for all Washingtonians.

Fiscal impact: A state Department of Revenue spokesperson said eliminating the tax on advertising services alone would cut state tax collections by about $475 million over four years. In total, SB 5814 is expected to increase taxes by $2.7 billion over the same period.

What’s next: The state expects to issue interim guidance on the advertising portion of the new tax in the next two weeks. The guidance will not address the legal issues raised in the lawsuit.

Reach out: AWB continues to collect feedback from Washington businesses about the new law. Contact AWB Tax & Fiscal Policy Director Max Martin to share thoughts and concerns.

Washington’s K-12 test scores remain well below pre-pandemic levels

test scores

📝 Students falling behind: Standardized test scores for Washington public school students improved only slightly between 2024 and 2025 and remain far below pre-pandemic levels, new state data shows. The results underscore how student achievement continues to lag despite steep K-12 funding increases.

📉 The data from the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction shows that fewer Washington students are meeting grade-level standards for both English and math and more are scoring in the bottom level.

  • Just 50.8% meet English standards and 40.7% meet math standards — far below pre-pandemic levels.

  • 1 in 4 students now score in the bottom for English; 1 in 3 score in the bottom for math.

  • Nearly half of the state’s low-income students fall in the bottom level for math.

Bottom line: Out of 1.1 million public school students in Washington, roughly 275,000 students are seriously falling behind in English and 350,000 in math.

Record K-12 funding not improving outcomes: Between 2013 and 2024, state spending per pupil increased 110%, while test scores declined steadily over the same period, according to an analysis from Georgetown University’s Edunomics Lab.

AWB welcomes new policy experts

government affairs

New employer advocates: Two seasoned public policy professionals have joined AWB’s Government Affairs Team. James Crandall is AWB’s new lead on legal affairs and labor and employment law, and Ken Short is AWB’s point person for transportation, land use and housing policy.

From the Legislature: James joins AWB after 12 years with the state Senate Republican Caucus, where he served as senior staff counsel and policy lead for the Capital Budget and the Senate Labor & Commerce Committee. He has a bachelor’s degree in international affairs from George Washington University and a J.D. from the Seattle University School of Law.

From national lab in Tri-Cities: Ken comes to AWB from the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, where he worked as a contracts specialist as part of the National Security Directorate for six years. Born and raised in the Tri-Cities, he holds a MBA from the Albers School of Business and Economics at Seattle University.

Get in touch: Contact Ken at KenS@awb.org and James at JamesC@awb.org. Both will be at the AWB Policy Summit in Spokane this week. If you’ll be there, stop by and say hello!

Covington Chamber of Commerce recognized for grassroots advocacy

covington chamber

The Covington Chamber of Commerce has been named an AWB Grassroots Alliance Advocate of the Year. The chamber, led by Dana Neuts, has been a strong voice for its members and businesses across the state. During the legislative session, the chamber testified on behalf of their membership and community on issues involving tax policy, signed on to key letters of support and opposition, and joined weekly Grassroots Alliance calls to stay abreast of the issues and report back to their membership.

Surprise award: Dru Garson, AWB’s director of chamber relations, presented the award during a surprise visit at the chamber’s monthly luncheon last week.

“The Covington Chamber of Commerce is a great example of a chamber that has purposefully chosen to put advocacy at the forefront of their chamber services over the past few years,” Garson said. “They have been intentional in their effort to grow and develop as advocates for the business community and have been outstanding partners.”

The AWB Grassroots Alliance was established in 2014 and now has 115 chamber-partners across the state. Learn more.

Delta dental 3
other news

Hawaiian Airlines to get new CEO

Joe Sprague will retire as CEO of Hawaiian Airlines and Diana Birkett Rakow, senior vice president of public affairs and sustainability at Alaska Airlines, will step into the role, effective Oct. 29.

Sprague, a longtime AWB board member, started with Alaska more than 25 years ago and became CEO of Hawaiian Airlines when the two companies combined in 2024. Birkett Rakow joined Alaska Airlines eight years ago.

“As Diana steps into this role, she brings a proven record of building strong teams, delivering results, and caring deeply about people and culture,” Alaska Air Group CEO Ben Minicucci said.

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DOR publishes new guidance on sales tax on services law

The state Department of Revenue recently published several pieces of guidance on the state’s new sales tax on services, which will go into effect Oct. 1. Interim guidance is now available for the following topics:

Additional guidance is expected on advertising services, custom software and temporary staffing.

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Washington state Supreme Court Justice Mary Yu announces retirement

Washington State Supreme Court Justice Mary Yu will step down from the bench at the end of the year. Yu was first elected to the court in 2014 following an appointment by former Gov. Jay Inslee, becoming the first Asian, first Latina, and the first openly LGBTQ justice on the state’s highest court. In her previous role as a King County Superior Court judge, Yu officiated the first same-sex weddings in Washington on Dec. 9, 2012.

“It is not an easy decision to step away,” Yu said. “I have had the good fortune of serving the people of our great state as a judge for 25 years and have cherished every single moment of such service.”

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Washington pear harvest bounces back

Pear harvest is underway in the Pacific Northwest with expectations for a “bountiful” crop. Ideal weather has yields on pace to be 60% higher than last year’s harvest, when a record-setting freeze caused the smallest crop in 40 years.

"Our growers in Washington and Oregon are excited about the quality and quantity of this year's crop, and their enthusiasm is contagious as they bring more than 10 varieties and an abundant volume of fruit to market well into 2026," said CarrieAnn Arias, president and CEO of USA Pears.

Washington and Oregon are the leading producers of U.S. pears, producing 88% of all fresh pears in the country.

events and resources

🚌 Manufacturing Week bus tour kicks off Oct. 1

bus tour 2024

We’re ready to roll: With less than three weeks away until AWB’s Manufacturing Week bus tour, we’re finalizing the route and stops as we celebrate the innovative companies and career opportunities in Washington’s diverse manufacturing sector, sponsored by Banner Bank and Premera.

📍 Tour route: AWB will visit manufacturing facilities and training centers in the following regions:

Oct. 1. - Seattle area

Oct. 2 - North Puget Sound

Oct. 3 - Kitsap County region

Oct. 6 - Yakima to Tri-Cities

Oct. 7 - Spokane and Spokane Valley

Oct. 8 - Moses Lake, Ellensburg, I-90

* This schedule is tentative and may be adjusted due to weather conditions or other unforeseen circumstances.

Check out our🔥🔥video from last year's tour to take a peak inside the bus tour. We’ll see you on the road in October! #MFGisWA

Evening of Excellence registration now open — join us at AWB’s annual awards gala

awards

Tickets now on sale: You can now reserve your place at AWB’s popular annual awards gala, the Evening of Excellence, held Nov. 20 at the Fairmont Olympic Hotel in Seattle. Buy tickets and reserve a room in AWB’s discount room block in the elegant Fairmont Olympic Hotel.

Celebrate in style: We’ll have a great meal and fun time as the winners are revealed in a variety of awards categories, from environmental excellence to family-owned businesses. See the finalists for the 2025 Washington Excellence Awards and Manufacturing Excellence Awards.

Don’t miss out: This event always sells out, so save your seats now. We’ll see you in Seattle!

Free webinar in October: investigate incidents, boost workplace safety

compwise webinar

Stay proactive with workplace safety: Incident and claims investigation can help uncover the root causes of a workplace incident or injury so you can focus on what matters most: prevention. With growing legal scrutiny and the fact that employees are an organization’s greatest asset, creating a safe workplace is more critical than ever.

Register for a free webinar at 10 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 9 to learn about Incident Investigation: Preventing Future Loss, brought to you by the Association of Washington Business and CompWise Workers’ Compensation Retro Program. 1 SHRM/1 HRCI credit pending.

In the one-hour webinar, safety experts will cover:

  • Why investigations are key to safety and prevention

  • Tools for investigating both simple and complex incidents

  • How to objectively identify root causes and suspicion of fraud

  • What to include in reports and follow-ups

  • Resources to help reduce future claims and accidents

Register now
Post of the week
post of the week
They Said It

“If you can’t make a project pencil, there’s hometown people like me that will just stop developing.” ~ Kevin Wallace, president of the Bellevue-based Wallace Properties, about the challenges with Seattle’s affordable housing requirements. The city of Seattle is on track to have one of its slowest years for apartment building permits since 2018, The Seattle Times reports.

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