It has been a fast and furious week as the legislative session kicked off in Olympia. NFIB/Washington has been engaged on several key issues already.
Health Care
NFIB helped negotiate an agreement with the state’s health insurers to fix the all-payer claims database (APCD), which they opposed last session. The carriers have agreed to provide claims data that creates the framework for consumer access to meaningful cost and quality data that will lead to better health insurance and health-care purchasing decisions. We are working to get bipartisan sponsors for companion bills that will be introduced as early as Monday. Click here to read more about why small business supports health-care transparency.
Microbeads Ban
NFIB and the Washington Food Industry Association’s Carolyn Logue won concessions from national manufacturers of health and beauty products seeking to ban the use of plastic microbeads that will allow small retailers to sell any stock containing microbeads, rather than being stuck with newly-illegal product after 2020.
Port Slowdown
NFIB brought members to testify about the impact of the port slowdown on small businesses and communities across the state. Our thanks to Jeff Calaway of Calaway Trading, Anders Johnson of Woodland Truck Line, Inc., Craig Fletcher of Kapstone-Kraft Paper, and Bob Haberman of Number 9 Hay, who traveled to Olympia for an 8 a.m. joint meeting of the Senate Commerce & Labor and Trade & Economic Development committees. Commerce Chairman Sen. Michael Baumgartner of Spokane met privately with the group following the work session.
Media
@NFIB_WA is one of “The 42 Twitter Accounts to Understand the 2015 Legislative Session,” according to the WashingtonStateWire.com, a highly respected and read political blog.
