It was another busy week at the Washington State Legislature, and your staff is also finalizing the program and logistics for next week’s Small Business Day at the Capitol. Here are some highlights:
Small Business Day at the Capitol
We have confirmed Sens. Andy Hill, Senate Ways & Means Committee chairman, and Michael Baumgartner, Senate Commerce & Labor Committee chairman, will be speaking at Small Business Day … provided there are no senate votes that conflict with our schedule, of course.
Health Care
The House Health Care & Wellness Committee this week approved House Bill 1437, the All Payer Claims Database bill that NFIB and the Coalition for Health Care Cost Transparency negotiated with Premera and Regence. The vote was 12 to 3. Today the bill was referred to the House Appropriations Committee, which has not yet scheduled a hearing. Meanwhile, the Senate Health Care Committee will hold a public hearing on a proposed substitute bill to Senate Bill 5084 next Tuesday, February 10. The proposed substitute is the same language contained in HB 1437. The committee chair, Sen. Randi Becker, is expected to offer additional amendments on patient privacy or other topics at a later date.
B&O Tax Break
Also this week, NFIB met twice with Sen. Mike Padden to discuss our opposition to his Senate Bill 5339, creating a two-year B&O tax break for new businesses. Our state ballots have repeatedly shown NFIB members prefer comprehensive tax reform to further exemptions or preferences for the favored few. While we greatly appreciate Sen. Padden’s desire to help new businesses succeed, we again explained the unfair advantage this would give new businesses over existing firms that struggled and scraped to survive this long recession. Sen. Padden also took issue with our endorsements in the race to succeed former Rep. Larry Crouse who did not seek re-election in 2014. While we had to agree to disagree, Sen. Padden remains a strong ally on many other issues before the Legislature.
Penalty Recovery
Sen. John Braun, an NFIB member, has asked that we work with the Department of Labor & Industries (L&I) on amendments to his Senate Bill 5507, which would allow employers to recover the value of penalties assessed against them if they prevail in an appeal at the Board of Industrial Insurance Appeals or superior court. L&I has raised a number of valid questions about the intent and effect of the bill. While I do not expect we will be able to craft amendments the department will ultimately support, I think we can find agreement on language that clearly spells out which types of penalties would be subject to a reimbursement requirement when a business owner wins an appeal against the department.
Contracting Violations
Similarly, NFIB is working with Rep. Jeff Holy and the Department of Enterprise Services (DES) on his House Bill 1447, which would allow DES to fine vendors for contract violations that do not rise to a level justifying disbarment from public contracting opportunities. NFIB/Washington Leadership Council member Dean Hartman of Capital Business Machines has been instrumental in crafting questions for DES to answer in order for the bill to proceed. The bill is moving forward, but Rep. Holy is working closely with us to ensure our concerns are addressed.
Of Note
- Speaking of state agencies, NFIB signed in supporting a slate of regulatory reform bills to rein in overzealous bureaucrats during a hearing of the Senate Government Operations Committee.
- Also of note, NFIB testified on teen training wage bills and signed in showing our support of several workers’ compensation bills being considered by the Senate Commerce & Labor Committee.
- Freshman Rep. Mark Harmsworth sought out NFIB’s research and opinion on legislation related to B&O tax deferrals for new businesses, biometric indicators and data breaches. We mention this only to demonstrate the variety of issues that lawmakers look to NFIB for guidance before lending their support.
- We also enjoyed a visit from NFIB’s Washington State Division Manager Marcus Collier today, where we discussed how we can better share information and support the efforts of our outstanding sales team.
That’s it for this week. We look forward to seeing you at our Small Business Day at the Capitol next Wednesday, February 11.
Past Reports
