NFIB Members Speak Out—Help Kill UI Bill

As adjournment arrives, eight of 11 bills of interest to small business have been sent to the governor

State Director Patrick Connor reports from Olympia on the small business agenda for the legislative and political week as of March 4

Friday, March 1, marked the deadline for the state Senate and House to consider legislation sent over from the opposite chamber. That cut-off substantially narrowed the number of bills NFIB is actively monitoring during this final week of session. We’re now watching 11, down from about 125 bills we flagged in December and early January.

Big UI Victory

Thanks in part to some 400 emails NFIB members sent to senators opposing both the House and Senate versions of a bill giving unemployment benefits to striking workers failed to receive a Senate floor vote by the March 1 cut-off.

House Bill 1893 is officially dead for the session.

Among the 11 still moving through the process as session wanes, eight have already been sent to the governor:

HB 1905, Including protected classes in equal pay act
This bill will double-up on employer liability by making the same actions punishable under both the state equal pay act, administered by the Department of Labor & Industries, and the Washington Law Against Discrimination, administered by the state’s Human Rights Commission. Thus, employers could be investigated and cited by two agencies at once. Moreover, the bill will allow a worker to file multiple complaints based on each “protected class” of which the worker identifies as a member. The bills do not contemplate which agency’s decision controls in the event L&I and the HRC come to different conclusions about the same case. It appears a business owner could be found guilty and punished by one agency while the other finds the employer not guilty for the same action. For that reason, NFIB opposes the bill.

HB 1927, Workers’ compensation temporary total disability
This bill will increase workers’ compensation payouts for these claims, increasing premiums due to experience rating, and potentially creating overpayment situations where injured workers must repay the State Fund for unearned benefits, without expediting actual payment of benefits when a final determination is made. NFIB opposes the bill.

HB 2072, Antitrust penalties
This Attorney General requested legislation will replace the outdated $900,000 penalty cap with a triple-actual-damages penalty, which better aligns with the harm done by anticompetitive tactics to small businesses and other consumers. NFIB supports the bill.

HB 2136, Concerning prevailing wage sanctions, penalties, and debarment
This bill, requested by the Attorney General, would prohibit participation in public works projects by businesses utilizing fraudulent successorship schemes. Basically, this occurs when a contractor cited for misconduct transfers the business assets, on paper, to an accomplice and continues doing business under a different name. NFIB supports the bill.

SB 5778, Employer political speech
This bill goes far beyond protecting workers from hearing unwanted information about an employer’s political or religious opinions. It would prevent an employer from explaining the risks or benefits of unionization, describing regulations or legislation affecting the business or the employees themselves, or even expressing an opinion on topics required to be covered at government-mandated employee gatherings (like safety meetings). Similar laws in other states are being litigated based on federal preemption under the National Labor Relations Act and US Constitution. NFIB opposes the bill.
SB 5897, Business License System reserve account
This Department of Revenue requested bill will replace the current $1 million statutory cap on the Business Licensing Service (BLS) reserve account with a three-month operating expense threshold. This adjustment is needed to keep pace with inflation and other factors that drive cost increases for programming and maintenance of the state’s online BLS portal. NFIB supports the bill.

SB 5980, WISHA timeline – The bill establishes a 10-day goal for the Department of Labor & Industries (L&I) to notify residential contractors of violations noted during a safety and health inspection. It would also require the department to report its progress toward that goal to the Legislature. L&I should more rapidly notify employers of existing and potential hazards on jobsites. NFIB supports the bill.

SB 6007, Grocery workers
This bill requires certain grocers who purchase one or more additional stores to retain the staff of the acquired store(s) for six months, or pay them severance equal to what the discharged workers would have earned during that period. This creates a template for future legislatures to require other business owners to be bound to similar conditions when they purchase or merge with competitors. NFIB opposes the bill.

With session scheduled to adjourn by midnight, Thursday, March 7, both chambers are working through differences in bills resulting from amendments in the opposite chamber. Additionally, on March 4, both the Senate and House passed three Initiatives to the Legislature: HI/SI 2111 Income tax prohibition, HI/SI 2113 Police pursuit, and HI/SI 2081Parental rights in public education.

Here are the priority bills we’re monitoring as the session sprints toward its March 7 adjournment.

HB 1589, Natural gas ban
This bill hit an unexpected roadblock late last week when Lt. Governor Denny Heck ruled in favor of a Republican objection that the bill violated the Rules of the Senate and state Constitution by amending existing statute by reference. Heck, agreeing, called the construction and drafting of the bill “a hot mess.” Democrats then scrambled to rewrite the bill by listing the full text of sections of the Climate Commitment Act (CCA) that HB 1589 seeks to amend. This has many speculating a future court challenge that the bill, as amended, could be deemed the Legislature’s alternative to the CCA-repeal Initiative headed to the November ballot. Republicans were also enraged that the quick turnaround on the bill’s rewrite did not allow them time to redraft their amendments to lineup with the new text of the bill. The rewritten bill narrowly passed the Senate and was returned to the House for further consideration. You may recall HB 1589 would allow Puget Sound Energy to halt extension of gas supply lines to new developments and eventually abandon service to existing natural gas customers. NFIB opposes the bill.

HB 2118, Gun shop building requirements
The Senate passed this bill containing standards that are excessive and threaten to put law-abiding gun shops out of business. One NFIB member received a bid to install surveillance cameras and provide data storage as required by the bill with a cost estimate of nearly $300,000. That does not include additional costs to meet structural requirements the bill would add. HB 2118 provides a template to force the closure of other small businesses under the guise of building and “safety” codes. NFIB opposes the bill.

HB 2266, Sanitary facilities on construction sites
While we appreciate the intent of the bill, several provisions would be largely unworkable on undeveloped construction jobsites. For instance, an earth-clearing contractor would have great difficulty providing a private, lockable facility that is not a bathroom, for the expression of breastmilk, cleaning of pumping equipment, and milk refrigeration. The bill would require contractors provide workers an “… adequate and convenient supply of menstrual hygiene products …” and allow workers to file complaints against their employers over quantity, quality, brand, type, or features of those products, convenience of the product storage location, or for misidentifying which workers may need those products. The bill would put both employers and workers in uncomfortable situations where inquiries or requests regarding the provision of products and facilities may be unwelcome or intrusive. NFIB opposes the bill.

Meanwhile, NFIB’s and its state PAC’s interim political activities are coming into focus.

Retirements and Running for Other Offices

As is the case most sessions, and certainly in presidential election years when all state executive, judicial, and Congressional offices are on the ballot, several members of the Legislature and some statewide officers announce their retirement or intention to run for higher office. Here are the (actual or potential) departures we’re aware of thus far in 2024:

Governor Jay Inslee (retiring)
Attorney General Bob Ferguson (running for governor)
Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler (retiring)
Lands Commissioner Hilary Franz (running for Congress, WA-06)
Majority Leader Sen. Andy Billig, LD-03 (retiring)
Mark Mullet, LD-05 (running for governor)
Sam Hunt, LD-22 (retiring)
Kevin Van De Wege, LD-24 (running for Lands Commissioner)
Emily Randall, LD-26 (running for Congress, WA-06, but has two years left on senate term)
Drew MacEwen, LD-35 (running for Congress, WA-06, but has two years left on senate term)
Rebecca Saldana, LD-37 (running for Lands Commissioner, but has two years left on senate term)
Manka Dingra LD-45 (running for AG, but has two years left on senate term)
Patty Kuderer, LD-48 (running for Insurance Commissioner, but has two years left on senate term)
former Minority Leader Rep. JT Wilcox, LD-02 (retiring)
Marcus Riccelli, LD-03 (running for senate)
Bill Ramos, LD-05 (running for senate)
former Deputy Minority Leader Rep. Joel Kretz, LD-07 (retiring)
Minority Floor Leader Rep. Jacquelin Maycumber, LD-07 (running for Congress, WA 06)
Jessica Bateman, LD-22 (running for senate)
Mike Chapman, LD-24 (running for senate)
Spencer Hutchins, LD-26 (retiring)