OLYMPIA, Wash., July 15, 2024—NFIB, the state’s leading small business advocacy organization, today released its biennial voting record for the 2023–24 legislative sessions. 

“Small business owners across the state should be concerned by the poor showing of so many lawmakers from both parties on our most recent voting record,” said Patrick Connor, NFIB Washington State Director. 

Inflation remains the biggest challenge facing Main Street today, a problem plaguing consumers as well. Rather than addressing this concern, the Legislature made things worse, passing bills driving up both operating and labor costs. 

For example, several of the 14 bills considered between the two chambers that are included in NFIB‘s voting record will increase unemployment and worker’s compensation costs for small employers. Others make it more difficult for Main Street entrepreneurs to navigate the maze of state regulations impacting their operations and interactions with their own employees. 

Also troubling were several votes cast based more on partisanship and political calculations than good policy and favoring big business over small firms and consumers. 

“With the Primary and General elections just around the corner, we hope voters will see through candidates’ sometimes hollow claims of being small business supporters when their actual votes cast in the Legislature tell a very different story,” Connor added.  

Keep up with the latest Washington state small-business news at www.nfib.com/washington or by following NFIB on Twitter @NFIB_WA or on Facebook @NFIB.WA