The state House and Senate spent the week debating and passing bills originating in their respective chamber. Floor sessions will continue through Wednesday, March 12.

There are 47 bills of interest to Washington small-business owners still alive for the year. Some bills that did not survive last Friday’s fiscal cut-off could be resurrected if majority-party leadership determines they are “necessary to implement the budget” (NTIB). That means they affect revenue or spending in one of the three budgets—operating, capital, or transportation.

It is also important to note that tax bills intended to balance the budget have not yet been introduced, so there will be later additions to our bill tracking list.

Week in Review

HB 1382, All Payer Claims Database (APCD)
House Bill 1382 passed the House, 58-39, on a purely partisan vote. The bill would align state law with federal transparency rules promulgated by the first Trump Administration in 2019. Nevertheless, House Republicans locked up behind the health insurance industry on both a floor amendment to shield the very data the Trump rules require be made public, and the bill on final passage. NFIB has long supported health care cost transparency. The APCD allows researchers access to deidentified claims data to analyze medical procedure and costs by various metrics such as geography, facility, or provider type. If HB 1382 becomes law, the available data will be expanded to include the billed, negotiated, and paid amounts. This will allow policymakers to better identify cost drivers, payment abnormalities, over- or under-utilization, illness trends, and a host of other factors impacting population health, treatment efficacy, and health care costs. The bill would also allow employers access to data to better design health plans for their workforce and negotiate better rates with insurers. This is a priority YES vote for NFIB.

HB 1430, APRN and medical assistant “payment parity”
NFIB opposes this bill, which would require commercial (private market) health insurers to pay Advance Practice Registered Nurses (formerly known as Advanced Registered Nurse Practitioners (ARNP) and medical assistants the same rate as doctors. This will undoubtedly result in additional pressure to increase health insurance rates. Additionally, these midlevel providers do not have the same education, training, or experience as doctors. Compensation should reflect those differences. The bill was amended in an unartful attempt to limit the type of APRNs and MAs who would receive the higher rates, but the amendment created more confusion than clarity. NFIB will continue to oppose the bill when it is heard in the Senate Health Care & Wellness Committee.

HB 1483, Right to Repair
With the addition of an Apple amendment that will allow manufacturer to use parts pairing with biometric components to skirt compliance with the law, the House passed right to repair on a near unanimous vote, 94-1. As NFIB foretold, Apple still refused to support the bill even with its amendment added. The tech giant merely acceded to not actively work against the bill. We shall see if that holds true when HB 1483 is heard in the Senate Energy, Environment & Technology Committee. Meanwhile, the companion bill, SB 5423, cleared Senate Rules, but is unlikely to see a floor vote due to passage of the amended House bill. NFIB still supports the bill as an important step forward in allowing consumers and small repair shops some greater ability to repair digital electronic devices, but is not optimistic that more Apple products will be repairable outside of Apple’s rigid, oligopolistic repair structure.

HB 1788, workers’ compensation benefit increase
Small business was dealt another blow when a bipartisan majority passed House Bill 1788, 78-18. The bill is at least a $36 million dollar benefit increase over five years, if the latest of six fiscal notes can be believed. (We don’t think it passes the straight face test.) Earlier estimates pegged this part of the original bill closer to $150 million. Labor argued the increase is necessary so that injured workers who are single parents could receive the same level of benefits as a married injured worker with dependents. NFIB and others in the business community pointed out that throwing more money at an archaic, costly, and cumbersome wage-replacement calculation process won’t fix the problem. Stunningly, 21 House Republicans sided with Labor against a business community united against the bill. NFIB will continue to oppose this benefit increase in the Senate.

Senate Bill 5041, Unemployment pay for striking workers
Despite intense pressure from Boeing, the state’s business community, school boards and education administrators, and local governments, the state Senate this afternoon (March 7) passed an amended version of SB 5041 on largely partisan lines, 28-21. Democrat Sens. Mike Chapman and Lisa Wellman joined all Republicans in voting no. As a sop to Boeing and other opponents, the new benefit is limited to 12 weeks and the bill, if enacted, would expire in 10 years. The Senate also added an annual cost reporting requirement during floor debate after narrowly defeating a business-backed amendment that would have limited benefits to four weeks. The four-week cap was consistent with the Employment Security Department’s claim that most strikes last four weeks or less. Not surprisingly, Democrats insisted on allowing striking workers access to the maximum 26 weeks of benefits even though strikers voluntarily leave their jobs without seeking other work. This week, NFIB members sent 170 messages, which reached 40 of 49 senators, in a strong, last-ditch effort to stop the bill. NFIB continues to oppose the bill, which is expected to easily pass the House.

SB 5408, job posting right to cure
ICYMI, this good little bill won an impressive bipartisan yes vote last Friday (February 28) passing 41-7. The bill would allow employers 14 days to correct a job posting that fails to include the salary range and benefits as required under the state’s Equal Pay and Opportunities Act. Dozens of Washington employers are facing nuisance suits from job “applicants,” many of whom have stated on the record they have no intention of accepting the position if offered, would not move to Washington to accept the job, or fail to even meet the minimum qualifications for the position. They are able to sue under current law despite not being legitimate applicants, thus suffering no harm whatsoever. Worse yet, Washington employers can and are being sued under current law for defects found in job postings scooped up by third-party online recruiting and job advertising websites. NFIB supports SB 5408.

NFIB sent several priority vote alerts to members of the House of Representatives this week alerting them to our position on key bills that could appear on our biennial voting record next year. Those alerts included all House bills discussed above.

The Week Ahead

Much of next week will see continued floor action in both chambers. Committee hearings will resume Thursday, March 13.

NFIB continues to monitor Rules Committee activities to alert legislators about key votes expected on priority bills. In particular, we have communicated our position on the following bills either on the House 2^nd Reading Calendar, which could come to the floor for a vote soon and several still in Rules that could be moved to the floor soon.

— HB 1002, Workers’ compensation benefits for PTSD claims by county coroners and their staff. OPPOSE

— HB 1004 and HJR 4200, a Constitutional Amendment and enacting statute to establish a $50,000 exemption for business personal property taxes. SUPPORT

— HB 1213, PFML job protection and health care mandate. OPPOSE

— HB 1308, Personnel records. OPPOSE without amendment

— HB 1533, Specialty electricians. SUPPORT

Past Weekly Reports

— February 28—Lawmakers Trying to Skirt Federal Law on Unemployment Benefits

— February 21—Minimum Wage Bills Dead For Now

— February 15—NFIB Members Turn Out in Force to Oppose Minimum Wage Bill

— February 8—Minimum Wage Bills Coming Up for First Hearings 

— January 31—Entrepreneurs called on to testify on upcoming legislation by signing-in

— January 25—NFIB Testifies Against Giving Striking Workers Unemployment Benefits

— January 18—Washington State Legislature Begins 2025 Session