NFIB’s work continuing long after Election Day. Would you like to be part of it?

As November begins, thoughts naturally turn to Thanksgiving. In that spirit, we at NFIB are certainly thankful for you joining us as a member this year. We value your investment and are working hard to earn your continued support.

I’m Patrick Connor, your state director, and primary contact for NFIB’s policy and political efforts here in Washington state.

You no doubt receive plenty of information about NFIB’s work at the federal level — extending the small business tax credit, first and foremost. But, we’re not always as good at sharing our successes and challenges in the state, working with the Legislature and agencies to protect and promote your right to own, operate, and grow your small business. I’d like to take a moment to fix that.

For this election, you might be interested to know that the NFIB Washington PAC, our political arm, endorsed all four statewide initiatives, Dave Reichert for Governor, and three dozen legislative candidates. You should have received our Small Business Voters’ Guide in the mail or by email. We’ve also made this information available to members and the public here.

Speaking of the Let’s Go Washington initiatives, NFIB also ran radio and online ads promoting a YES vote on all four. Radio ads also aired in the Seattle, Spokane, Bellingham, and Tri-Cities markets during morning and evening drive time. If you haven’t already heard the ad, you can listen to it here.

Those radio spots, along with digital ads, appeared in five key Congressional districts around the state. They were meant to drive voters to a special landing page for more information about why the Vote Yes, Pay Less initiatives are so important to small businesses and consumers in general.

After the election, NFIB will refine our policy agenda for the 2025 Legislature. If you have issues or concerns the Legislature should address, please feel free to send me an email at Patrick.Connor@nfib.org.

NFIB’s State Agency Work in Full Swing

Meanwhile, NFIB is working with several state agencies on rules implementing laws adopted earlier this year. In addition, you are represented by NFIB on several agency and legislative workgroups, some temporary, some ongoing, including:

• Department of Revenue’s business advisory council
• State Health Care Cost Transparency Board (HCCTB)
• HCCTB stakeholder advisory committee
• L&I’s wage recovery work group (co-chair)
• L&I’s workers’ compensation advisory committee’s finance subcommittee
• L&I’s construction underground economy advisory committee
• Legislative underground economy task force
• AG’s Artificial Intelligence Task Force’s business advisory committee (co-chair)
• Washington State Health Insurance Pool board of directors

We’ve also recently submitted member names for possible appointment to the Health Benefit Exchange board of directors and the new WA Saves governing board.

If you might be interested in representing your fellow small business owners in these types of efforts, please let me know. NFIB is frequently asked by agencies, the Governor’s office, and the Legislature for volunteers to serve on policy development and advisory panels covering many different topics.

Similarly, let me know if you are interested in learning more about what we do or how to get more involved. We’re always looking for more activists to contact policymakers, testify before legislative committees, speak with the press or submit letters to the editor, and attend special briefings we host featuring elected and appointed officials. We are also in need of new members for our state Leadership Council and state political action committee. These are the members we go to first for guidance and assistance as the Voice of Small Business in our state.

Finally, in case you’re interested in our 2024 legislative efforts, this year’s weekly session updates are available here. Our final legislative report can be found here. We provide weekly updates during the legislative session, which are posted online, but are only distributed twice monthly in our e-newsletter. If you’d like to receive the updates each Friday afternoon during session, just drop me a note at my email address above.

We really do appreciate your time and your investment in our efforts to ensure the Voice of Small Business is heard loud and clear in Olympia.

Very best regards,

Patrick