State Director Patrick Connor reports from Olympia on the February 21 close of Week 6 of the 2025 legislative session

Friday, February 21,  was the deadline for legislative policy committees to approve bills, sending them on either to a fiscal committee or to their chamber’s Rules Committee for further review.

Fiscal committees, primarily the Ways & Means Committee in the Senate and Appropriations in the House, along with each chamber’s Transportation Committee, will have until Friday, February 28, to hear and approve policy bills affecting one of the three budgets: operating, transportation or capital.

Due to the flurry of bills getting last-minute consideration Friday, a full list of which bills have advanced and to what committee is not yet available. There are a couple of highlights we can share.

Week in Review

— $25 minimum wage is dead. For now. Senate Bill 5578 and House Bill 1764, companion bills that sought to increase the state’s minimum wage to $25 an hour by 2031, require all employers to provide a minimum of three weeks paid vacation plus five days paid bereavement leave, failed to advance from their respective labor committees by today’s policy deadline. Earlier today, NFIB released a statement commending members for their record-setting outreach to lawmakers that was instrumental in killing these bills. We also caution that if there is a special session, the bills could resurface. We also expect to see them again next January when the 2026 session convenes.

— Both Right to Repair bills won committee approval. NFIB-backed HB 1483 has already cleared the House Rules Committee and is eligible for a vote on the House floor. A revised version will be offered on the floor as a striking amendment containing negotiated changes that won support from Microsoft and ADT, and quelled opposition from Amazon and the Retail Association. 513 people signed up supporting the House bill at its January 31 public hearing. Two were opposed, including Amazon. On Friday, the Senate Energy, Environment and Technology Committee approved its version, SB 5423. The House negotiations were not completed in time for the same language to be substituted in the Senate committee. We expect a floor amendment identical to the House striker will be offered in the Senate. More than 814 people signed-in supporting the Senate bill during its February 5 public hearing. Two were opposed, including Amazon … which has since changed its position.

Priority Bill Sign-Ins

— HB 1213, requiring small businesses to provide job protection and maintain health insurance coverage for workers taking Paid Family & Medical Leave will be heard Saturday, February 22, in House Appropriations. The Employment Security Department has not completed a final fiscal note, but the latest partial note estimates $13 million in administrative costs for the bill from 2025-2031. City and County associations report the bill would likely cause them additional staffing shortages. NFIB previously testified about ongoing workforce shortages already straining small business operations and these job protection requirements likely making that situation worse. The state grants intended to help offset replacement worker training and equipment costs that the bill plans to expand have not yet even launched, despite the program being in place for five years. We also explained the bill would be a disincentive for small employers to offer or continue offering health insurance if coverage has to be maintained for workers unlikely to ever return to work or whose absence extends beyond a current plan year. Sign in CON here.

Past Weekly Reports 

— 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