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Entrepreneurs Called on to Testify on Upcoming Legislation by Signing-in

Entrepreneurs Called on to Testify on Upcoming Legislation by Signing-in

February 1, 2025

NFIB hosts another successful Small Business Day

State Director Patrick Connor reports from Olympia for the legislative and political week ending January 31

Week in Review

This week, NFIB’s legislative efforts focused on a few priority issues: health-care cost and transparency, workers’ compensation, and Right to Repair.

NFIB expressed its support for House Bill 1382, modernizing the state’s All Payer Claims Database. The bill would eliminate certain restrictions on using health insurers’ billed and paid claims data that is now required to be reported under federal rules. NFIB led the coalition that established the APCD nearly a decade ago, and continues to promote its use to better inform policymakers, employers, and consumers about health-care costs and quality .

NFIB opposed House Bill 1430, which would require health insurers in the commercial market to pay ARNPs and physician assistants the same as doctors. Public employee health plans would be exempt. NFIB noted that these increases would drive health insurance premiums and cost-sharing higher for consumers. We also noted that the high cost of health insurance has been the #1 issue for small businesses nationwide for nearly 40 years, according to our Problems & Priorities report. We also mentioned that the number of small employers in our state offering health insurance to their workers has fallen from a longtime average of 40-45% down to just 31%. Artificially increasing the cost of care will make health insurance more expensive, placing it out of reach for even more Washington small business owners and their employees.

We opposed Senate Bill 5043, the Senate version of a bill to allow corrections workers to file PTSD claims in the state’s workers’ compensation system. NFIB’s concerns were detailed in our Week 1 report.

NFIB testified in support of House Bill 1483, this year’s Right to Repair bill. Interestingly, as a result of changes to committee jurisdiction at the start of session, the bill went to a different panel than in years past, the House Technology, Economic Development, & Veterans Committee. More than 500 people signed in supporting the bill. The opposition was again limited to a couple of tech companies and their trade organizations, along with a pair of out-of-state interest groups.

Priority Bills
NFIB members asked to please sign-in

Sign-ins must be completed at least the day before the scheduled hearing. You will be required to enter your name and contact information. Listing your company (“organization”) name is optional. Click the bill link below. Select “I would like my position noted for the record,” then complete the form. You must complete this process separately for each bill.

NFIB members should be particularly interested in the following bills scheduled for public hearing next week.

Labor & Commerce (Senate), Monday, February 3 – 10:30 a.m.

Senate Bill 5378 – Expanding access to grants within the paid family and medical leave insurance program for small school districts. (CON). – Testify

ESD has been unable to implement the small business grant program required under the PFML law since 2020. Taxpayer-funded public employers like school districts should not receive grants designed for small, private-sector employers, particularly when those intended recipients still can’t access those grants themselves.

Labor & Commerce (Senate), Tuesday, February 4 – 10:30 a.m.

Senate Bill 5626 – Creating a new tax to fund a wage replacement program for undocumented workers. (CON). – Testify

Washington employers should not be taxed to create a program intended to circumvent federal law, which prohibits workers not legally present in the US from receiving unemployment benefits. The bill takes great efforts to hide the identity of prospective claimants going so far as to forbid contacting the alleged employer of record to verify whether the individual ever worked for the employer or has been laid off, terminated, or otherwise separated from their job. A fiscal note detailing the cost of the proposed program is not available. The House version, HB 1773, will be heard at the same time. See below.

Labor & Workplace Standards (House), Tuesday, February 4- 10:30 a.m.

— House Bill 1533 – Allowing a specialty electrician to continue working under a valid specialty certificate of competency while enrolled in a journey level apprenticeship program. (PRO). – Testify

— HB 1773 – Creating a wage replacement program for certain Washington workers excluded from unemployment insurance. (CON). – Testify

— See SB 5626 description above.

Education (House), Tuesday, February 4 – 4 p.m.

— House Bill 1032 – Concerning school district elections. (CON). – Testify

— House Joint Resolution 4201 – Amending the Constitution to allow a majority of voters voting to authorize school district bonds. (CON). – Testify

Small Business Day participants may want to sign up to testify or simply attend this hearing after signing-in “con” on this pair of bills that would ask voters to approve a constitutional amendment lowering the vote needed to approve school bonds and levies to a simple majority. NFIB opposes this legislation since commercial and industrial properties tend to have the highest valuation and, thus, higher tax liability; however, those property owners may not reside in the same jurisdiction, effectively disenfranchising those property owners. The existing super-majority vote is the only means of balancing the rights of property owners against renters and homeowners whose share of tax collections may be substantially lower than those of commercial and industrial property owners.

Ways & Means (Senate), Tuesday, February 4 – 4 p.m.

Senate Bill 5405 – Updating the inflation adjustment for the estate tax exclusion amount. (PRO). – Testify

Environment, Energy & Technology (Senate), Wednesday, February 5 – 8 a.m.

Senate Bill 5423 – Supporting the servicing and right to repair of certain products with digital electronics in a secure and reliable manner. (PRO). – Testify

The membership of this panel changed this year, giving us the opportunity to finally pass our Right to Repair bill out of committee. We need a strong showing of our members in support of this priority bill.

Labor & Workplace Standards (House), Wednesday, February 5 – 8 a.m.

— House Bill 1571 – Removing qualifiers related to the presumption of occupational disease for heart problems. (Remote Testimony Available). – Testify

— House Bill 1626 – Expanding access to grants within the paid family and medical leave insurance program for small school districts. (Remote Testimony Available). – Testify

HB 1571 lowers the requirements for determining whether heart problems are work-related and, thus, eligible for automatic approval as workers’ compensation claims. This will increase claims costs and likely workers’ comp taxes over time. HB 1626 is the House version of SB 5378 described above.

Labor & Commerce (Senate), Friday, February 7 — 8 a.m.

Senate Bill 5548 – Concerning workers’ compensation benefits. (CON). – Testify

This bill would add a workers’ compensation payment to injured workers for health insurance premiums or require employers to maintain the workers’ health insurance policy throughout the time of injury and recovery. This places tremendous additional costs on the system, which will increase workers’ compensation taxes over time. It places new burdens on employers, injured workers and their families at what could be one of the most difficult times for that family. The bill is a disincentive for small employers to offer health insurance benefits.

Small Business Day

As it does every year, NFIB Washington held a Small Business Day at the Capitol event. This year’s gathering took place on February 4 beginning at the DoubleTree Hotel and then moved over the Capitol for committee hearings and individual meetings with legislators.

Guest speakers included:

— Senate Republican Leader John Braun
— Senate Ways & Means Committee ranking member Chris Gildon
— House Transportation Committee ranking member Andrew Barkis
— Health Exchange CEO Ingrid Ulrey

If you could not make this year’s free event, we hope you can join us next year.

Prior Weekly Reports

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

— January 18: Washington State Legislature Begins 2025 Session

Get to know NFIB

NFIB is a member-driven organization advocating on behalf of small and independent businesses nationwide.

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