State Director Patrick Connor reports from Olympia on the legislative week ending March 28

Week 7 saw the list of bills NFIB is tracking narrow further thanks to the Wednesday, February 25, deadline for policy committees to pass bills originating in the opposite chamber. Monday, March 2, is the deadline for bills with a budget impact to pass from a fiscal committee.

Millionaire Tax

On Friday, February 27, the House Finance Committee approved SB 6346, the Millionaire Tax, 9-6. Democrat Rep. Amy Walen joined all committee Republicans voting no on the bill.

The committee adopted several amendments, including:

— Creating an advisory committee to provide guidance on implementation. It passed with bipartisan support. NFIB isn’t mentioned by name, but a slot is reserved for a small business organization with statewide membership

— Eliminating the $500 million tax break for certain businesses with $250 million in annual revenue that Majority Democrats forced through over Republican objections

— Moving up by one year, to 2029, the expiration of sales tax on certain services added in 2025; this provision retains the sales tax on advertising services

— Adding diapers to the list of personal hygiene items that would be exempt from sales tax.

On Monday, NFIB will formally announce a radio and digital ad campaign opposing the Millionaire Tax. This follows our release of a dedicated webpage to help inform the public about the threat this new income tax poses to small firms organized as pass-through entities for federal income tax purposes. Our Action Alert is still active. If you haven’t already done so, please take a moment to use it to email your legislators.

Week 7 Recap

HB 2105, Immigrant Worker Protection Act
NFIB again testified opposed to this bill that would drag small employers to court over alleged violations of its complex notification process if an employer is notified of an impending federal I-9 audit. This week’s testimony was before the budget-writing Senate Ways & Means Committee. Speaking to the fiscal note, NFIB pointed out the Attorney General’s Office kept the costs low by deputizing the trial bar to prosecute employers on the state’s behalf. We also noted that small-business owners shouldn’t be forced to pay significant legal fees just to prove to a court that an error was inadvertent.

HB 2479, Wage Recovery Fund
NFIB testified twice this week, Monday in Senate Labor and Friday in Senate Ways & Means, in support of this bill, which resulted from the unanimous recommendation of the Wage Recovery Workgroup that the Legislature established in 2024. NFIB co-chaired the workgroup. The bill passed the labor committee 7-1. We anticipate the bill will be scheduled for executive session in Ways & Means on Monday.

SB 5981, 340B prescription drug program
Also on Friday, NFIB testified in House Appropriations against this bill that would have the state supersede contracts between participating hospitals and pharmaceutical manufacturers to hide hospital claims data and allow unrestricted pharmacy contracts between them and large pharmacy benefit managers, primarily. Similar bills in several other states have been challenged, and lost, in federal courts. This program has seen explosive growth, increasing some $20 billion just from 2024 to 2025. Data shows the program is driving 8% of employer health premium increases, costing an average $415 per family plan. The bill is scheduled for executive action on Monday.

Week 8 Preview

The House and Senate will both hold floor sessions Saturday.

Following Monday’s fiscal committee deadline, both chambers will return to fulltime floor action in advance of the 5 p.m. Friday, March 6, deadline to pass bills from the opposite chamber.

The Legislature will then spend its final week ironing out differences on bills that passed one chamber in a different form than the other, either through the dispute and concurrence process or in conference committees.

Previous Legislative Reports

February 20—Millionaire Tax Proposal Begins House Journey

February 15—NFIB Negotiated Wage Bill Wins Unanimous House Approval

February 8—NFIB Has Busy Week Testifying on Major Legislation

February 1—Bills Increasing Workers’ Comp. Costs Advance

January 25—No Small Business Relief in Millionaire Tax Bill

January 19—Washington Legislature Opens 2026 Session