The 2026 session of the 69th Washington State Legislature convened at noon Monday, January 12.

NFIB staff and members spent the week defending your right to own, operate, and grow your business against several bills hostile to free enterprise in general and small business in particular.

Despite this being a “short,” 60-day session, NFIB is tracking 233 bills so far. Bills continue to be introduced daily. Please consider signing-in to support NFIB’s position on select bills.

Labor

— HB 2105, the attorney general’s Immigrant Worker Protection Act, drew strong opposition from the business community, including an NFIB panel of members Bob Lycke and Harry Truitt, NFIB Small Business Legal Center executive director Beth Milito, and Washington state director Patrick Connor. We believe the bill’s 72-hour requirement for employers to notify workers of an impending federal I-9 audit is unrealistic and ripe for mistakes. Seventy-two hours is simply not enough time for an employer to:

• • seek legal counsel
  • demand a warrant or subpoena from the federal agency
  • identify the five most commonly spoken non-English languages in the state
  • update the AGO-provided poster
  • then prepare and mail printed packets and electronic materials for email — in English and five other languages,
  • then summarize those materials in a script for telephone conversations, as the proposed substitute bill requires.

In addition, the employer must document by photographic or other means all of these activities to demonstrate compliance. As these members testified, they do not have the staff or other resources to meet all of these requirements within the very short 72-hour window. Any mistakes could cripple a small business. The initial penalty would be either $2,000 per worker you employ in Washington state, or $2,000 for businesses with 1-10 employees and $20,000 for 11-25, and increasing from there, depending on which version of the bill is approved. Additional penalties apply if the AG decides you willfully failed to comply, plus your workers could sue you for the violation, separately from the AG’s fines.

The Senate version, SB 5852, is scheduled for hearing Tuesday, January 20. We need a strong showing of “con” sign-ins to stop this regulatory overreach. Please click here to sign-in “con.”

— HB 2218, effectively repealing the workers’ compensation medical provider network, also drew NFIB’s opposition, along with the rest of the business community. This bill would take us back to the bad old days of claims mills where certain providers would approve any claim, often provide poor or inappropriate treatment, and leave injured workers trapped in an ineffective, failing system. The Senate version, SB 5847, will be heard Friday morning in the Senate labor committee. Please join NFIB by signing-in “con” here.

— NFIB testified opposed to HB 2243, adding Physical and Occupational therapists as attending providers in the workers’ compensation system. We pointed out that PTs and OTs are unable to prescribe medications and lack the training and credentials to treat injured workers who need surgical or more intense medical interventions. These treatments would require referral to a medical doctor, eliminating any time or cost savings the PTs and OTs allege they can bring to the system. Moreover, our state has a long, sad history of allowing mid-level providers like these broader treatment authority under the pretext of lower costs and more access to care, only to have them return to the Legislature later, demanding to be paid doctor rates, eliminating any savings at all. The Senate version, SB 6152, will be heard Monday, January 19, at 10:30 a.m. Sign up here to join NFIB as “con” on the bill.

Buy Now, Pay Later

NFIB Leadership Council member Bob Lycke and state director Patrick Connor participated in a work session Tuesday on “buy now, pay later” financing options. Information from Leadership Council member Kerry Cox was also instrumental in NFIB’s presentation. The House Consumer Protection & Business Committee held this session to learn more about the growing use of online services that allow customers to pay over time, typically using four equal payments, with no interest charged. We explained how some small businesses use these services both as a seller and buyer. The committee was surprised to learn some businesses use this option to help stretch their cash flow, and avoid using lines of credit or credit cards that might otherwise incur high interest charges. Committee members are exploring legislation to regulate this process.

Week 2 Preview

In addition to those discussed above, the following bills will be heard the week of January 19. NFIB would appreciate your support of our position. The links provided should take you to the sign-in page for the specific bill.

Priority bills include:

— SB 6117, HB 2471 Card check unionization of small businesses. It appears this legislation would allow employees of small businesses usually excluded from collective bargaining under the National Labor Relations Act to unionize under the state’s Public Employment Relations Commission. Affected sectors appear to include: retail operations with less than $500,000 annual gross revenue, such as amusement industry, apartment houses and condominiums, cemeteries, casinos, home construction, hotels and motels, restaurants and private clubs, and taxi services; medical and dental offices, social services organizations, child care centers and residential care centers with a gross annual volume less than $250,000; and law firms and legal service organizations under $250,000 in gross. Agriculture would also be included. Sign-in before 9:30 a.m. Monday. CON A hearing on the House bill will be held Wednesday. Sign-in here for HB 2471.

— SB 5925, HB 2161, Increasing Attorney General powers. We are upgrading these bills from “concerns” to “oppose.” These companion bills would allow the AG to demand business records, interview employees, and depose business owners for nearly any complaint. This authority overlaps other agencies’ investigatory powers. Both bills will be heard Tuesday morning. Sign-in CON for SB 5925 and HB 2161.

— Also up for hearing Tuesday morning will be SB 5852, the Senate version of the AG’s Immigrant Protection Act discussed above. Your CON sign-in would be very helpful.

— At the same time, the House Labor Committee will hear HB 2372, adding 100% of the employer’s health care premium to an injured worker’s timeloss benefits unless the employer continues paying health insurance benefits for the worker (and family, if applicable). Nothing in the bill requires the worker to maintain their employer-sponsored insurance or obtain their own coverage. It’s more money out of the worker’s comp system to injured workers and their attorneys for no actual health care benefits. The senate will hear its version of the bill Friday. Please sign-in CON for HB 2372 and SB 6067.

— NFIB is leading a coalition supporting increasing the medical loss ratio (MLR) for health insurers. HB 2283 is scheduled for hearing Wednesday at 1:30 p.m. The bill is based on a report from the Office of the Insurance Commissioner that shows several positive outcomes: reductions in health insurance premiums by 0.9-2.5%, an increase in payments to medical providers, greater rebates to health insurance policyholder, and the potential for $144 million added revenue to the state over four years. Health insurers will threaten to increase rates or leave the state, as they always do when accountability bills like this get a hearing. This is the only bill this session that has a chance to lower rates, despite the insurers crying wolf to the contrary. Please sign-in PRO.

— Friday will be a busy day in the Senate Labor Committee with three bills of interest scheduled for hearing. In addition to SB 6067, above, please sign-in CON on SB 5847, the companion to HB 2218 on L&I’s medical provider network described above. We are PRO on SB 6136, improving transparency in workers’ compensation rate setting. This bill would require L&I to publish information showing the difference between the rates that department actuaries say are necessary for the system to remain solvent, and the actual rate changes adopted by the department. In recent years, L&I has subsidized first responder rates by charging about half the increase needed for their skyrocketing costs, and repeatedly undercharged the workers’ share of rates, so you are most likely paying higher workers’ comp taxes than necessary.

— Also on Friday, the House Labor Committee will hear HB 2479, the result of an L&I business/labor workgroup on wage theft that NFIB co-chaired. The bill will increase penalties on employers who fail to pay workers correctly and on time. This will be the first increase in 15 years. The bill will also establish a Wage Recovery Fund, offering certain low-wage workers who are in desperate financial situations due to be unpaid or underpaid partial payment on their wage claim. The bill also clamps down on unscrupulous employers who delay paying workers on time and routinely use the settlement process to escape penalties. Those penalties will fund the account. NFIB is PRO on the bill. Feel free to sign-in here.

Millionaire Tax

We have yet to see an actual bill introduced, but based on the governor’s endorsement of the plan in December, his mentioning it in last week’s State of the State address, and buzz around the capital, we expect legislation will be introduced before session ends. It will be extremely difficult to stop. Most observers believe it will pass the Legislature, the governor will sign it, and the state Supreme Court will reverse past precedent and rule it constitutional. An initiative to repeal the bill is also expected.

NFIB will send members a special ballot in the coming weeks.

Small Business Day

NFIB will host its annual Small Business Day at the Capital on Wednesday, February 18. The event, including lunch, is free. An RSVP is required. Reserve your spot here today.

For more information, contact Stacy Jenkins at 360-870-7749.

Legislative Updates

Since this is a short session, additional committee hearings have been added to the schedule on Fridays. This will delay publication of our weekly updates.