Following Monday’s opening of the 2019 legislative session and Governor Inslee’s State of the State speech on Tuesday, state lawmakers are settling into the daily routine of early session days—bill introductions and committee hearings. More than 750 bills have been introduced, with dozens more added every day in each chamber. More than 2,000 measures will likely be introduced by the time of the first legislative cut-off deadline set for February 22nd. This is the last day to pass bills out of policy committees in their originating house.

The Senate Ways and Means Committee began hearings this week on SB 5129, the governor’s proposal to impose a nine percent tax on the sale or exchange of long-term capital assets, and to increase the business and occupation tax rate on service-related activities from 1.5 percent to 2.5 percent (a 67 percent increase in the tax).