With more than 2,000 bills introduced in the just-finished Washington state Legislature, this will not be an exhaustive list of bills about to become law. Bills that survived the legislative process are still dependent on the lack of a gubernatorial veto, by the way. Instead, this is a list of some of the bills I followed closely or weighed in on throughout the session with testimony or writings. 

I’m hopeful for a few vetoes from our new governor. He still has time, and he hasn’t been in lockstep with Democratic legislators because of their overspending problem and their seeming lack of concern that Washington state lives within its means. They continued that lack of concern and ignored many state taxpayers’ hopes for affordability with the budgets they passed. Washingtonians will see new taxes, tax increases and new spending, even though a budget with no new taxes was proposed. That budget never got the attention it deserved.

I’m not sure financial restraint will trump the ideological thinking that headlined many bills, whether they have budget implications or not. For example, Gov. Bob Ferguson already signed legislation to expand a housing reparations program based on skin color, a racist little bill that will cost Washingtonians money and has little to do with correcting past wrongs and everything to do with image politics. That example has me worried the veto pen won’t be making an appearance.

Two bills Ferguson hasn’t yet signed — and he should veto instead — are Senate Bill 5041, requiring employers to pay workers even when they choose not to work and instead go on strike against them, and House Bill 1296. That’s the controversial piece of legislation that overturned the parental notification rights afforded in Initiative 2081. 

HB 1296 excludes parents from knowledge that a school or educator has about medical or mental health ongoings that involve their children. Being for parental guidance was somehow seen by the majority party in the Legislature as being against students. Never mind that research shows parental guidance is key to better health outcomes and academic achievement for students. And never mind that the state has robust abuse laws to help protect children in abusive situations. The bill passed with flying colors that were entirely blue. 

Eight Democrats did rightly join all Republicans in opposing paying striking workers and converting the employer-financed unemployment insurance (UI) fund into a strike fund so unions don’t have to prioritize paying workers in strikes they urge along. The cross-aisle effort was not enough in our state’s lopsided Legislature, however.

Not every legislative outcome was bad. Let’s start with some changes that will help workers in Washington state: 

The good 

— In part thanks to COVID-19, the Legislature has been more open to eliminating barriers the state has erected in our workforce, including in health care. This year, HB 1114 passed. The bill allows Washington state to join a respiratory therapist compact, allowing skilled professionals licensed in other states to work across state lines. Similarly, HB 1023 eliminated unnecessary licensing barriers in the field of cosmetology. 

The legislative trend to let qualified workers work here without unnecessary hurdles is encouraging for the state workforce, patient access, consumer choice and individual workers, especially military spouses, for whom moving is often a regular part of life. 

— HB 1648 “provides that five years of cumulative work experience in licensed child care qualifies as a demonstration of experience-based competency in fulfillment of staff qualification requirements,” a staff report says. This should help access to child care and lower a burden on providers in the state. The bill passed unanimously. (A few other burden-decreasing, child-care-related bills passed, but a few also failed. It was a mixed bag.)

— After watching the state take money from workers, including low-income workers, for a benefit many will never see, I was glad to see an eligibility provision in the WA Cares program change in a way that Washington Policy Center has advocated since the tax for WA Cares began. SB 5291 removes the five-or-more language included in the requirement that an individual needs to have paid the WA Cares payroll tax for 10 years without a break of five or more years before becoming eligible for a return on their investment (by investment, I mean mandatory tax). This is important for the very family caregivers that supporters of the misguided program say the tax will help. 

Also on the WA Cares front, Senate Joint Resolution 8201 was signed by the governor and will bring a constitutional amendment to voters, asking them to allow the state to invest funds gathered for WA Cares in more promising ways for eventual program beneficiaries. Lawmakers were wise to pass the resolution. WA Cares needs all the help it can get. 

Legislative outcomes that are concerning include the following:

The bad 

— SJM 8004 passed and urges the federal government to enact taxpayer-financed, universal health care or help Washington state do so on its own.

— This next one is only on the "bad" list because it failed: SB 5258 would have helped prevent concurrent Medicaid payments. This agency-request legislation from the Democratic state auditor could have helped save taxpayer dollars while having no adverse impact on Medicaid clients.  But why save money? That’s not our Legislature’s thing.

Ugly, ugly, ugly

— I already mentioned SB 5041, which allows striking workers to collect unemployment insurance benefits for six weeks. The bill made it more attractive for unions to call for strikes than to come to agreements with workers’ employers. It threatens harm to businesses, taxpayers and the UI fund that is built for workers who lose work through no fault of their own. The Washington Observer talked about the bill’s success this way: “The passage of the edgy pro-union idea of allowing striking workers to collect unemployment benefits paid for by the companies they’re striking against is perhaps the most striking example of both labor’s enhanced pull and the continued leftward shift in the Legislature.”

— HB 1296, which I also mentioned above, has lawmakers telling parents to have a seat and that the government knows what’s best for their kids. It’s unhealthy for students to be keeping parents out of their health care loop.

— HB 5480 already received the governor’s signature. It prohibits medical debt from appearing on credit reports. Seriously. State lawmakers who support this cannot say at-all convincingly that they are working for cost-containment in health care. 

— Another bill that’s dismissive of cost containment in health care is SB 5083. It allows price caps on services provided to state-insured patients (think state employees, their families and retirees). Hospitals and doctors testified this will cause cost-shifting and drive up care costs for other payers. Along with more regulation for insurers, bills like these last two mean Washingtonians can count on further increases to health care premiums.

'I'll be back'

I’ll leave readers who have come this far with my legislative wrap-up with notice of a bill that fell short of passage this session but promises to be back in one form or another.

— SB 5292 should concern every W2 worker. The bill changed several times, but by the end of the session, the proposal would have increased the payroll tax for the paid family and medical leave (PFML) program to 2% by 2033. (Reminder: The tax started at 0.4% in 2019. It is 0.92% in 2025. There is a tax rate cap right now of 1.2%.)

PFML already costs workers hundreds of dollars — or $1,000-plus for some — for a benefit most workers don’t see. That money could be used for various life needs and wants. The PFML program also does not pay its way, impacting the state's general fund, and it requires low-income workers to hand a portion of their wages over to people with middle and upper incomes.

An end to the regressive program makes more sense than higher employer costs and another pay decrease for W2 workers. There are new taxes and fees they need to pay, after all!