Fiscal note; State of Washington

“Non-zero but indeterminate cost and/or savings.”

 Committee Agenda: State of Washington

PUBLIC HEARING

“BILLS TO BE DETERMINED.”

The focus is and will remain so for this week and next on moving bills through committee Executive Sessions to their respective Rules’ Committees. The few that advance will be placed on floor calendars for possible passage. (March 8^th is the deadline for bills to have cleared their house of origin.)

Caveat: Bills that are necessary to implement the budget (NTIB) remain alive beyond any of these deadlines. (Although, what makes a bill NTIB is fairly loosely defined.)

The difficulty in tracking and understanding proposed legislation is often because of the quotes given above. Information is either not available or late to announce. The process is akin to a living, evolving organism whose final appearance may well be a surprise.

Given the above, listed below are bills that appear to be moving or have made it to the opposite house.

Retirement Related Proposals

To repeat: Previous reports have covered the bills related to addressing the lack of a cost-of-living increase (COLA) for members in TRS/PERS Plans 1. They are HB 1057/SB 5350, HB 1201/SB 5294, and HB 1459. These all had public hearings but have yet to be scheduled for Executive Session in their respective committees.

At this point, all the bills are in limbo. There is division between the House and Senate approach and division within their own caucus groups as to which pension proposal to support.  

SHB 1007: Concerning interruptive military service credit for members of the state retirement systems.

Comment: Retirement credit can be awarded in any armed conflicts if the participant was awarded the respective campaign or expeditionary badge or medal…. the ‘expeditionary badge' qualifier was added.

HB 1007 passed the House 97/0 and has moved to the Senate Ways and Means.

HB 1008: Concerning participating in insurance plans and contracts by separated Plan 2 members of certain retirement systems.

Comment: This bill would simply make retiree insurance provisions uniform and equitable for Plan 2 and 3 members.

HB 1008 passed the House 93/0 and has been moved to Senate Ways and Means.

SHB 1056/ SB 5349: Repealing some post-retirement employment restrictions.

Comment: Beginning January 1, 2024, any current or future retiree under the provisions of early retirement may utilize the 32 postretirement employment provisions of RCW 41.32.802(2) for up to 867 hours per year.

SHB 1056 passed the House 93/0 and has moved to Senate Ways and Means. SB 5349 is in Senate Rules.

SSB 5121: Extending the expiration date of the joint select committee on health care oversight.

Comment: The expiration date of this committee is to be extended. Its goal must be to ensure that these multiple health and insurance regulatory agencies are not duplicating their efforts and are working toward a goal of increased quality of services leading to reduced costs to the health care consumer.

Passed Senate 48/0 and has moved to the House Health Care and Wellness Committee.

SB 5169: Concerning health care plans administered by the health care authority that is available to Medicare-eligible retirees.

Comment: Requires the Public Employee Benefits Board to allow Medicare-eligible retirees access to the Uniform Medical Plan Classic-Medicare plan. • Directs the Health Care Authority to report to the Legislature by December 1, 2023, with its findings related to stakeholder engagement related to affordable government self-insured plans with benefits that are equal to or richer than Uniform Medical Plan Classic-Medicare.

Scheduled for Executive Session 2/16 before Senate Health Care committee.

Other Areas of Potential Fiscal Impact (and often unfunded) to Districts

SHB 1068: Concerning injured workers' rights during compelled medical examinations.

Comment: This allows an injured worker to make an audio and video recording of a compelled medical examination and to have one person of the worker's choosing present during the examination. 

This bill passed the House 65/33 and will be moved to the Senate Health and Long-term Care Committee.

SHB 1105:  Requiring public agencies to provide notice for public comment that includes the last date by which such public comment must be submitted.

Comment: Mandates a public agency that is required to solicit public comment for a statutorily specified period of time and to provide notice that it is soliciting public comment to include in the notice the last day by which written public comment may be submitted. Makes an agency that violates the requirement to include in a notice for public comment the last day by which written comment may be submitted subject to a civil penalty of $500 for the first violation and $1000 for any subsequent violation.

This has been moved to Rules Committee.

SHB 1106: Concerning qualifications for unemployment insurance when an individual voluntarily leaves work.

Comment: Expands access to unemployment insurance benefits by adding circumstances where a person may voluntarily quit for good cause.

This bill has been placed on House floor calendar for possible action.

SHB 1136: Requiring employers to reimburse employees for necessary expenditures and losses.

Comment: Requires employers to reimburse employees for all necessary expenditures and losses incurred in direct consequence of their duties.

This bill has been moved to the House floor calendar for possible action.

HB 1187: Concerning privileged communication between employees and the unions that represent them.

Comment: To effectuate the public policy favoring effective collective bargaining, it is necessary to protect confidential union–employee communications in the course of union representation against disclosure.

Scheduled for Executive Session on 2/10 before House Labor Committee.

HB 1200: Requiring public employers to provide employee information to exclusive bargaining representatives.

Comment: Requires certain public employers to provide exclusive bargaining representatives' information, such as contact information, date of hire, salary, and job site location of employees in bargaining units if the employer has that information in its records. Allows an exclusive bargaining representative to bring a court action if a public employer fails to comply with the requirement to provide information.

HB 1200 has been moved to House Rules.

 EHB 1210:  Concerning the recording of school board meetings.

Comment: Specifies that a public records request for recordings of school district board of directors meetings must include the date of the meetings requested or a range of dates. Provides that searches for public records need not include recordings of school district board meetings unless a date is given. Requires all school district board meetings to be audio recorded, subject to exceptions for executive sessions and emergencies, with recordings kept for at least one year. Encourages school districts to make the content of school board of directors meetings available in formats accessible to individuals who need communication assistance and in languages other than English.

This bill passed House 96/1 and has been moved to the Senate State Government Committee for a public hearing 2/17.

SHB 1248: Concerning pupil transportation.

Comment: Requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to provide transportation safety net awards to school districts with excess special passenger costs for special education, homeless, and foster students, as defined in the operating budget. • Requires that school district contracts for pupil transportation services must include sufficient funds to provide employees of the contracting employer with health benefits and pension contributions equivalent to those of school district classified employees. • Provides one-time supplemental allocations to districts that experience higher costs because of the new contract requirements.

This bill has been moved to House Rules for possible action.

SHB 1320: Concerning access to personnel records.

Comment: Specifies that an employer must provide the employee's complete, unredacted personnel file within 14 calendar days of the request from the employee, former employee, or their attorney, agent, or fiduciary. • Requires an employer to provide to a former employee, upon request, a statement of the employee's discharge date and reasons, if any, for the discharge. • • Creates a private cause of action to enforce the requirements. Requires the Department of Labor and Industries and the Employment Security Department to provide employers with information regarding the employer's obligations and the employee's rights.

Has been moved to House Rules for possible action.

HB 1785: Establishing COVID-19 as an occupational disease.

Comment: The legislature finds that it is an important and essential protection for workers who contracted COVID-19 during the COVID-19 pandemic to be fully protected and covered under our workers' compensation system.

A public hearing is scheduled for 2/17 before House Labor Committee.

SB 5059:  Concerning prejudgment interest.

Comment: This was proposed last session. Briefly stated, judgments founded on the tortious conduct of a "public agency" shall bear interest from the date (of entry) the cause of action accrued. So if a district is found liable for neglecting to act in a child’s best interest years after the fact, it will pay a penalty and interest from the day the neglect/damage first occurred, from the date the action is commenced, or the date the minor attains the age of eighteen years, whichever is earlier.

A public hearing was held 2/7 before Senate Ways and Means. No further action has yet been scheduled.

SSB 5061/SHB 1320: Concerning access to personnel records.

Comment: Requires an employer to furnish an employee with a complete, unredacted copy of their personnel file at no cost within 14 calendar days of a request. • Mandates an employer to furnish a former employee with a signed written statement with the effective date of discharge, whether the employer had a reason for the discharge, and if so, the reasons, within 14 calendar days of the written request. • Allows an employee or former employee to bring a private action for violations of certain rights regarding personnel files, discharge information, and redaction logs, and entitles the employee to equitable relief, graduated statutory damages up to $1,000, and reasonable attorneys' fees and costs of each violation.

SHB 1320 includes: Requires the Department of Labor and Industries and the Employment Security Department to provide employers with information regarding the employer's obligations and the employee's rights.

SSB 5061 referred to Ways and Means on 2/8. SHB 1320 has been moved to Rules for possible action.

SB 5084/HB 1558: Creating a separate fund for the purposes of self-insured pensions and assessments.

Comment: Creates a self-insurance reserve fund for payments from self-insured employers related to workers' compensation pensions and from the overpayments reimbursement fund.

SB 5084 is in Senate Rules. HB 1558 is in House Rules.

SSB 5123: Concerning the employment of individuals who lawfully consume cannabis.

Comment: Prohibits employers, with some exceptions, from discriminating against a person in hiring if the discrimination is based on the person's use of cannabis outside of work or on certain employer-required drug screening tests.

Passed to Rules Committee.

SSB 5237: Establishing complaint procedures to address noncompliance with certain state education laws.

Comment: Directs the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) to establish procedures to investigate and address complaints alleging noncompliance with state laws concerning civil rights; harassment, intimidation, and bullying; certain curriculum requirements; the use of restraint or isolation on a student; and student discipline. • Requires school districts to submit compliance action plans if OSPI finds noncompliance with any of these state laws and allows OSPI to impose certain consequences. • Amends the oath that elected or appointed school directors take to include that they must support Washington laws.

Currently in Senate Ways and Means committee.

SB 5240/ HB 1656: Concerning unemployment insurance benefits appeal procedures.

Comment: A dispute of an individual's initial determination, determination of allowance or denial of allowance of benefits, or redetermination of allowance or denial of benefits, all matters covered by such initial determination, determination, or redetermination shall be deemed to be in issue subject to appeal.

SB 5240 has been sent to Senate Rules Committee. HB 1656 is in House Rules.

SB 5275: Expanding access to benefits provided by the school employees' benefits board.

Comment: Allows tribal compact schools, employee organizations representing school employees, and school board directors the option of providing health care through the School Employees' Benefits Board.

Moved to Senate Rules; awaiting further action.

SSB 5286: Modifying the premium provisions of the Paid Family and Medical Leave program.

Comment: Amends the premium rate calculation in the Paid Family and Medical Leave program (PFML) to be based on a specified formula rather than the Family and Medical Leave Insurance Account (Account) balance ratio on September 30th of the previous year. Sets a maximum rate of 1.2 percent and removes the Employment Security Department's authority to assess a solvency surcharge if the Account balance ratio falls below a certain threshold.

Passed Senate 48/0 and moved to House 2/3, awaiting a date for public hearing before House Labor.

SB 5485: Concerning public employee reimbursement for child and adult dependent care expenses.

Comment: Allows for public employees to seek reimbursement of childcare and adult dependent care expenses incurred while traveling on official business.

Before Senate Ways and Means awaiting scheduling.

Fred Yancey
The Nexus Group LLC