By Jennifer Zieger, AFA Lobbyist- January 18, 2025
On January 13, Washington state’s legislature kicked off its 2025 legislative session. This first week of the 105-day session included some pomp and circumstance and a full calendar of legislative hearings. Swearing in ceremonies held on January 15th officially transitioned in newly elected legislators and statewide elected officials.
For the first time in twelve years, Washington state has a new governor, Democrat Bob Ferguson, who is Washington state’s former Attorney General. This week, Governor Ferguson announced his policy advisors and released a budget proposal for the upcoming biennium (more detail about this proposal is provided later in this report).
On his very first day in this new role, Governor Ferguson issued three executive orders, as reported in this Seattle Times article. The first executive order issued regarded reproductive rights. It directs the Department of Health to convene a roundtable of experts, providers, and policy makers to recommend strategies for protecting reproductive freedom. The second executive order from Governor Ferguson regarded housing. It directs state agencies to review all regulations that impact housing, permitting, and construction and to identify provisions that can be streamlined, deferred, or eliminated. Finally, the third executive order was on permitting reform, directing state agencies to cut down their permit and license processing times. Under this executive order, if processing times are not met, agencies must refund the application fee.
Below is a summary of more session highlights from this week and events for next week.
Budget
With Washington state facing an estimated $12 billion general fund budget deficit over the next four years, Governor Ferguson released a budget proposal addressing the significant shortfall, as reported in this KING News article. In contrast to former Governor Jay Inslee’s budget proposal, which relied primarily on a wealth tax, Governor Ferguson’s proposal heavily leans on across the board budget cuts to solve the deficit.
Specifically, Governor Ferguson asked state agencies to implement a 6% reduction and higher education institutions to implement a 3% reduction across the board in spending over the next four years. Governor Ferguson also stated K-12 education and public safety programs would not be asked to implement these cost savings. Governor Ferguson went on to state that new taxes should be considered only as a last resort, as noted in this MyNorthwest article.
Another new revenue source included in former Governor Inslee’s budget proposal was a business and occupation (B&O) tax modification (HB 1320). Neither Governor Inslee’s wealth tax proposal (HB 1319) nor the B&O tax modification bill outlined in his proposal have been scheduled for a hearing at this time.
Business & Labor
Introduced by Representative Liz Berry (D-Seattle), HB 1155 would prohibit non-compete agreements and clarify non-solicitation agreements. This bill had a hearing on January 15.
The Senate Labor & Commerce Committee held a work session on January 17 that included this update about the Washington State Unemployment Insurance Program and Washington Paid Family Medical Leave (PFML) Program.
SB 5041 allowing striking workers to access unemployment benefits has a hearing on January 21. During the 2024 session, a version of this bill was passed by the House, but stalled in the Senate, as noted in this NW Public Broadcasting article. Jennifer will testify in opposition on behalf of AFA.
Transportation
Governor Ferguson appointed Julie Meredith to be Washington state’s new Transportation Secretary. The appointment was lauded by Senator Marko Liias (D-Everett), who chairs the Senate Transportation Committee. Ms. Meredith has been with the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) for over three decades. She most recently was employed as the Assistant Secretary for Urban Mobility, Access and Megaprograms, as outlined in this Daily Record article. Ms. Meredith is succeeding Roger Millar, who served as the WSDOT Secretary since 2015.
Democrat and Republican transportation leaders from the House and Senate held a joint press conference on January 9, outlining what they anticipate being the top transportation-related issues during the 2025 session. Transportation leaders from both parties agreed Washington state’s transportation system has a revenue shortfall, causing budget deficits. The causes for the shortfall are primarily due to a steady decline in gas tax revenue combined with increasing project construction costs.
To help address the projected deficit, implementing a road usage charge (RUC) has been discussed as a possible new transportation revenue source. An RUC is being met with pushback from Republican transportation leaders, as noted in this MyNorthwest article, During the joint press conference, the Senator Transportation Committee ranking Republican, Senator Curtis King (R-Yakima), expressed support for looking at other new revenue sources, such as a sales tax on vehicles.
Environment, Energy & Natural Resources
During former Governor Inslee’s leadership, Washington Democrats introduced a bevy of bills combating climate bills each session. This year, Representative Joe Fitzgibbon (D-Seattle) said legislators will focus less on adopting new policies and more on implementing existing policies to make them work as well as possible, as reported in this Seattle Times article.
On January 14, the House Environment & Energy Committee held a work session that included updates on the following topics:
Additionally, Kayla and Jennifer visited key legislators this week to outline AFA’s legislative priorities. Below is a summary of relevant upcoming committee meetings and bills of interest.
Committee Activities of Interest
Labor & Commerce (Senate) - SHR 1 and Virtual J.A. Cherberg - 1/21 @ 10:30am
· SB 5292 - Public Hearing - Concerning paid family and medical leave rates. (Remote Testimony Available).
· SB 5101 - Public Hearing - Expanding access to leave and safety accommodations to include workers who are victims of hate crimes or bias incidents. (Remote Testimony Available).
· SB 5041 - Public Hearing - Concerning unemployment insurance benefits for striking or lockout workers. (Hearing is on the Proposed Substitute.) (Remote Testimony Available).
Labor & Workplace Standards (House) - HHR D and Virtual JLOB - 1/21 @ 10:30am
· HB 1213 - Public Hearing - Expanding protections for workers in the state paid family and medical leave program. (Remote Testimony Available).
Technology, Economic Development, & Veterans (House) - HHR C and Virtual JLOB - 1/21 @ 10:30am
· HB 1057 - Exec Session - Promoting economic development by increasing support for local communities to access federal funds.
Postsecondary Education & Workforce (House) - HHR C and Virtual JLOB - 1/21 @ 1:30pm
· HB 1136 - Exec Session - Providing student navigational supports to increase postsecondary enrollment.
Technology, Economic Development, & Veterans (House) - HHR C and Virtual JLOB - 1/22 @ 8:00am
· HB 1245 - Public Hearing - Concerning business development. (Remote Testimony Available).
Technology, Economic Development, & Veterans (House) - HHR C and Virtual JLOB - 1/24 @ 10:30am
· HB 1360 - Public Hearing - Concerning advancement of quantum economic development. (Remote Testimony Available).
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