“If you see a snake, just kill it – don’t appoint a committee on snakes.”
Ross Perot
The Session continues. Introductions of new bills and committee hearings continue as legislators work to deal with proposed bills. A reminder that if a companion bill appears to not be moving, that means the other bill will be the prime for action.
A brief summary of selected bills:
Retirement Related Proposals
HB 1985: Providing a benefit increase to certain retirees of the public employees’ retirement system plan 1 and the teachers’ retirement system plan 1.
By Request: Select Committee on Pension Policy (SCPP)
Comment: This bill would provide an ad-hoc 3% increase in 2024, not to exceed $125/month for TRS1/PERS1 Plan retirees. This is an increase in the ad-hoc COLA approved last session for paid in 2023. The SCPP was unanimous in recommending this second-year COLA. A reminder that during the 2024 interim, the SCPP will study and recommend a permanent ongoing cost-of-living adjustment for beneficiaries of the PERS Plan 1 and TRS Plan 1.
A public hearing in the House Committee on Appropriations was held on 1/15, and it is awaiting scheduling for Executive Session action.
HB 2013: Paying state retirement benefits until the end of the month in which the retiree or beneficiary dies.
Sponsors: Volz, Fitzgibbon, Leavitt, Couture, Ryu, Bronoske, Ramos, Ramel, Ormsby, Jacobsen, Graham, Doglio, Sandlin, Fosse, Robertson, Nance, Riccelli, Reeves
Comment: When a pensioner dies during a month, DRS has to bill a survivor who has received a full month’s benefit for dollars overpaid from time of death. Also, given the reduced amount, often the insurance lapses as well since the payment was not made. This bill allows the survivor to keep the entire month’s amount regardless of when the person died.
A public hearing in the House Committee on Appropriations was held on 1/15, and it is awaiting scheduling for Executive Session action.
Other Areas of Potential Fiscal Impact (and often unfunded) to Districts
Below are titles and a brief summary of proposed bills that may have potential impact to the business operations of districts.
HB 1905 – Including protected classes in the Washington equal pay and opportunities act.
Comment: Amends the Equal Pay and Opportunities Act to prohibit an employer from discriminating in compensation and career advancement opportunities against similarly employed employees based on the employee’s age, sex, marital status, sexual orientation, race, creed, color, national origin, citizenship or immigration status, honorably discharged veteran or military status, or the presence of any sensory, mental, or physical disability or the use of a trained dog guide or service animal by a person with a disability.
This bill is scheduled for Executive Action on 1/19 in the House Committee on Labor & Workplace Standards. Its companion, SB 5894, has not moved since its public hearing on 1/15.
HB 1927: Reducing the number of days that a worker’s temporary total disability must continue to receive industrial insurance compensation for the day of an injury and the three-day period following the injury.
Sponsors: Bronoske, Berry, Ortiz-Self, Reed, <a href=”https://app.leg.wa.gov/bi/report/billsby
