“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, Ormsby, Kloba, Doglio, Lekanoff, Fosse, Pollet
Comment: It reduces the number of days – from 14 to 7 – that a temporary total disability must continue to receive workers' compensation time loss benefits for the first three days following the injury.
It is scheduled for executive session in the House Committee on Labor & Workplace Standards on 1/19. Its companion, (SB5932) has not had any movement.
HB 2058: Increasing student access to free meals served at public schools.
Sponsors: Riccelli, Rude, Leavitt, Ramel, Berry, Duerr, Slatter, Morgan, Simmons, Reed, Ormsby, Fey, Peterson, Callan, Macri, Gregerson, Chopp, Stonier, Goodman, Berg, Thai, Alvarado, Street, Lekanoff, Paul, Fosse, Doglio, Santos, Timmons, Reeves, Hackney, Tharinger, Shavers, Pollet, Kloba
Comment: TWIO has covered this previously. There is no fiscal note to date, although press reports that the state’s cost will be in excess of $80 million dollars. It is indeterminate what other local school district unfunded costs will be.
This bill was moved out by executive action taken in the House Committee on Education. The companion bill (SB 5964) has had no movement.
HB 2119: Protecting consumers from garnishment of earnings for judgments arising from medical debt.
Sponsors: Riccelli, Taylor, Leavitt, Simmons, Reed, Ormsby, Macri, Fosse, Tharinger, Doglio, Wylie, Reeves, Pollet
Comment: It would prohibit the issuance of a writ of garnishment against the earnings of a judgment debtor where the judgment arises from the medical debt of the debtor.
It is scheduled for executive session in the House Committee on Civil Rights & Judiciary on 1/26.
HB 2127 - 2023-24: Concerning workers' compensation incentives to return to work.
Sponsors: Schmidt, Berry, Leavitt, Reed, Ormsby, Graham, Pollet
Comment: Modifies certain return-to-work policies and reimbursement amounts under the workers' compensation program. • Increases the maximum amounts of reimbursements paid to employers participating in the Stay at Work Program and Preferred Worker Program by the Department of Labor & Industries (L&I). • Increases the maximum amount paid to qualifying employers for job modification costs by L&I.
This bill is scheduled for Executive Session in the House Committee on Labor & Workplace Standards Jan. 24th.
HB 2246 - Concerning vacation leave accrual for state employees.
Comment: Comment: Scheduled for a public hearing on 1/26 before the House Committee on Labor & Workplace Standards.
HB 2381: Increasing eligibility for economy and efficiency flexible school calendar waivers.
Sponsors: McEntire, Shavers, Chapman
Comment: OSPI may grant waivers of the requirement for a 180-day school year to school districts that propose to operate one or more schools on a flexible calendar for purposes of economy and efficiency. The superintendent of public instruction may grant waivers 36 authorized under this section to school districts 37 with student populations of less than 1,000 students.
It is scheduled for a public hearing in the House Committee on Education on 1/26.
SB 5059 - Concerning pre-judgment interest.
Comment: Dan Steele has already addressed this bill and its potential for adversely affecting school district finances.
It had a public hearing in the Senate Committee on Ways & Means at 4:00 PM, Jan. 15th. No further action to date.
2SHB 1618: Concerning the statute of limitations for childhood sexual abuse.
Comment: Again, this has been addressed in previous reports, and the potential to create economic havoc within districts remains. It removes the statute of limitations for recovery of damages as a result of childhood sexual abuse. • • Applies the act retroactively and prospectively.
The Rules Committee relieved of further consideration. Placed on third reading waiting action on House floor.
SB 5777 - Concerning unemployment insurance benefits for striking or lockout workers.
Comment: Deletes a provision that disqualifies employees in a multi-employer bargaining unit from unemployment insurance benefits when the employees have been locked out following a strike against the employers in the bargaining unit. • Modifies the period of disqualification from unemployment insurance benefits for striking workers to end at the earlier of the Sunday following the first day of the strike or at the end of the strike.
This bill has been passed to Rules awaiting movement to the Senate calendar. Its companion (HB 1893) is scheduled for executive session in the House Committee on Labor & Workplace Standards on 1/19.
SB 5789 - Concerning the sales and use tax for school construction assistance program capital projects.
Comment: This bill has been referred to Ways and Means with no movement to date.
SB 5793 - Concerning paid sick leave.
Comment: This bill appears to broaden acceptable uses for sick leave. It allows an employee or transportation network company driver to use paid sick leave when their child's school or place of care is closed due to weather or a public emergency. • Modifies the definition of family member for the purpose of using paid sick leave to include any individual who regularly resides in the employee's home or where the relationship creates an expectation the employee care for the person, and that individual depends on the employee for care, except it does not include an individual who simply resides in the same home with no expectation the employee care for the individual. • • Provides that a child also includes a child's spouse
It has been scheduled for Executive Action in the Senate Committee on Labor & Commerce on 1/22. Its companion, (HB 1991) scheduled for executive session in the House Committee on Labor & Workplace Standards on 1/26.
SB 5873 - 2023-24
Providing adequate and predictable student transportation.
Comment: This bill, subject to budget appropriations, increases funding for student transportation. Of added import is that it provides that pupil transportation services contracts entered into, renewed, or extended after September 1, 2024, must require the contractor to provide employee health and retirement benefits comparable to those received by school employees. It also states: “Subject to the availability of amounts appropriated for this purpose, OSPI must provide a one-time supplemental transportation allocation to school districts that experience an increase in costs to pupil transportation services contracts due to the new benefit requirements. To be eligible for the supplemental allocations, a school district must report to OSPI regarding the number of contracted employees who worked at least 630 hours performing contract services in the school year prior to entering a contract with the new benefits. Supplemental allocations may only be used as payments under pupil transportation services contracts for employee compensation and may not exceed $200 per contracted employee per month.”
This bill was passed out of the Early Learning & K-12 Education committee and is now scheduled for a public hearing in the Senate Committee on Ways & Means Committee on 1/23.
SB 5924 - 2023-24 Concerning access to personnel records.
Concerning access to personnel records.
Comment: Requires an employer to furnish an employee, former employee, or their designee with the employee's personnel file at no cost within 21 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 21 calendar days of the written request. • Allows an employee or former employee to bring a private action, after five days' notice, for violations of certain rights regarding personnel files and discharge information, for equitable relief, graduated statutory damages up to $1,000, and reasonable attorneys' fees and costs of each violation.
Scheduled for public hearing in the Senate Committee on Labor & Commerce at 8:00 AM, January 11. No further movement to date.
SB 5978: Authorizing the office of the superintendent of public instruction to act as a guarantor for a county when the county provides a loan to a school district.
Sponsors: Robinson, Nobles
Comment: It is scheduled for a public hearing in the Senate Committee on Early Learning & K-12 Education on 1/22.
SB 6045 - Concerning school district efficiencies and consolidation.
Comment: Self-explanatory. This is not the first time this idea of forcing efficiencies has been introduced.
It is scheduled for a public hearing in the Senate Committee on Early Learning & K-12 Education on 1/25.
Fred Yancey
The Nexus Group LLC