South Kitsap Chamber of Commerce Legislative Update Email January 31, 2023

Workplace law and human resources issues

Government Affairs Director Bob Battles is engaging on these and other employment law bills: 

• Warehouse staffing mandates: Senate Bill 5348, sponsored by Sen. Steve Conway, D-Tacoma, would allow the Department of Labor & Industries to set staffing ratios for warehouses. AWB opposes quotas of these kinds and this level of government regulation of day-to-day business operations. The bill will have a hearing Tuesday in the Senate Labor & Commerce Committee.

• Stay at Work program: AWB supports House Bill 5368, which would expand the state’s successful Stay at Work program. The bill is sponsored by Sen. Karen Keiser, D-Kent, and will have a hearing Thursday in the Senate Labor & Commerce Committee. 

• Pre-employment testing for cannabis: Senate Bill 5123, sponsored by Sen. Karen Keiser, D-Kent, is scheduled for a vote in the Senate Labor & Commerce Committee on Tuesday. The bill would prohibit most pre-employment testing for cannabis. Current laws allowing cannabis policies during employment would remain in place and once hired, new employees would be subject to drug policies on day one. 

• Ergonomics: Senate Bill 5217, sponsored by Sen. Manka Dhingra, D-Redmond, had a hearing last week in the Senate Labor & Commerce Committee. The bill would repeal a longstanding law prohibiting the Department of Labor and Industries (L&I) from adopting rules related to ergonomics or musculoskeletal disorders. AWB opposes the bill, which is not necessary. L&I already has the ability to regulate this issue without creating specific rules and regulations that add costs for employers to do business without creating better outcomes for workers. This is an issue returning to the Legislature after a failed effort last year. Get more background on ergonomics in this 2022 AWB Amplified video.

• Employee PFML data: AWB supports Senate Bill 5586, sponsored by Sen. Curtis King, R-Yakima, which will have a hearing Thursday in the Senate Labor & Commerce Committee. The bill would allow employers to access certain employee paid family and medical leave data so the employer can administer claims on paid time off and other HR functions. An AWB member brought this issue forward to the PFML advisory board.

Land use and housing

Housing is a major focus of this year’s session. These are some of the bills AWB Government Affairs Director Mike Ennis is watching:

• Rent control: Hundreds of people showed up to three hearings last week on statewide rent control bills. AWB is part of a coalition that testified against House Bill 1388, House Bill 1389 and Senate Bill 5435. These bills would limit a property owner or landlord from increasing rents in some cases, creating a disincentive to expand the housing supply. The housing crisis in Washington is a result of a combination of factors, the most important of which is lack of supply. Artificially capping rent increases reduces investments in housing creation, further restricting this supply, and leading to a wider gap in affordability.

Education and workforce training

These are among the bills AWB Government Affairs Director Amy Anderson is tracking:



• Nurse licensure compact: House Bill 1417, a bipartisan bill sponsored by Rep. Mike Volz, R-Spokane, would allow interstate nurse licensure reciprocity. AWB supports this bill, which will have a hearing Friday in the House Postsecondary Education & Workforce Committee. 

Tax and fiscal policy

Emily Shay, the new AWB government affairs director for tax and fiscal policy, is watching a number of tax bills, including:

• Business margin tax: AWB testified against a proposed business margin tax, Senate Bill 5482, during its hearing before the Senate Business, Financial Services, Gaming & Trade Committee on Thursday. It appears the bill would raise taxes on manufacturing, which would go against the state’s recently stated goal of doubling manufacturing and doubling the number of minority-owned firms, AWB Vice President of Government Affairs Dave Mastin told the committee. Tribes and organized labor also testified against the tax.  

State Supreme Court hears capital gains tax case

High court debate: A nondescript temporary courtroom in Tumwater played host to “a critical battle in the legal struggle over the state’s capital gains tax” last week as the state Supreme Court heard arguments over the tax, which the Legislature passed in 2021 but that a Douglas County judge put on hold after deeming it an unconstitutional income tax. The Spokesman-Review has a full report.

Be sure to check out other bills currently on our Bill Watch List.