The week ahead: Jan 8-12

Here’s what’s on tap for the first week of the 2018 legislative session

As we’ll do every week from the start of the 2018 legislative session on Jan. 8 to adjournment on March 8, here’s what’s coming up next week in the Legislature.

Remember, every day is Lobby Day. RSVP TODAY! 

  • Enter your email at the top of WFSE.org to sign-up for Hotline emails.
  • Access our audio-based hands-free version of the Hotline at 1-800-562-6102

Ok, here’s what’s on tap next week:

Monday, Jan. 8

  • The House and Senate reconvene at 12 noon.
  • The House Appropriations Committee gets a briefing on the governor’s 2018 supplemental operating budget https://wfse.org/news/governor-unveils-supplemental-budget
  • The Federation will once again weigh in to support gender pay equity when EHB 1506 comes up for a public hearing in the House Labor and Workplace Standards Committee.

Tuesday, Jan. 9

  • Revenue and fixing the state’s upside-down tax code take center stage on Tuesday. Thanks to our allies in the All In for Action Coalition, we’ll be joining a statewide action on the sixth business day of the year, all the time it takes for the wealthiest to pay their taxes for the entire year.

    Watch for our email action on Jan. 9 to illustrate that our state is in last place – even Alabama is ahead of us even before their recent electoral progress. We have the most upside-down-tax code in the country.

    Our tax code asks working people to pay up to 17 percent of their income in state and local taxes while the wealthiest pay less than percent. Powerful special interests have riddled the tax code with wasteful tax breaks and loopholes that siphon money out of our communities. So watch for our email action. And if you’re in Olympia on Tuesday, join the onsite action at 11:20 a.m. under the Capitol Dome.
  • Speaking of tax breaks, the House Finance Committee hears from the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Committee on the 2017 Tax Preference Performance Review Report.
  • The House Capital Budget Committee takes the first vote of the session to free up the long-stalled Capital Construction Budget (ESHB 1075).
  • The Senate Ways and Means Committee holds a public hearing on the governor’s proposed supplemental budget https://wfse.org/news/governor-unveils-supplemental-budget
  • Gov. Jay Inslee delivers his annual State of the State Address at 12 noon to a joint session of the Legislature.
  • The Federation will once again weigh in to support the Washington Voting Rights Act, HB 1800, that comes up for a public hearing in the House State Government Committee.

Wednesday, Jan. 10

  • Our big hearing of the day comes Wednesday when the House State Government Committee holds a public hearing on ESHB 1851, the Taxpayer Protection Act. Most state services are delivered through third-party vendors, and the state hasn’t always done an effective job of making sure third-party vendors spend our tax dollars efficiently and effectively. The TPA requires the state to more carefully analyze the costs of outsourcing, monitor contracts more effectively, and hold contractors accountable when they fail to produce promised results. A committee vote is scheduled for Jan. 12. ESHB 1851 passed the House 69-28 in 2017; this is one bill that had bipartisan progress and great hope for 2018. 
  • The Federation will weigh in to support of two important bills coming up for public hearings in the Senate Labor and Commerce Committee: SB 5996 that would encourage the disclosure and discussion of sexual harassment and sexual assault in the workplace; and SB 5940, creating the presumption of occupational disease for certain employees at the Unites States Department of Energy Hanford site.
  • The Senate Human Services and Corrections Committee has scheduled a public hearing on a bill concerning juvenile offenders.
  • The Federation will once again weigh in to support of the Senate version of the Washington Voting Rights Act, SB 6002, that comes up for a public hearing in the Senate State Government Committee.
  • The House Appropriations Committee holds a public hearing on HB 2299, the governor’s supplemental budget proposal https://wfse.org/news/governor-unveils-supplemental-budget

Thursday, Jan. 11

  • The Senate Ways and Means Committee holds a work session and public hearing on the governor’s proposed supplemental Capital Construction Budget.
  • The House Appropriations Committee gets an update on the new Department of Children, Youth and Families.
  • The Federation will weigh in to support SB 6029 that would establish a Student Loan Bill of Rights. The measure comes up for a public hearing in the Senate Higher Education and Workforce Development Committee.
  • The House Judiciary Committee holds has a scheduled public hearing on HB 2289 concerning the release and commitment of persons involuntarily committed after the dismissal of a felony.

Friday, Jan. 12

Another Federation Lobby Day opportunity for members: https://wfse.org/lobby-days