STATE GOVERNMENT
Policy bills languish in divided Legislature
Legislators are now focused on negotiating budget bills, including the 2017-19 biennial operating budget, and other fiscal legislation deemed necessary to implement the budget. They have until April 23, the final day of the regular session, but few think they’ll agree to a budget by then. If that happens, the governor will call for a 30-day extended session. Or two.
But for now, here’s a status report on some key working family bills that have been previously described in the Washington State Labor Council’s Legislative Update newsletter and here at The Stand. This is not a comprehensive list. There are other bills upon which the WSLC and its affiliates have taken an interest and position.
Bills SUPPORTED by the WSLC
APPRENTICESHIP UTILIZATION—HB 1849 (Rep. Mike Sells) strengthening compliance with existing apprenticeship utilization standards. Passed House 51-47, but DIED without a vote in the Senate Transportation Committee chaired by Sen. Curtis King (R-Yakima).
COLLEGE FACULTY PAY—HB 1237 (Rep. Mike Sells) allowing full-scope collective bargaining so colleges can use local funds in negotiating faculty/staff wages. Passed House 65-32, but DIED without a vote in the Senate Commerce, Labor & Sports Committee chaired by Sen. Michael Baumgartner (R-Spokane).
CONTRACEPTIVE HEALTH—SHB 1234 (Rep. June Robinson) require insurance carriers to provide a full year’s supply of birth control at a time; 12 months of contraception will improve women’s health and birth outcomes by preventing unintended pregnancies. PASSED the House 93-5 and the Senate 48-1, and sent to the governor.
ELECTRICAL LAW ENFORCEMENT—SHB 1952 (Rep. Brian Blake) improving enforcement of state electrical laws. Passed House 97-0, but DIED without a vote in the Senate Commerce, Labor & Sports Committee chaired by Sen. Michael Baumgartner (R-Spokane).
EQUAL PAY OPPORTUNITY ACT—HB 1506 (prime sponsor: Rep. Tana Senn) addressing income disparities by prohibiting pay secrecy policies, allowing discussion of wages and prohibiting retaliation for asking for equal pay. Passed House 61-36, passed the Senate Labor Committee but DIED without a floor vote in the Senate. See details.
FAMILY AND MEDICAL LEAVE—HB 1116 (Rep. June Robinson) implements a Family and Medical Leave Insurance program, employer and employee funded, offering up to $1,000/week for up to 26 weeks for the birth or adoption of a child, for a family member’s serious health condition or for leave needed for a military reason. Passed both House Labor and Appropriations committees, now in Rules. See details here and here. This bill is EXEMPT from cutoff deadlines because it is considered necessary to implement the budget.
NURSE STAFFING—HB 1714 (Rep. Eileen Cody) would ensure that staffing committees are a stronger entity within hospitals and require that the adopted staffing plan actually be implemented. If hospital management fails to do so, nurses will have a remedy to hold them accountable. PASSED Senate 61-36, passed House 42-7, and sent to the governor. See details.
OUTSOURCING ACCOUNTABILITY—SHB 1851 (Rep. Laurie Dolan), the Taxpayer Protection Act, protecting taxpayers by providing accountability and transparency in government contracting. Passed House 69-28, but DIED without a vote in the Senate State Government Committee chaired by Sen. Mark Miloscia (R-Federal Way).
PREGNANCY ACCOMMODATIONS—SB 5835 (Sen. Karen Keiser) requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations for pregnant women in the workplace, including more frequent restroom breaks, readily accessible drinking water, food and seating, and scheduling flexibility for prenatal doctors’ visits. PASSED Senate 48-0, passed House 98-0, and sent to the governor. See details.
PRESCRIPTION DRUG TRANSPARENCY—2SHB 1541 (Rep. June Robinson) addresses the ongoing barriers and increasing cost of certain prescription drugs by improving regulation, transparency and accountability on prescription drug pricing. Passed House 52-46, but DIED without a vote in the Senate Health Care Committee chaired by Sen. Ann Rivers (R-La Center). See details.
UTILITY WORKER ASSAULTS—HB 1859 (Rep. Mike Pellicciotti) would protect utility workers, who provide repair services all all hours in remote and sometimes dangerous places, by considering assault against a utility workers engaged in official duties to be an aggravating circumstance during sentencing. Strongly supported by IBEW 77, it passed the House 94-4, the Senate Law & Justice Committee and advanced from Rules, but DIED without a Senate floor vote. See details.
RAIL SAFETY — ESHB 1105 (Rep. Derek Stanford) would strengthen railroad safety standards for workers, equipment and surrounding communities, and ensure proper insurance coverage among railroad companies and contractors. PASSED House 97-0, passed Senate 46-2, and House concurred 98-0, and sent to governor.
WASHINGTON VOTING RIGHTS ACT—HB 1800 (Rep. Mia Gregerson) empowers local governments to avoid costly litigation by creating a collaborative process to ensure fair elections, that every vote is protected, and that every community is fairly represented. Passed House 51-46, but DIED without in the Senate State Government Committee chaired by Sen. Mark Miloscia (R-Federal Way). The bill was brought up for a vote on a motion by Sen. Sam Hunt in committee although it wasn’t on the agenda, but it was voted down on a party-line vote. See details here and here.
WORK SAFETY FINE CLARIFICATION—HB 1953 (Rep. Laurie Dolan) making sure state WISHA fines for work safety violations are in conformance with federal OSHA penalties. Passed House 52-45, passed the Senate Labor Committee but DIED without a floor vote in the Senate.
WORKERS’ COMP: HANFORD—SHB 1723 (Rep. Larry Haler) would remove barriers that prevent seriously ill Hanford workers from getting workers’ compensation benefits. Passed House 69-29, but DIED without a vote in the Senate Commerce, Labor & Sports Committee chaired by Sen. Michael Baumgartner (R-Spokane). See details.
Bills OPPOSED by the WSLC
FARMWORKER WAGE THEFT—SB 5720 (Sen. Brad Hawkins) creates a new “production-based safe harbor” for growers by which they can avoid liability for unpaid wages for rest breaks as ordered by a state Supreme Court decision. The original bill would have allowed employers to avoid responsibility for payment of wages for work performed outside production. Passed Senate 28-18, but DIED without a vote in the House Labor & Workplace Standards Committee chaired by Rep. Mike Sells (D-Everett). See details.
RELIGIOUS OBJECTORS—SB 5339 (Sen. Dino Rossi) allows public employees who are “religious objectors” to unionization to control which charity receives their dues equivalent, rather than the current practice of agreeing on a charity with their union. It also broadly expands the list of “charities” to include quasi-political groups like the Freedom Foundation. Passed Senate 25-24 on strict party-line vote, but DIED without a vote in the House Labor & Workplace Standards Committee chaired by Rep. Mike Sells (D-Everett). See details.
SILENCING STATE EMPLOYEES—SB 5533 (Sen. Dino Rossi) prohibiting state employee unions from making contributions to incumbent candidates for governor, with whom they collectively bargain. Passed Senate 25-24 on strict party-line vote, but DIED without a vote in the House Labor & Workplace Standards Committee chaired by Rep. Mike Sells (D-Everett). See details.
TNC UNEMPLOYMENT EXEMPTION—SB 5362 (Sen. John Braun) would create a special exemption for TNCs so they do not have to provide unemployment insurance coverage for their drivers. Passed Senate 31-18, but DIED without a vote in the House Labor & Workplace Standards Committee chaired by Rep. Mike Sells (D-Everett). See details.
WORKERS’ COMPENSATION—SB 5822 (Sen. Michael Baumgartner) is a Christmas list of benefit cuts, eligibility restrictions, and erosions of our state’s workers’ compensation safety net for injured workers and their families. Passed the Labor committee, but DIED without a floor vote in the Senate. HOWEVER, in the past Republicans have attempted to include elements of similar workers’ comp bills as bargaining chips during end-of-session budget negotiations, once even threatening to shut down the state government over it. See details.