Prepared by Leslie Emerick
These are the public hearings coming up next week in the WA State Legislature on bills we are tracking for the association. Our Legislative “Hot Team” met this morning with Vicki Hoak to determine positions on bills for the upcoming week. If you want to look closer at the bills, click on the bill numbers in the list and it will take you to the Bill Information page at the WA State Legislature. The easiest way to review is to look at the Bill Reports summaries prepared by committee staff. Please let us know if you have any questions of concerns.
Upcoming Events
Labor, Commerce & Tribal Affairs (Senate) – Virtual, – 1/18 @ 9:00am
- SB 5097 – Public Hearing – Expanding coverage of the paid family and medical leave program. (Concerns/High) WAHCA will sign in with concerns and written testimony.
- SB 5115 – Public Hearing – Establishing health emergency labor standards. (Neutral/High)
Health Care & Wellness (House) – Virtual, – 1/18 @ 1:30pm
- HB 1120 – Public Hearing – Concerning state of emergency operations impacting long-term services and supports. (Support/High) WAHCA will sign in to Support.
Health Care & Wellness (House) – Virtual, – 1/20 @ 8:00am
- HB 1124 – Public Hearing – Concerning nurse delegation of glucose monitoring, glucose testing, and insulin injections. (Support/High) WAHCA will sign in to Support.
Labor & Workplace Standards (House) – Virtual, – 1/20 @ 10:00am
- HB 1087 – Public Hearing – Clarifying the continuity of employee family and medical leave rights. (Neutral/Medium)
Labor, Commerce & Tribal Affairs (Senate) – Virtual, – 1/21 @ 8:00am
- SB 5046 – Public Hearing – Concerning workers’ compensation claim resolution settlement agreements. (Remote testimony.) (Neutral/Medium)
Labor & Workplace Standards (House) – Virtual, – 1/22 @ 8:00am
- HB 1076 – Public Hearing – Allowing whistleblowers to bring actions on behalf of the state for violations of workplace protections. (Remote testimony.) (Neutral/Medium)
High Priority Bills
| Bill Details | Status | Sponsor | Position | |
| HB 1073 | Paid leave coverage | H Labor & Workpl | Berry | Neutral |
| Expanding coverage of the paid family and medical leave program. | ||||
| HB 1120 | Long-term services/emergency | H HC/Wellness | Tharinger | Support |
| Concerning state of emergency operations impacting long-term services and supports. | ||||
| HB 1124 | Nurse delegation/glucose | H HC/Wellness | Cody | Support |
| Concerning nurse delegation of glucose monitoring, glucose testing, and insulin injections. | ||||
| HB 1196 | Audio-only telemedicine | H HC/Wellness | Riccelli | Neutral |
| Concerning audio-only telemedicine. | ||||
| SB 5061 (HB 1098) | Unemployment insurance | S Labor, Comm & | Keiser | Neutral |
| Concerning unemployment insurance. | ||||
| SB 5090 (HB 1097) | Worker protections | S Labor, Comm & | Keiser | Neutral |
| Increasing worker protections. | ||||
| SB 5097 | Paid leave coverage | S Labor, Comm & | Robinson | Concerns |
| Expanding coverage of the paid family and medical leave program. | ||||
| SB 5115 | Health emergency/labor | S Labor, Comm & | Keiser | Neutral |
| Establishing health emergency labor standards. | ||||
| SB 5178 | Health care waivers | S Health & Long | Cleveland | Neutral |
| Establishing automatic waivers of select state health care laws to enable timely response by the health care system during a governor-declared statewide state of emergency. | ||||
| SCR 8402 | Emergency orders extension | H 2nd Reading | Liias | Neutral |
| Extending certain gubernatorial orders issued in response to the COVID-19 state of emergency. | ||||
Medium Priority Bills
| Bill Details | Status | Sponsor | Position | |
| HB 1002 | COVID-19 grants/B&O tax | H Finance | Walen | Neutral |
| Providing a business and occupation tax exemption for qualifying grants related to COVID-19 relief. | ||||
| HB 1021 | Unemployment benefit charges | H Labor & Workpla | MacEwen | Neutral |
| Concerning relief of benefit charges when discharge is a result of a gubernatorial declaration of emergency or related executive order. | ||||
| HB 1065 | Epidemic, pandemic vaccines | H HC/Wellness | Eslick | Neutral |
| Concerning epidemic or pandemic vaccines. | ||||
| HB 1076 | Workplace violations/qui tam | H Labor & Workpl | Hansen | Neutral |
| Allowing whistleblowers to bring actions on behalf of the state for violations of workplace protections. | ||||
| HB 1087 | Family/med leave continuity | H Labor & Workpla | Berry | Neutral |
| Clarifying the continuity of employee family and medical leave rights. | ||||
| HB 1094 (SB 5092) | Operating budget 2021-2023 | H Approps | Ormsby | Neutral |
| Making 2021-2023 fiscal biennium operating appropriations. | ||||
| HB 1095 | Emergency assistance/tax | H Finance | Walen | Neutral |
| Concerning the taxation of governmental financial assistance programs addressing the impacts of conditions giving rise to a gubernatorial or presidential emergency proclamation by creating state business and occupation tax and state public utility tax exemptions, a sales and use tax exemption for the receipt of such financial assistance, and clarifying the sales and use tax obligations for goods and services purchased by recipients of such financial assistance. | ||||
| HB 1097 (SB 5090) | Worker protections | H Labor & Workpla | Sells | Neutral |
| Increasing worker protections. | ||||
| HB 1098 (SB 5061) | Unemployment insurance | H Labor & Workpl | Sells | Neutral |
| Concerning unemployment insurance. | ||||
| HB 1127 | COVID-19 health data privacy | H HC/Wellness | Slatter | Neutral |
| Protecting the privacy and security of COVID-19 health data collected by entities other than public health agencies, health care providers, and health care facilities. | ||||
| HB 1188 | B&O tax payment deferral | H Finance | MacEwen | Neutral |
| Providing a business and occupation tax payment deferral to address the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on businesses in the state. | ||||
| HB 1191 | Health coverage | H HC/Wellness | Thai | Neutral |
| Ensuring equity in health coverage. | ||||
| HB 1218 | Long-term care residents | H HC/Wellness | Bateman | Neutral |
| Improving health, safety, and quality of life for residents in long-term care facilities. | ||||
| SB 5039 | Gubernatorial emergencies | S State Govt & E | Wilson | Neutral |
| Subjecting all gubernatorial emergency orders to legislative approval after thirty days. | ||||
| SB 5046 | Worker comp claim agreements | S Labor, Comm & | Conway | Neutral |
| Concerning workers’ compensation claim resolution settlement agreements. | ||||
| SB 5092 (HB 1094) | Operating budget 2021-2023 | S Ways & Means | Rolfes | Neutral |
| Making 2021-2023 fiscal biennium operating appropriations. | ||||
| SB 5114 | Reopening/public health | S State Govt & E | Braun | Neutral |
| Concerning safely reopening Washington. | ||||
| SB 5190 | Health care workers/benefits | S Labor, Comm & | Holy | Neutral |
| Providing health care workers with presumptive benefits during a public health emergency. | ||||
| SB 5204 | Whole WA health trust | S Health & Long | Hasegawa | Neutral |
| Creating the whole Washington health trust. | ||||
| SB 5229 | Health equity continuing ed. | S Health & Long | Randall | Neutral |
| Concerning health equity continuing education for health care professionals. | ||||