Senate Ways and Means advances scores of bills, approves amendments on paid leave and public-safety tax

The Washington State Senate Ways and Means Committee met in executive session April 8 and voted to send more than 30 bills to the Rules Committee with due-pass recommendations, while debating and disposing of a number of committee amendments.

The most contested item was engrossed second substitute House Bill 1213, which would expand the state Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML) program and extend job-protection and health-coverage rules to employees at smaller employers. Committee staff told members the Employment Security Department projects higher PFML uptake and an estimated four-year fiscal effect including $7.2 million in administrative costs, $81 million in small-business assistance grants, $251 million in benefits and $103 million in additional fund revenue.

Josh Hammond, staff to the committee, said the bill "is subject to appropriation and therefore has an indeterminate fiscal impact," and added that PFML assistance "is meant to be temporary, but for a minimum of 12 months." The committee adopted amendment 2 (offered by Senator Robinson), which phases in reduced employer-size thresholds (50 to 25 in 2026, 25 to 15 in 2027, and 15 to 8 in 2028) while keeping a 180-day work-history requirement. The committee rejected amendment 3 (offered by Senator Gildan), which would have removed the bill's broad health-coverage expansion and tied health coverage to existing FMLA thresholds.

On child-welfare housing, substitute House Bill 1177 — which would allow the Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) to provide housing services to some families no longer receiving DCYF child-welfare case services and to serve families on a wait list — received a due-pass recommendation after Senator Gildan withdrew an amendment that would have limited assistance to two years. Gildan told the committee she "originally proposed this because there is no end date" but withdrew the amendment after staff cautioned about potential conflicts with federal program requirements.

The committee also adopted a striking amendment to engrossed substitute House Bill 2015 (a public-safety grant program and optional local sales-and-use tax). The striking amendment reorganized the bill, clarified eligible uses for grant funds, required Criminal Justice Training Commission (CJTC) staffing plans from grant applicants, and tightened how cities and counties document eligibility to impose the tax. Senator Dhingra's striking amendment was adopted by voice vote.

Other bills advanced included measures on veterans' outreach, school-district contracting authority, access to prescription hormone therapy, mental-health and substance-use services, parity for APRN and PA reimbursements, collective-bargaining changes, and measures addressing litter and protection-order "Hope Cards." Committee staff briefly described fiscal notes for many measures; several bills are subject to appropriation so their net fiscal impact remains indeterminate.

Votes at a glance

- Substitute House Bill 1177 (child welfare housing program expansion): due-pass recommendation to Rules Committee; amendment 1 (two-year cap) withdrawn; outcome: approved by voice vote. - Engrossed second substitute House Bill 1213 (PFML expansions): due-pass recommendation to Rules Committee as amended by Ways and Means; amendment 2 (phase-in employer thresholds) adopted; amendment 3 (remove health coverage expansion) rejected. - Substitute House Bill 1272 (children in crisis program extension): due-pass recommendation to Rules Committee; fiscal estimate $6,000,000 over four years (staff projection). - Substitute House Bill 1509 (family reconciliation services): due-pass recommendation to Rules Committee; subject to appropriation. - House Bill 1936 (post-retirement employment for certain retired school employees): due-pass recommendation; amendment 4 adopted and rolled into striking amendment. - Engrossed substitute House Bill 1971 (prescription hormone therapy access): due-pass recommendation. - Engrossed substitute House Bill 1622 (bargaining over use of AI affecting wages/performance): due-pass recommendation; staff projected $5.3 million in 2025-27 biennium costs. - Engrossed second substitute House Bill 1432 (mental health and substance-use services access): due-pass recommendation. - Engrossed substitute House Bill 1430 (reimburse APRNs/PAs at physician rates for same services): due-pass recommendation; fiscal note: $515,000 (Insurance Commissioner) and $2.5–5.5 million/year potential impact to state programs. - Engrossed substitute House Bill 1141 (collective bargaining for agricultural cannabis workers): due-pass recommendation. - House Bill 1069 (bargaining over certain supplemental retirement contributions): due-pass recommendation. - House Bill 1068 (interest arbitration access for WM S employees at DOC): due-pass recommendation. - Second substitute House Bill 1715 (JLARC review of energy performance standard costs): due-pass recommendation; estimated JLARC costs described by staff. - Engrossed substitute House Bill 2015 (public-safety grant program and optional local sales tax): due-pass recommendation as amended by Ways and Means; striking amendment adopted reorganizing grant/tax structure and documentation requirements. - Substitute House Bill 1670 (sewage-containing-spills transparency): due-pass recommendation; sponsors indicated a floor amendment will narrow the bill before floor passage. - Second substitute House Bill 1975 (Climate Commitment Act analysis): due-pass recommendation. - House Bill 1796 (school district contracting indebtedness authority): due-pass recommendation. - Substitute Senate Bill 5804 (fish and habitat restoration, special tax/bonding proposal): proposed substitute adopted; due-pass recommendation. - Substitute House Bill 1390 (repeal Community Protection Program transition): due-pass recommendation. - Engrossed second substitute House Bill 1102 (veterans outreach/reporting): due-pass recommendation. - Second substitute House Bill 1427 (certified peer support specialists): due-pass recommendation; one-time costs noted in fiscal material. - Engrossed second substitute House Bill 1813 (managed-care reprocurement/behavioral-health coordination): amendment 14 adopted and rolled into striking amendment; due-pass recommendation. - Second substitute House Bill 1515 (alcohol in public spaces; temporary expanded service): striking amendment and several committee amendments adopted; due-pass recommendation. - Second substitute Senate Bill 5786 (increase liquor license fees): amendment 19 adopted and rolled in; due-pass recommendation. - Engrossed substitute House Bill 1293 (litter and bag requirements delay): due-pass recommendation. - Substitute House Bill 1460 (protection-order Hope Cards in scannable format): amendment 21 adopted and rolled into striker; due-pass recommendation. - Second substitute House Bill 1391 (removal of certain diversions from criminal history): due-pass recommendation; fiscal estimates provided. - House Bill 1389 (timber purchase reporting expiration extension): due-pass recommendation. - Substitute House Bill 1261 (open-space farm income allowance, reduced removal penalty): due-pass recommendation. - Engrossed House Bill 1219 (Interbranch Advisory Committee extension): due-pass recommendation. - Engrossed House Bill 1106 (veterans' property tax exemption disability-rating phase down): amendment 22 adopted and rolled into striker; due-pass recommendation. - Engrossed second substitute House Bill 1563 (prescribed-fire claims fund pilot): due-pass recommendation.

What happened next

Committee members put the group at ease for caucus and then returned to executive session to complete the packet. Nearly every bill on the agenda received a due-pass recommendation to the Rules Committee subject to signatures; a small number of bills were held and not considered in the afternoon packet. Several measures were described as subject to appropriation, and staff cautioned that indeterminate fiscal impacts remain until appropriations are set.

The committee concluded its business and adjourned after thanking staff.