House Appropriations Committee advances dozens of bills, including transportation, paid-leave, energy and health measures

The Washington House Appropriations Committee convened in executive session and reported a wide set of fiscal and policy bills to the full House, advancing measures on school transportation rules, paid family and medical leave rate-setting, distributed energy priorities, network adequacy for managed care organizations, and multiple other budget- and policy-related items.

The committee approved many bills unanimously or by wide margins and carried a few sharply divided measures. Several items were amended in committee before receiving a due-pass recommendation.

Nut graf: The package includes measures affecting K-12 student transportation, unemployment and paid-leave financing, energy policy, health-care provider network rules, school-based memory-care standards, and child-care and early-learning implementation timelines. Lawmakers debated fiscal assumptions, administrative authority and equity concerns on multiple items before advancing them.

Highlights and summaries of key bills

- Engrossed Substitute Senate Bill 5009 — Transportation training/van drivers: The committee adopted an amendment removing requirements that OSPI bus-driver rules apply to non-school buses used as student-transport vehicles and clarified medical-exam requirements for certain school employees; reported out with a due-pass recommendation (31-0).

- Senate Bill 5032 — Ombuds for juvenile facilities: Reported out with a due-pass recommendation after adopting a standard null-and-void clause and sponsor remarks on expanding ombuds capacity (31-0).

- Substitute Senate Bill 5262 — Office of the Insurance Commissioner technical changes: Committee adopted an amendment removing a section linking OIC rules to PEP/SEP plans, discussed public-records and policy concerns, and reported the bill (17-14).

- Substitute Senate Bill 5292 — Paid Family and Medical Leave rate-setting: The bill moves rate-setting to actuarial principles and modifies caps…