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Supporters urge lawmakers to keep Washington's employee‑ownership program intact
Summary
Hundreds of stakeholders, cooperatives and technical advocates testified against House Bill 2047, which would eliminate the state's recently created Employee Ownership Program; witnesses said the program expands business succession options and supports local economies.
The House Appropriations Committee heard more than a dozen in‑person and remote witnesses who urged opposition to House Bill 2047, a proposal to eliminate the Washington Employee Ownership Program and associated commission and account. The program was created in 2023 to provide technical assistance, a referral service and — subject to federal funds — a non‑appropriated revolving loan program to help businesses transition to employee ownership models.
Jessica Van Horn, staff to the committee, summarized the program’s activities and the bill’s effect: the substitute would eliminate the program, the Employee Ownership Commission and the revolving loan account effective June 30, 2025, and transfer any residual account balance to the general fund. The staff briefing noted base funding for the program in Commerce is about $1.45 million per biennium (general fund) and the House chair’s budget assumes ongoing savings at that level if the program is ended.
The nut graf: a broad coalition of cooperative practitioners, economic‑development organizations and worker‑ownership advocates told the committee the program is low‑cost, high‑impact and already attracting national attention. They argued ending it would reverse early progress, impede business succession strategies and forgo savings associated with increased household net worth among employee owners.
Speakers included John McNamara of the Northwest Cooperative Development Center, Paulette Ladusir (Capital Home Care Cooperative) and Patricia Kwan of the Washington Center for Employee Ownership, who said the state is becoming a national model. Matthew Licina of the National Center for Employee Ownership and representatives of worker co‑ops and locally converted businesses — including Blue Heron Bakery — described conversions and local economic benefits. Shivanti Daniel of the Democracy at Work Institute urged lawmakers to keep the program to support transitions for retiring owners and to preserve jobs in rural communities.
Supporters noted the revolving loan program would not use state funds and that employee ownership tends to reduce unemployment claims and keep businesses locally owned. Opponents were not prominent in the public record at the hearing. The committee did not take a vote at the conclusion of the public testimony.
