By Melissa Johnson, WANA Lobbyist

Last Week’s Highlights

Week ten saw legislative committees with full agendas, hearing and voting on bills to meet next Friday’s policy committee cutoff.  At this stage of the session, it becomes clear which bills are likely to pass.  With few exceptions, majority Democrats are sticking to their stated priorities of addressing COVID-19 challenges, improving racial equity, advancing economic recovery, addressing climate change, and increasing revenue or creating savings.

Economic news.  The state received some good news from the Economic and Revenue Forecast Council’s forecast released on Wednesday.  The forecast shows nearly $3.3 billion more in revenue than previously expected over the next four years.  Broken down by biennium, that represents a $1.3 billion increase in revenue for the current 2019-21 biennium and a $1.9 billion increase for the 2021-23 biennium.  This puts the state’s revenue picture back to where it was in February 2020.

While this is certainly good news, legislators warned that there is still uncertainty in the state’s economic outlook, with impacts of COVID as the primary unknown.  While the influx of federal dollars from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) provides much-needed stimulus, it is one-time funding.  Legislators cautioned that their challenge with the upcoming budget is to ensure that the state’s long-term economic future is sustainable once these federal funds are spent.

American Rescue Plan Act work session…The Senate Ways & Means Committee held a work session on the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) last Friday.  While there is a high-level understanding of the level of funding, the state must wait for federal guidance on many aspects of how to appropriate these dollars.  The presentation from the work session can be found here.  Here are highlights taken from the presentation:

• Washington will receive an estimated $4.44 billion in state funding
  • $4.25 billion in flexible dollars
  • $189 million in “capital project” dollars
• Emergency Rental Assistance Program: $404 million (estimated)
• Unemployment insurance: $300/week through Sept. 4 ($10,200 tax-deductible for some)
• FMAP: 10% for state expenditures on Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) for four fiscal quarters (capped at 95%)

Eligible uses for ARPA funds:

• Respond to [COVID-19] or its “negative economic impacts”
• Provide premium pay to eligible workers doing “essential work”
• Replace revenue — “the extent of the reduction in revenue…relative to revenues collected in the most recent full fiscal year prior to the emergency…”
• Make necessary investments in water, sewer, or broadband infrastructure
• Capital projects — “directly enabling work, education, and health monitoring, including remote options, in response to [COVID-19]”

Ineligible uses:

• Cannot deposit into pension funds
• Cannot “directly or indirectly offset a reduction in the next tax revenue…resulting from a change in law, regulation, or administrative interpretation during the covered period”

Capital gains legislation.  The House Finance Committee heard SB 5096 on Monday.  Of the 4,002 people who signed in on the bill, about 2,380 (60%) were in favor of the legislation. Congressman Dan Newhouse also appeared before the committee to oppose the bill, saying the IRS told him in 2018 that “capital gains are treated as income under the tax code, and taxed as such.” Perhaps a sign of referendum signature gathering to come, opponents of the bill presented a petition against SB 5096 with 13,688 signatures.  The bill has not yet been scheduled for executive action.

Health Care Bills

• SB 5169, the bill providing reimbursement to health care providers for the cost of PPE when treating patients in person, passed the House Health Care & Wellness Committee last Wednesday. It is now in the Rules Committee.

• SB 5229, the legislation that creates a health equity continuing education requirement for health care providers, passed the House Health Care & Wellness Committee last Wednesday.  It was amended in committee to move the date upon which information must be provided to licensees about available CE courses from July 1, 2022, to July 1, 2023.

WANA Legislative Days

WANA hosted the second of two Legislative Days (actually, evenings) on March 18^th, welcoming legislators and WANA members from Western Washington.  We had good turnout, with Senator Christine Rolfes, Rep. Dan Bronoske, Jennifer from Senator Hobbs’s office, and Shannon from Rep. Simmons’s office attending.  Thanks to all of our WANA members and our Gonzaga student who attended!

Upcoming Events

Health Care & Wellness (House) – Virtual, – 3/22 @ 1:30pm

• ESSB 5178 – Public Hearing – 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. (REVISED FOR ENGROSSED: Establishing timely considerations of waivers of select state health care laws to enable timely response by the health care system during a governor-declared statewide state of emergency. ) (Remote testimony.)
• SSB 5325 – Public Hearing – Concerning telemedicine. (Remote testimony.)

Appropriations (House) – Virtual, – 3/22 @ 3:30pm

• SSB 5228 – Public Hearing – Addressing disproportionate health outcomes by building a foundation of equity in medical training. (Remote testimony.)

Law & Justice (Senate) – Virtual, – 3/23 @ 10:30am

• ESHB 1197 – Public Hearing – Concerning health care decisions made by a designated person. (Remote testimony.)

Environment, Energy & Technology (Senate) – Virtual, – 3/24 @ 8:00am

• 2SHB 1127 – Exec Session – 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.

Health Care & Wellness (House) – Virtual, – 3/24 @ 8:00am

• E2SSB 5399 – Exec Session – Concerning the creation of a universal health care commission.

Labor & Workplace Standards (House) – Virtual, – 3/24 @ 10:00am

• ESSB 5115 – Exec Session – Establishing health emergency labor standards.

Health Care & Wellness (House) – Virtual, – 3/25 @ 10:00am

• ESSB 5178 – Exec Session – 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. (REVISED FOR ENGROSSED: Establishing timely considerations of waivers of select state health care laws to enable timely response by the health care system during a governor-declared statewide state of emergency. ).
• SSB 5325 – Exec Session – Concerning telemedicine.

Law & Justice (Senate) – Virtual, – 3/25 @ 10:30am

• ESHB 1197 – Exec Session – Concerning health care decisions made by a designated person.
• SHB 1209 – Exec Session – Concerning immunity protection for nonmedical assistance.

Ways & Means (Senate) – Virtual, – 3/26 @ 1:00pm

• SB 5092 – Public Hearing – Making 2021-2023 fiscal biennium operating appropriations. (Hearing is on the Proposed Substitute.)

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Monitoring Bills

Bill Details	Status	Sponsor	Position
HB 1002	COVID-19 grants/B&O tax	H Finance	Walen
Providing a business and occupation tax exemption for qualifying grants related to COVID-19 relief.
E2SHB 1073	Paid leave coverage	S Ways & Means	Berry
Expanding coverage of the paid family and medical leave program.
HB 1087	Family/med leave continuity	S Rules 2	Berry
Clarifying the continuity of employee family and medical leave rights.
HB 1093 (SB 5091)	Operating budget, 2nd supp.	H Approps	Ormsby
Making 2019-2021 fiscal biennium second supplemental operating appropriations.
HB 1094 (SB 5092)	Operating budget 2021-2023	H Approps	Ormsby
Making 2021-2023 fiscal biennium operating appropriations.
SHB 1095	Emergency assistance/tax	C 4 L 21	Walen
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.
2SHB 1127	COVID-19 health data privacy	S Environment, En	Slatter
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.
E2SHB 1160	Health provider contracts	S Health & Long T	Cody
Concerning health provider contracts.
ESHB 1196 (SSB 5325)	Audio-only telemedicine	S Health & Long T	Riccelli
Concerning audio-only telemedicine.
ESHB 1197	Health care decisions	S Law & Justice	Riccelli
Concerning health care decisions made by a designated person.
SHB 1209	Nonmedical assist. immunity	S Law & Justice	Bronoske
Concerning immunity protection for nonmedical assistance.
E2SHB 1272	Health system transparency	S Health & Long T	Macri
Concerning health system transparency.
SHB 1383	Respiratory care	S 2nd Reading	Taylor	Neutral
Concerning respiratory care practitioners.
HB 1399	Prof. licensure/convictions	S Business, Finan	Vick
Reducing barriers to professional licensure for individuals with previous criminal convictions.
SB 5046	Worker comp claim agreements	H Rules R	Conway
Concerning workers’ compensation claim resolution settlement agreements.
E2SSB 5052	Health equity zones	H Approps	Keiser
Concerning the creation of health equity zones.
SB 5091 (HB 1093)	Operating budget, 2nd supp.	S Ways & Means	Rolfes
Making 2019-2021 fiscal biennium second supplemental operating appropriations.
SB 5092 (HB 1094)	Operating budget 2021-2023	S Ways & Means	Rolfes
Making 2021-2023 fiscal biennium operating appropriations.
ESSB 5097	Paid leave coverage	H LAWSDP	Robinson
Expanding coverage of the paid family and medical leave program.
ESSB 5115	Health emergency/labor	H Labor & Workpla	Keiser
Establishing health emergency labor standards.
SSB 5169	Provider PPE reimbursement	H Rules R	Frockt
Concerning provider reimbursement for personal protective equipment during the state of emergency related to COVID-19.
ESSB 5178	Health care waivers	H HC/Wellness	Cleveland
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. (REVISED FOR ENGROSSED: Establishing timely considerations of waivers of select state health care laws to enable timely response by the health care system during a governor-declared statewide state of emergency. )
SSB 5185	Health care consent	H CRJDPA	Pedersen
Concerning capacity to provide informed consent for health care decisions.
ESSB 5190	Health care workers/benefits	H LAWSDPA	Holy
Providing health care workers with presumptive benefits during a public health emergency.
E2SSB 5227	Diversity, etc./higher ed.	H CWDDPA	Randall
Concerning diversity, equity, inclusion, and antiracism training and assessments at institutions of higher education.
SSB 5228	Medical training/equity	H Approps	Randall
Addressing disproportionate health outcomes by building a foundation of equity in medical training.
ESSB 5229	Health equity continuing ed.	H Rules R	Randall
Concerning health equity continuing education for health care professionals.
SSB 5254	Protective devices/health	H LAWSDP	Salomon
Concerning the use of protective devices and equipment during a public health emergency.
SSB 5325 (ESHB 1196)	Telemedicine	H HC/Wellness	Muzzall
Concerning telemedicine.
SB 5371	Sweetened beverage tax	S Health & Long	Robinson
Funding public health services and health equity initiatives through a statewide sweetened beverage tax.
E2SSB 5399	Universal health care comm’n	H HC/Wellness	Randall
Concerning the creation of a universal health care commission.
SSB 5423	Telemedicine consultations	H Rules R	Rivers
Concerning telemedicine consultations.