Week 3, Washington State Legislative Report

By Diana Carlen
Lobbyist, Washington Association of Wheat Growers

 Friday, Jan. 30, was day 21 of the 105-day legislative session. There are 84 days to go. The third week brought another hectic week for the Washington State Legislature. The flurry of new bill introductions has not slowed, and as of Jan. 31, 1,442 bills in total have dropped.

The focus this week was on committee hearings. Policy committee schedules were packed, and the pace was intense. The first major deadline in the Legislature (policy committee cutoff) is less than three weeks away, meaning bills need to receive a public hearing and be voted out of their policy committee by Feb. 21.

Below are some notable bills that WAWG followed this past week.

Clean Fuels Program (HB 1409), sponsored by Rep. Joe Fitzgibbon (D-Burien), proposes significant amendments to Washington’s Clean Fuels Program (i.e. Washington’s low carbon fuel standard for transportation fuels). The bill adjusts the reduction schedule to achieve a 20% decrease in carbon intensity by 2034. Dyed special fuel used for agricultural purposes is exempt under current law in the Clean Fuels Program until 2028. However, agricultural groups are still concerned with the legislation because it removes prior conditions prohibiting Ecology from increasing carbon intensity reductions by more than 10% until there was at least a 15% net increase in state liquid biofuel production and the use of foodstocks grown or produced in Washington and at least one new or expanded biofuel production facility sited in the state. It also removes the requirement that the Joint Legislature Audit and Review Committee (JLARC) report on the first five years of program operations. It also establishes a detailed penalty framework for noncompliance, including fines for late reporting, misreporting, and improper credit usage, with penalties appealable to the Pollution Control Hearings Board. A hearing was held in the House Environment & Energy Committee on Jan. 28.

Pesticide Safety Committee Extension (HB 1294), sponsored by Rep. Tom Dent (R-Moses Lake),extends the expiration date of the pesticide application safety committee from July 1, 2025, to July 1, 2035. The bill maintains the committee’s existing structure and responsibilities, including improving pesticide application safety through data collection, policy evaluation, and education. It also declares an emergency for immediate enactment, with the provisions set to take effect on July 1, 2025. The bill passed out of the House Agriculture & Natural Resources Committee unanimously on January 31. WAWG supports this bill.

Freight Railroad Tax Incentives (Senate Bill 5063/House Bill 1058) are companion bills seeking to encourage improvements in freight railroad infrastructure by providing tax credits and exemptions for class II and class III railroads, as well as railroads owned by ports, cities, or counties. The bill offers a 50% tax credit for qualified expenditures on maintenance, new rail development, and modernization efforts, with a cap of $500,000 per taxpayer annually and a statewide cap of $8 million per year. Additional provisions include sales and use tax exemptions for track maintenance materials and recycling incentives for donated railroad materials. Hearings were held in the Senate and House fiscal committees this past week. WAWG supports these bills.

Workplace Immigration Protections (Substitute Senate Bill 5104), sponsored by Sen. Bob Hasegawa (D-Seattle), imposes a civil penalty on an employer that coerces an employee based on an employee’s or an employee’s family member’s immigration status in furtherance of the employer committing a violation of wage payment, condition of labor, or agricultural labor requirements. The bill defines coercion and threats in detail, establishes a complaint process through the Department of Labor and Industries, and sets civil penalties ranging from $1,000 for a first violation to $10,000 for subsequent violations, with each act considered a separate offense. Penalties will be adjusted for inflation starting in 2028. The bill passed out of the Senate Labor & Commerce Committee on Jan. 31 on a party line vote with all Republican members of the committee voting against the bill.

Wage Disclosure Compliance (Senate Bill 5408), sponsored by Sen. Curtis King (R-Yakima), establishes a notice and cure period for employers to address noncompliant wage and salary disclosures in job postings. Under the bill, employers who fail to include required wage, salary, or benefit information in job postings must be given written notice by either the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries or a job applicant. Employers then have 10 business days to correct the noncompliant posting, during which time no penalties or damages may be assessed. This legislation is in response to over 200 class action lawsuits being filed against businesses for noncompliance with job postings, sometimes because the business had their job postings correct on their own websites, but did not include the full information on a third-party job listing site. The Senate Labor & Commerce Committee held a public hearing on the bill on Jan. 28.

Employee Personnel Records House Bill 1308, sponsored by Rep. Julia Reed (D-Seattle), requires employers to provide employees and former employees with access to their personnel files upon request, including a free copy within 21 calendar days. It also mandates that, if requested, a former employer must furnish a signed written statement to the former employee or their designee stating the effective date of discharge, whether the employer had a reason for the discharge, and if so, the reasons. The bill passed out of the House Labor & Workplace Standards Committee on January 31 with amendments on a party line vote with all the Republicans on the committee voting against the bill. Businesses continue to oppose the bill because it includes a private right of action as an enforcement mechanism, although the bill was amended to require that an employee file a notice of intent to sue at least five days prior to filing a lawsuit. The bill creates a statutory penalty of between $250 and $1000 depending on the violation.

Job Posting Fairness (HB 1402), sponsored by Rep. Shaun Scott (D-Seattle), prohibits employers from requiring a valid driver’s license in job postings unless driving is an essential job function and alternative transportation methods would be unreasonable. The bill defines “alternative form of transportation” broadly, including public transit, ride-hailing services, and carpooling, among others, and aims to ensure that driver’s license requirements are limited to roles where they are genuinely necessary. A public hearing was held in the House Labor & Workplace Standards Committee on Jan. 28.  Concerns were raised at the hearing due to a lack of definitions around driving as an essential job function.

Agritourism Tax Relief (HB 1261), sponsored by Rep. Sam Low (R-Lake Stevens), seeks to expand permissible incidental uses of open space land to include agritourism activities while providing tax relief for landowners. The bill defines agritourism activities as recreational, educational, or entertainment events on farms, such as festivals, weddings, and produce stands, provided they are incidental and do not exceed 20% of the total classified land. It also reduces the financial penalties for removing land from its current use classification by shortening the additional tax calculation period from seven years to four years and allowing waivers or refunds of certain taxes and penalties. A hearing was held in the House Finance Committee on Jan. 28.

Expanded Appeals for DNR Enforcement (SB 5334), sponsored by Sen. Shelly Short (R-Addy), seeks to broaden the jurisdiction of the Pollution Control Hearings Board to include appeals of civil enforcement decisions made by the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) under RCW 76.04.205. This bill would allow individuals or entities to challenge DNR-imposed civil penalties and other decisions through the board, providing an additional layer of oversight and accountability for DNR enforcement actions. A public hearing was held in the Senate Agriculture & Natural Resources Committee on Jan. 27.

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