Last Friday was another legislative milestone in Olympia as bills of a fiscal nature needed to be passed out of the committees to which they were assigned.

Two priority bills for the WTIA are still moving through the legislative process.  The first is HB 1472.

This bill makes AP Computer Science the equivalent of a math or science credit for high school graduation, creates a grant program within OSPI to expand AP computer science, particularly to rural areas and sets up a task force to deal the shortage of Computer Science professionals.  This bill now sits in the House Rules Committee waiting to be sent to the full House of Representatives.  So far it has gotten strong legislative support.

The other priority bill that WTIA is working on has to do with the health plans we offer our members, known as “Association Health Plans”.  Under federal health care reform, these types of plans can continue as is only under certain circumstances.  The association plans have to conform to certain U.S. Dept. of Labor “tests” to continue to offer plans to their industry members as large groups–a distinct advantage for small businesses seeking coverage for their employees and families.

SB 5605 passed the Senate Ways and Means Committee last Friday with a strong bipartisan vote.

This bill puts into state law these same tests and requires the Insurance Commissioner to treat association health plans as large groups unless Dept. of Labor has rules otherwise.  This bill has a decent chance of passage in the state Senate.  Its prospects in the House are less certain.

One bill that WTIA supports is stalled in the House Appropriations Committee.  It is HB 1693.

This bill exempts the first $1 million in revenue from B&O tax for certain types of startup businesses, including technology startups.  One concern is the potential reduction in tax revenue to the state if the exemption is that large.  There is also the general concern of providing tax breaks when the state needs to spend more on K-12 education.  Although it is likely that giving startups an exemption early in their lives helps them grow to become bigger taxpayers, no one really knows how much that could bring in later.  Legislators are focused on the next two year budget and there is a lot of angst about the next revenue forecast, which might not be so rosy.  This puts more pressure on the state budget, especially higher education.

WTIA remains active in its advocacy in Olympia and elsewhere on behalf of the state’s techology industry.  Contact us for more information about current legislation in Olympia or other questions about advocacy and government relations.