The 105 day legislative session in Olympia is now past the halfway mark, with a major legislative deadline looming.  This Wednesday the 13th at 5 p.m. bills not pertaining to the budget have to pass their chamber of origin (i.e. House or Senate) or they are dead for the remainder of the session.  Much like the teams vying to get into the NCAA tournament this week, lawmakers are fighting to keep their bills moving by the Wednesday evening deadline.  Many proposals won’t make it and others that have passed their originating body will stall in the opposite chamber.  

WTIA and the newly formed IT Coalition, www.itc.washingtontechnology.org, have been monitoring a wide range of proposals across several topics, such as K-12, higher education, taxes, economic development, business/technology regulation and others. 

http://apps.leg.wa.gov/billinfo/summary.aspx?bill=1472  HB 1472 is a bill WTIA is supporting that makes AP Computer Science a math or science credit for high school graduation requirements.  It also sets up a Computer Science shortage task force that WTIA will be involved in.  This bill passed the House 95-3 on Friday, March 8. It now goes to the Senate where WTIA will advocate for its passage. 

Another bill WTIA is supporting relates to health plans sold by trade organizations or member-governed groups like WTIA or Chambers of Commerce.  WTIA has worked with the state Office of Insurance Commissioner, www.oic.wa.gov, for over a year to be deemed “bona fide” to continue to sell health plans to our small technology company members with the advantage of being a “large group”.  Federal rules make it unclear what our plan’s status is.  SB 5605, http://apps.leg.wa.gov/billinfo/summary.aspx?bill=5605&year=2013, seeks to clarify the conditions under which health plans like WTIA’s can be sold after 2014.  This bill is now scheduled for a vote by the full Senate.  WTIA is advocating for the bill’s passage. 

WTIA is also working on a wide range of tax issues, including the renewal of the B&O credit and sales tax deferral for R&D.  Many in the legislature and others want to raise taxes and “close loopholes”, even those incentives that help create good family wage jobs, like those in technology.  WTIA members and many technology companies pay the highest B&O rate of 1.8% and also pay many other state and local taxes.  We believe extension of R&D tax incentives makes good economic sense for the state’s and for the tech industry’s competitiveness. 

We are also tracking some legislative proposals that affect almost all businesses and employers.  HB 1313,

http://apps.leg.wa.gov/billinfo/summary.aspx?bill=1313&year=2013, adopts Seattle’s onerous paid sick leave law statewide, burdening all employers with an inflexible and costly compliance burden. 

HB 1440, http://apps.leg.wa.gov/billinfo/summary.aspx?bill=1440&year=2013, tips the balance in employment law decidely against employers of all types.  This bill is a disaster if you hire independent contractors or any kind of 1099 help. For tech startups or any young company that is not yet ready to hire full time, this bill creates enormous liabilities.  WTIA is working with other business associations to stop this bill in the House before the Wednesday deadline. 

Stay tuned for more legislative developments.  You can be sure there will be efforts on the tax front that targets the tech sector.  You can find legislator information at www.leg.wa.gov and watch live or archived legislative action at TVW, www.tvw.org