April 13, 2016

Page 1

MEMORANDUM

To: / Associated Builders & Contractors
From: / Cliff Webster & Nathan Fitzgerald
Date: / April 13, 2016
Re: / 2016 Legislative Session Summary

During the 60 day 2016 legislative session, 719 bills were introduced in the House and 532 in the Senate. Of all the bills introduced, 281 passed the Legislature and were enacted into law. Sixty days ended up not being enough time to come to an agreement on the supplemental operating budget. Governor Inslee called for a special session to resume negotiations after making good on his threat to veto bills as a consequence of failing to reach a budget agreement. Of the 27 bills vetoed by the governor, 18 were prime sponsored by Democrats and eight were state agency request bills. Ultimately, a bipartisan deal was struck after two weeks. In a historic move, the Legislature voted to override the 27 bills the governor vetoed.

The majority of proposed legislation we followed on behalf of the Associated Builders & Contractors had little chance of passing the Legislature due to split control between the House and Senate chambers. Similar to previous legislative sessions, bills were introduced by labor supporters seeking to expand prevailing wage requirements, increase workplace regulations and penalties for non-compliance, and make it more difficult for open-shop contractors to compete. In contrast, House and Senate Republicans did their best to introduce measures that would increase transparency of the prevailing wage determination process, reform the state building code council, and limit multi-jurisdictional wage and hour laws, among others. Overall, ABC was unharmed by bad legislation, but did not make any gains on key issues.

Workplace Regulation (2SHB 1354, ESHB 1646 & ESSB 6149). Introduced by 13 Democrats and no Republican co-sponsors, 2SHB 1354 failed to pass the Legislature in its last eligible year. If enacted, anti-retaliation provisions in existing state laws would have become more onerous by giving employees, seasonal employees, former employees, and interested parties the ability to file suit against employers for an increased number of prohibited activities with increased damages. Additionally, House and Senate Democrats attempted to modify the Equal Pay Act (ESHB 1646) and increase workplace accommodations for pregnant women (ESSB 6149). Both measures were aimed at protecting employees who were, or could be discriminated against by enacting anti-retaliation and enforcement provisions. Labor and plaintiff organizations supported the bills. ESHB 1646 passed out of the House but failed to pass out of the Senate Commerce & Labor Committee. Pro-business efforts resulted in ESSB 6149 being favorably amended to provide feasibility considerations for the employer and passed out of the Senate with unanimous support. Once in the Democratic controlled House, the bill was amended three times – much to the dismay of Senate Republicans and Democrats – to again increase accommodation requirements beyond that which could be supported by business stakeholders. The House amendments failed to pass the Senate and the bill died.

Electrician Apprenticeship Requirements (EHB 1590) and Electrical Scope of Practice (HB 2886). During the 2016 Legislative Session, electrical contractors and electricians were the subject of two proposals, EHB 1590, which died, and HB 2886, which passed. EHB 1590 amended existing statutes to require the completion of an approved apprenticeship program to receive a journey level or specialty certificate of competency. The proposal was supported by labor. The business community was split on the proposal, with the National Federation of Independent Businesses opposed to it and the Construction Industry Training Council in support. Supporters claimed the bill would allow electricians working in border cities to practice in Oregon and Idaho by establishing uniform requirements between states. Opposition to the bill claimed it would eliminate existing L&I approved training schools’ ability to operate as well as eliminate consumer choice and competition. EHB 1590 passed out of the House of Representatives but failed to pass out of the Senate Commerce & Labor Committee. HB 2886/Chapter 198, 2016 Laws authorizes the Department of Labor & Industries to modify the scopes of work for certain electrical specialties by rule. The bill was sponsored by Rep. Matt Manweller (R-Ellensburg), and passed the Legislature with only one dissenting vote in the House and one in the Senate. The effective date is June 9, 2016.

Washington State Labor Council Priority Bills. As part of the Washington State Labor Council’s 2016 “Shared Prosperity Agenda,” a variety of bills were introduced by Senate and House Democrats intent on advantaging unions on public works and prevailing wage. The measures sought to add training on public works and prevailing wage requirements to responsible bidder criteria (HB 2844) and provide noncompliance with apprenticeship utilization requirements be counted towards violations eligible to debar contractors from bidding on public works (HB 2846). House Democrat, Representative TimmOrmsby (D-Spokane), sponsored a bill that established the prevailing rate of wage be based on collective bargaining (HB 1231). All three bills were passed out of the committee on party line votes and HB 2844 and HB 1231 were passed out of the House on party line votes. Senator Michael Baumgartner did not give the bills hearings in the Commerce & Labor Committee and they died.

Local Wage & Hour Law Preemption (SSB 6578). With the patchwork of minimum wage and sick leave ordinances popping up throughout local jurisdictions in the state, Sen. Baumgartner (R-Spokane) introduced a measure to address local regulation of private employees. SSB 6578 would prohibit cities, towns, and port districts from regulating private employees with regard to wages, hours of work, labor scheduling, employee retention, and leave. The bill would have offered small businesses protection from onerous wage laws similar to that passed in Seattle; however, it did nothing to address concerns regarding a state-wide minimum wage. After passing out of the Commerce & Labor Committee, it failed to reach a final vote in the Senate.

Minimum Wage Initiatives (I-1433/I-1518). The Washington State Labor Council has filed I-1433, an act relating to labor standards. If passed, I-1433 would raise the minimum wage to $13.50 over four years and require employers to pay sick leave at a rate of one hour for every forty hours worked, with no cap on how much sick leave can be earned in a year. A maximum of forty hours unused sick leave can be carried over to the following year. State-wide polling shows mid 50% range support for a $13.50 minimum wage and even higher percentage for paid sick leave. I-1433 integrates policy that was proposed in HB 1356/SB5306 (Establishing minimum standards for sick and safe leave) during the 2015-16 legislative sessions that failed to pass. The initiative is in the process of gathering the required signatures to qualify for the ballot.

Pro-business stakeholders have filed I-1518. If passed, the competing initiative would increase the minimum wage to $12.00 over four years, provide a training wage of $9.50 or 80% of current minimum wage (whichever is greater), and provide for a minimum sick leave of one hour for every forty hours worked, up to twenty-four hours total accrual per year, and allows use of PTO system. I-1518 does not include preemption provisions. The initiative is in the process of securing funding for a signature gathering campaign.

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