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2009 Legislature - Bill
Alert Update
By Rep. Dan Kristiansen
Chamber of Commerce Report
In my April report to the
chambers of commerce, I provided a bill alert listing several pieces of
legislation that may affect businesses. Now that the 2009 Legislature
adjourned its session on April 26, it's time to go back and look at the
status of those and other bills.
Good business bills
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Regulatory
assistance: House Bill 1730 jump-starts the Office of Regulatory
Assistance to help small businesses understand and comply with state
agency rules and regulations. House Bill 1475 requires state
agencies to provide a link on their home page to their rule-making
activity. House Bill 1552 requires state agencies to allow public
testimony during their meetings on rules and regulations. Senate
Bill 5042 requires state agencies to waive fines, civil penalties or
administrative sanctions for first-time paperwork violations by
small businesses. These bills have been signed into law.
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Agriculture:
House Bill 1733 adds horse boarding to open space property tax
exemptions. Senate Bill 5120 reduces permitting fees on farm
structures. Senate Bill 5562 provides protections under the state's
"Right to Farm" laws for the passive growing of timber.
Bad business bills
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Taxes, fees and
budget: Senate Bill 5104 and Senate Joint Resolution 8205
would have implemented an income tax in Washington. Fortunately,
these bills never gained enough support to get a hearing. On the
same day 5,000 people rallied against taxes at the Capitol, House
Bill 2377 was introduced to increase the sales tax to pay for cuts
in health care. That bill also died. The good news is the state
budget did not contain these kinds of taxes. The bad news is the
majority party increased fees by $371 million. This includes a $20
surcharge on document recording fees, an increase on hunting and
fishing licenses, substantial college tuition increases, and a $5
opt-out tax on your vehicle license tabs to pay for state parks.
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Climate change:
The big "cap and trade" legislation, Senate Bill 5735, that would
make businesses pay to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, had
initially passed both chambers, but fortunately, died in the final
hours of the session when agreements could not be reached on
amendments. Nevertheless, another measure establishing new "green
building codes," Senate Bill 5854, was signed into law by the
governor.
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Home warranties:
House Bill 1393 would have added new taxes, regulations and
extensive warranty requirements upon residential home builders. This
measure, which I opposed, passed the House, but died in the Senate.
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Employer gag rule:
Senate Bill 5446 and House Bill 1528 would have prohibited employers
from communicating with employees about politics, charitable giving
or unionizing. Both of these bills died.
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Paid family leave -
Senate Bill 6158 would borrow money from the Workers' Compensation
Fund to pay for the set up of family leave insurance, despite the
lack of a permanent funding source for the program. This bill was
sent to the governor.
For a more detailed list
of legislation, go to my Web site at:
www.houserepublicans.wa.gov/Kristiansen and click on "Best and Worst
Bills."
# # #
EDITOR'S NOTE:
State Rep. Dan Kristiansen, R-Snohomish,
represents the 39th Legislative District, and also serves as chairman of
the Washington House Republican Caucus. He can be contacted at (360)
786-7967 or from his Web site at:
www.houserepublicans.wa.gov/Kristiansen.
For more information, contact:
John
Sattgast, Senior Information Officer: (360) 786-7257
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