Budget & Taxes

signed · Washington · House May 19, 2025

HB 1848: Concerning services and supports for individuals with traumatic brain injuries.

House Bill 1848 aims to enhance services and supports for individuals living with traumatic brain injuries and their families in Washington State. The bill seeks to rebalance funding priorities to better support in-person support groups and community integration programs, which the legislature identified as underfunded. To generate additional revenue for these services, it increases a specific fee assessed on traffic infractions from $5 to $10. This increased revenue will be deposited into the state's traumatic brain injury account.

Topics ✓ Budget & TaxesSupports Budget & TaxesIncreases traffic infraction fee from $5 to $10 to fund brain injury services, directly generating revenue for public programs.90% confidence | Rep's Stance ✓ Voted Yes ✓ Supports Budget & Taxes

signed · Washington · House May 19, 2025

HB 2015: Improving public safety funding by providing resources to local governments and state and local criminal justice agencies, and authorizing a local option tax.

HB 2015 establishes a new grant program to improve public safety by providing direct financial support to local and tribal law enforcement agencies. These grants are intended to help agencies with hiring, retaining, and training law enforcement officers, as well as peer counselors and behavioral health personnel for co-response teams. To qualify for funding, agencies must meet specific requirements, including implementing state policies on use of force and de-escalation, participating in mandated trainings, and demonstrating compliance with data collection standards. Grant funds can cover up to 75 percent of entry-level salaries and benefits for new officers and support costs for required officer training.

Topics ✓ Budget & TaxesSupports Budget & TaxesAuthorizes local option tax to fund public safety grants, increasing budget allocation for law enforcement services and personnel training.95% confidence ✓ Criminal JusticeSupports Criminal JusticeFunds law enforcement hiring/training and behavioral health co-response teams with de-escalation requirements, advancing accountability and public safety reform.95% confidence | Rep's Stance ✓ Voted Yes ✓ Supports Budget & Taxes

signed · Washington · Senate May 19, 2025

SB 5662: Concerning the waiver of municipal utility connection charges for certain properties.

SB 5662 allows municipal utilities to waive connection charges for properties developed by certain non-profit organizations, public authorities, or local agencies that provide emergency shelter, transitional housing, permanent supportive housing, or affordable housing. Generally, these waivers must be funded by general funds, grants, or other identified revenue streams. However, in large counties east of the Cascade mountains, waivers can be granted without explicit funding if the developer records a covenant. This covenant restricts the property's use to the specified affordable housing purposes and requires repayment of the waived charges if the property's use changes or no longer meets eligibility requirements.

Topics ✓ Budget & TaxesSupports Budget & TaxesBill mandates waivers be funded by general funds/grants, directing budget allocation toward affordable housing programs, aligning with funding essential services.85% confidence ✓ HousingSupports HousingBill waives utility connection fees for affordable housing projects, reducing development costs for non-profits and public agencies providing housing solutions.95% confidence | Rep's Stance ✓ Voted Yes ✓ Supports Budget & Taxes

signed · Washington · House May 19, 2025

HB 1207: Concerning superior court clerk fees.

House Bill 1207 modifies the fees collected by superior court clerks, impacting individuals and entities filing various documents in civil actions, appeals, probate proceedings, and certain criminal cases. It introduces new surcharges on many of these filing fees, with the collected funds distributed to state accounts for judicial stabilization, public defense support, court interpreter services, and library-archives, while a portion is retained by counties. The bill establishes a county clerk administrative assistance fund, which the clerk can manage for office operations without county legislative appropriation, and creates dedicated state accounts for public defense and court interpreter support. Notably, it sets a lower initial filing fee for unlawful detainer actions and exempts indigent criminal defendants from certain fees upon conviction.

Topics ✓ Budget & TaxesSupports Budget & TaxesIntroduces surcharges on court filings to fund judicial stabilization, public defense, and court services, directly increasing revenue for essential public programs.85% confidence ✓ Criminal JusticeSupports Criminal JusticeAllocates surcharges from criminal case filings to public defense support, directly funding a key criminal justice reform component per indicators.85% confidence | Rep's Stance ✓ Voted Yes ✓ Supports Budget & Taxes

signed · Washington · House May 19, 2025

HB 1392: Creating the medicaid access program.

House Bill 1392 establishes the Medicaid Access Program in Washington state, directly affecting health carriers and Medicaid managed care organizations. The bill implements an annual "covered lives assessment" on these entities, with specific per-member-per-month rates, to fund the program. Implementation of these assessments and the program is conditional upon federal approval from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, along with state appropriation certifications and contract amendments.

Topics ✓ Budget & TaxesSupports Budget & TaxesImplements annual assessment on health carriers to fund Medicaid program, increasing state revenue for essential healthcare services.95% confidence ✓ HealthcareSupports HealthcareBill creates Medicaid Access Program funded via assessments on health carriers to expand coverage, directly advancing healthcare access and funding as per summary.90% confidence | Rep's Stance ✓ Voted Yes ✓ Supports Budget & Taxes

signed · Washington · House May 17, 2025

HB 1109: Concerning public facilities districts.

House Bill 1109 modifies the regulations for public facilities districts concerning their authority to impose sales and use taxes. It extends the maximum period for collecting these taxes from 40 years to 55 years when used to finance or refinance regional centers and related parking facilities. The bill also specifies the conditions under which certain public facilities districts are eligible to impose these taxes and allows them to increase their tax rates to mitigate documented revenue losses from past legislative changes.

Topics ✓ Budget & TaxesSupports Budget & TaxesExtends tax collection period and allows rate increases to address revenue shortfalls for public facilities districts, enabling sustained funding for infrastructure projects.95% confidence | Rep's Stance ✓ Voted Yes ✓ Supports Budget & Taxes

signed · Washington · House May 17, 2025

HB 1733: Increasing the reimbursement cap for moving and relocation expenses incurred by persons affected by agency displacements.

House Bill 1733 increases the maximum reimbursement amounts for moving and relocation expenses for individuals, businesses, farms, and nonprofit organizations displaced by government agency projects. The bill raises the general cap for reestablishing a displaced business, farm, or nonprofit to $200,000. Additionally, it sets a temporary cap of $100,000 for state agency displacements until August 1, 2030, and mandates an annual 2% inflation adjustment to these caps starting in August 2025.

Topics ✓ Budget & TaxesSupports Budget & TaxesIncreases state budget allocation for relocation reimbursements by raising caps to $200k (permanent) and $100k (temporary), with inflation adjustments, directly funding displaced entities.95% confidence | Rep's Stance ✓ Voted Yes ✓ Supports Budget & Taxes

signed · Washington · House May 17, 2025

HB 1473: Making expenditures from the budget stabilization account for declared catastrophic events.

HB 1473 appropriates $77,687,000 from the state's budget stabilization account to the Department of Natural Resources. These funds are specifically designated to cover fire suppression costs incurred by the department during the 2024 fire season. The bill addresses a state of emergency declared due to wildfires, aiming to support the state's response to these catastrophic events. It includes an emergency clause, making its provisions effective immediately upon enactment.

Topics ✓ Budget & TaxesSupports Budget & TaxesAllocates $77.687M from budget stabilization fund for emergency fire suppression costs, funding essential state response to catastrophic event per emergency clause.92% confidence | Rep's Stance ✓ Voted Yes ✓ Supports Budget & Taxes

signed · Washington · House May 17, 2025

HB 1213: Expanding protections for workers in the state paid family and medical leave program.

HB 1213 expands protections for workers in Washington's state paid family and medical leave program. The bill requires the department to enhance outreach to employees, explaining their eligibility, application process, and reinstatement and nondiscrimination rights. It also mandates increased outreach to employers about their responsibilities and authorizes the department to audit employer records for compliance. Additionally, the bill clarifies premium collection and calculation methods, and ensures the confidentiality of employee information within the program.

Topics ✓ Budget & TaxesSupports Budget & TaxesClarifies premium collection methods for state paid leave program, ensuring proper fiscal management and program funding continuity.90% confidence ✓ HealthcareSupports HealthcareExpands protections for workers in medical leave program, enhancing access to healthcare services through improved eligibility outreach and employer compliance enforcement.95% confidence ✓ Labor & EmploymentSupports Labor & EmploymentBill explicitly expands worker protections in paid leave program via enhanced outreach, employer compliance audits, and clarified premium rules, directly strengthening employment standards.95% confidence | Rep's Stance ✓ Voted Yes ✓ Supports Budget & Taxes

signed · Washington · Senate May 17, 2025

SB 5516: Modifying the property tax exemption for community centers.

Senate Bill 5516 modifies the property tax exemption for community centers. It expands the definition of "community center" to include properties deemed surplus by a university, not just local school boards. If a nonprofit organization acquires such university surplus property and converts it into community facilities for nonresidential services, it becomes eligible for a property tax exemption. This specific exemption applies to property taxes levied for collection between 2026 and 2035. The bill also clarifies that these community centers may rent or loan out space within their facilities.

Topics ✓ Budget & TaxesSupports Budget & TaxesExpands property tax exemption for nonprofits converting university surplus property to community facilities, providing tax relief to support public services through fiscal incentives.85% confidence | Rep's Stance ✓ Voted Yes ✓ Supports Budget & Taxes