Children’s Safe Products Act Advisory Committee gets underway
The first meeting of the Children’s Safe Products Act Advisory Committee will be held June 3, 2008, in Tacoma. The advisory committee was formed by the governor to fix a number of unintended consequences of HB 2647, legislation rushed through the Legislature last session dealing with children’s toys and other products. Unfortunately, the bill not only banned many safe products, it also inadvertently banned many child safety seats, educational products and games that rely on electronic circuitry deemed unsafe by the act. The advisory committee will develop expedited rules and legislation for 2009 to address these and other defects in the law. For more information, contact Grant Nelson at GrantN@awb.org or (360) 943-1600.

Washington Research Council assesses Washington’s tax burden
A new brief by the Washington Research Council reveals that Washington ranks 18th in state and local taxes per capita and 28th in taxes per $1,000 of Income. These new estimates, based on information released by the U.S. Census Bureau, also show that Washington’s state and local governments collected $3,948 per capita in fiscal year 2005-2006. This amounts to $111.99 for each $1,000 in state personal income. To read the complete brief, download the PDF here or visit the Research Council’s Web site and look under “Recent Publications.” For more information, please contact AWB’s Amber Carter at (360) 943-1600 or AmberC@awb.org.

Don’t miss out on Olympic-sized business opportunities
Are you interested in exploring business opportunities related to the 2010 Olympics, but don’t know where to start? Are you uncertain whether your business has what Olympic organizers are looking for, or whether doing business in Canada is even feasible? If so, you have plenty of company in the business world. Fortunately, the Washington State Department of Community, Trade and Economic Development recently updated their Web site to include much of what you are looking for. Check it out here. Other informative sites include the Pacific Northwest Economic Region’s Winter Tourism/Olympics page and the 2010 Commerce Centre. For more information, please also see AWB’s in-depth report, “Less than 2 until 2010: When will Washington get into the game?”

Washington Business Week presents opportunities for students, your staff and you
Do you know a high school student that could benefit from learning business and other valuable life skills? Do you or your staff have valuable insight on business that could benefit the next generation of business leaders and employees? If so, Washington Business Week wants to hear from you! WBW is a unique and valuable opportunity for our state’s high school students to learn about teamwork, leadership and setting real-life goals as they run a simulated business under the guidance of business leaders like you and your best employees. Past students have described the experience as life changing and volunteer leaders have raved about the value it brought to their lives and their businesses. For more information, please check out AWB’s article Business Week: Preparing our youth for the real world and visit Washington Business Week's Web site for more information or call (253) 815-6900. There’s also a special $50-off application for the children of AWB members and their employees.

New and valuable tax information now available online
The Washington State Department of Revenue recently posted online summaries of 2008 tax-related legislation and an annual update of tax exemptions with expiration dates and reporting requirements. The 2008 summary, which covers 38 bills that will reduce state revenues by $2.2 million in fiscal year 2009, is available here and the summary of the two property tax measures enacted during the 2007 special session can be found here. The summary of tax exemptions with expiration dates and reporting requirements is also available here. For more information on these helpful summaries, please contact AWB’s Amber Carter at (360) 943-1600 or AmberC@awb.org.

HR Essentials briefings on new 2008 legislation
Don’t miss HR Essentials where you’ll learn about the latest laws and regulations on employment, workers’ compensation and unemployment insurance. The briefings will be held in Everett (May 28), Bellevue (May 28), Vancouver (May 29), Olympia (May 30), Yakima (June 4), Tri-Cities (June 4), Spokane (June 5) and Moses Lake (June 5). The cost to attend is $40 per person. This provides 2.5 (general) recertification credit hours toward PHR, SPHR and GPHR recertification through the Human Resource Certification Institute (HRCI). For more information or to register, click here or contact AWB’s Connie Grande at ConnieGr@awb.org or (360) 943-1600.

Best practices seminar for the Human Resources File Cabinet coming May 28
Learn how to avoid fines, penalties and litigation by adopting “best practices” and maintaining proper employment records on May 28 at Bellevue’s Red Lion Hotel. For more information, please contact Jennifer Costello at JenniferC@awb.org or (360) 943-1600. You can also register online by clicking here.

Managing Leaves of Absence Seminar: June 25 at the Seattle Airport Marriott
The Family and Medical Leave Act presents more compliance headaches than almost any other law affecting the workplace. It remains an extremely difficult and frustrating law for employers to administer, and it creates several traps that can lead to employer liability. Much is changing in the law: the Department of Labor is considering revisions to the FMLA while the Washington Legislature has passed several new leave laws in recent sessions. This seminar will cover these state and federal leave requirements, as well as the interplay of these laws with your company's own leave plans and policies. We'll sort through the confusion and ambiguity, and help you identify what you must do now, what may not be required just yet but should be done, and what is likely to change in the future. To register, please contact AWB’s Jennifer Costello at (360) 943-1600 or JenniferC@awb.org, or click here to view the full agenda and register online.

Forklift safety: ‘Train the Trainer’ workshop: June 4, Bellevue
This seminar will teach experienced forklift operators how to conduct proper safety training for their employees. Upon completion, attendees will also receive a CD-ROM with a PowerPoint slide show and a PDF manual they can reproduce to use in training their own employees. Click here to register online, or contact AWB’s Jennifer Costello at JenniferC@awb.org or (360) 943-1600.

Annual Washington Policy Center’s Center for Transportation Event
The Center for Transportation researches and analyzes the best practices for relieving traffic congestion, while focusing on reducing structural barriers that drive up costs, linking congestion relief with spending, improving accountability and transparency with the Department of Transportation and other local, state and federal transportation agencies. On Tuesday, June 17, the center, along with AWB, are hosting their Annual Transportation Event at the Harbor Club in Downtown Seattle from 7:30 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. Dr. Ron Utt from The Heritage Foundation will discuss traffic congestion issues as the event’s breakfast keynote speaker. Admission is $25.00 per person and is sure to sell out quickly, so please enroll as soon as possible. For more information, please check out the center’s event page here.

Be an AWB Policy Summit Sponsor
AWB’s Policy Summit will be held Sept. 24-26 at Semiahmoo Resort. As a sponsor, your company receives acknowledgement before, during and following the event in marketing materials, signage and in AWB’s magazine, Washington Business. Display opportunities are also available. Contact AWB’s Jennifer Davis at JenniferD@awb.org or click here for more information.

2008 Small Business Resource Guide CD-ROM now available
The 2008 Small Business Resource Guide is now available on CD-ROM. This invaluable resource contains critical tax information — including forms, instructions and publications — for small businesses. It also provides important information from a variety of government agencies, non-profit organizations and educational institutions. View it online here, or order a copy of the CD here or by calling (800) 829-3676

What happens to Boeing affects us all — See this week’s President’s Perspective at www.awb.org