|
|
|
 |
|
Home / Washington Business - July/August 2005 / Getting to a C- |
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
Getting to a C- |
|
|
|
Written On: July/August 2005 |
|
|
|
Written By: by Alexis Nepomuceno |
|
|
|
Compiled from AWB’s Government Affairs Council’s list of the bills most important to our state’s businesses, the 2005 Voting Record results should come as no surprise.
We resurrected our 1993 banner—“It’s the Economy, Don’t Kill It!”—and prominently displayed it on our building. It served as a daily reminder of the harm anti-business legislation and policies inflict on Washington’s fragile economic recovery and its private-sector, tax-paying job providers.
The governor and legislators were well aware of our concerns over higher tax and regulatory burdens. Republicans and Democrats knew our angst over undoing the hard-fought unemployment insurance reforms of 2003. Job providers throughout the state expressed reservations to their representatives over applying California auto emissions standards in Washington. Despite these warnings, the Legislature, with Gov. Christine Gregoire’s signature, approved these harmful measures.
To be fair, it wasn’t all bad news for the business community in 2005. AWB applauded the passage of the Employer Reference Check Bill (HB 1625), which gave clarity to a confusing area of law and provided an important employer protection. The bill essentially frees employers to give accurate, good-faith job references on current and former employees. In the area of workers’ compensation, the legislature did better than average (C+) thanks to the passage of SHB 1856 regarding workers’ comp audits. This bill establishes a way for the state auditor to conduct an annual independent review of the Department of Labor and Industries financial statements on the industrial insurance funds.
Unfortunately for job providers, more bad than good that came out of the 2005 legislative session. It is safe to say that the two biggest blows to the business community and the state’s economy come from the decisions to roll back the unemployment reforms made in 2003 and suspending Initiative 601, thus removing the supermajority (60 percent of the Legislature) required to pass a budget with state tax increases.
The two aforementioned moves earned a “D-” in the area of unemployment insurance and a “D” for budget and taxes. For more details on these two issues, be sure to read “UI & I-601: Biggest Losses for Business in 2005” by Paul Schlienz (page 22). However, dragging the overall grade further down was the Legislature’s move to implement California emission standards by passing HB 1397, which earned a big “F” for lawmakers this year. As a result, all new cars registered in the state four years from now will have to meet the California standards, which could increase new car prices by as much as $3,000 and open Washington up to lawsuits similar to what California has faced because of its regulations.
In the end, after all of the good and bad have been weighed, the 2005 Legislature got an overall grade of “C-.” To some this is too harsh, and to others this will be too generous, but it accurately and fairly represents the impact the session had on business. Whether the lingering effects of this legislative session warrant a higher or lower grade remains to be seen; but one thing remains certain—there are many areas for improvement in 2006, and lawmakers should take note of the “2005 Report Card” as they conduct business in 2006.
The entire 2005 Voting Record begins on page 24. An online version of the Voting Record can also be found on www.awb.org at the beginning of September 2005.
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
