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Historic Session Sets Stage for 2025
Dave Mastin AWB Vice President , Government Affairs
The 2024 legislative session was historic in at least two respects . For starters , it marked the completion of the first post-Covid legislative biennium . For employers , that was a big deal .
During the remote and hybrid sessions of recent years , the ability for the employer community to influence legislators was extremely limited . By comparison , our ability to get out in front of harmful issues this year was greatly improved .
And there was plenty to get in front of with lawmakers introducing a flurry of tax proposals , harmful employment law bills and numerous measures that would have taken us backward on housing — to name just a few .
The other way in which the session was historic was the number of initiative petitions placed before lawmakers . The group Let ’ s Go Washington successfully gathered signatures for a record six initiatives that were hanging over lawmakers throughout the session .
In the end , lawmakers adopted three of the initiatives during the session , leaving three others to voters to decide in November ( another initiative regarding natural gas was added after the session ).
Of course , the work is not done , and we expect to see a return of many of the most difficult proposals that we helped stop this year , including a push to extend unemployment insurance benefits to striking workers , increases in real estate and other taxes , and an effort to enact statewide rent control .
The biggest item for lawmakers in the 2025 session will be drafting a new two-year budget . Given the number of competing interests , it ’ s always a challenge for lawmakers to prioritize spending and live within the state ’ s means . There ’ s always a longer list of requests than there is revenue , despite the considerable growth in the state ’ s tax collections .
Rather than continually raising taxes to keep up with demand , we have consistently urged lawmakers to take a different approach : Create a list of priorities and live within the state ’ s considerable means . It might seem like the harder path , but it ’ s the responsible way to budget and it ’ s what businesses and families do every day .
In addition to promoting fiscal responsibility , we will be urging lawmakers during the upcoming session to boost the state ’ s manufacturing sector . This is the goal of the AWB Manufacturing Task Force , which will be pushing permitting reform and tax incentives for research and development .
Looking ahead , we are not expecting an easy legislative session next year . Besides passing a new two-year budget , lawmakers are likely to take up infrastructure and transportation in addition to ongoing conversations around housing , employment law and others .
Regardless of the issue , AWB remains committed to finding solutions that work for employers and communities . That means encouraging policymakers to rise above partisan politics and find bipartisan solutions . It ’ s not an easy way to govern , but it ’ s the best way . special edition 2024 7