Week Overview General Update The legislature convened for the 2021 legislative session on Monday, January 11th. Given the COVID-19 pandemic, the legislature will be convening virtually with just a few exceptions of leadership in each chamber when needed and a few members with limited... Continue Reading
BUDGET AND TAXES The business community, especially small, locally owned businesses, have been se- verely impacted by the Covid-19 crisis. Many are teetering on the verge of failure. New or higher taxes will generate business failures and be an impediment to the recovery of those that survive,... Continue Reading
TRANSPORTATION Highway maintenance, capacity and safety improvements beyond the Connecting Washington funding package passed in 2015 are needed, particularly along the I-405, I-90, SR 18, SR 522, and SR 202 corridors. The East King Chambers Coalition requests the Legislature: Accelerate... Continue Reading
ECONOMIC REVITALIZATION The COVID-19 pandemic is negatively affecting small businesses across our state, and East King County was the first epicenter for this virus in the United States. The East King Chambers Coalition strongly encourages the Washington State Legislature to pri- oritize... Continue Reading
Bellevue Chamber 2020 Legislative Session – 2020 End of Session Report 2020 Session Summary At 8:00pm on March 12th, the legislature adjourned the 2020 legislative session sine die. The 2020 Washington State legislative session was a short session, which means it moved at a rapid... Continue Reading
Week Overview General Update Opposite house fiscal cutoff was on Monday, March 2nd, which means any bill that did not pass out of the fiscal committee in the opposite house by that day is considered dead. There were 482 bills that were alive following Monday’s cutoff. Following fiscal... Continue Reading
Week Overview General Update The past week was packed with every type of session activity. The flurry started on Monday when the Senate released their proposed operating budget and the House released their proposed operating, capital and transportation budgets. It was anticipated the House was... Continue Reading
Week Overview General Update Tuesday, February 11th marked the second cutoff of session – House of Origin Fiscal Cutoff. By this date all bills referred to fiscal committees (Appropriations, Finance and Capital Budget Committees in the House and Ways & Means in the Senate, and also both... Continue Reading
Week Overview General Update Friday, February 7th marked the first cutoff of session where all bills had to move out of the policy committee in the chamber in which they were originally introduced – called the house of origin – or they are now considered dead. The exception for this is... Continue Reading
Week Overview General Update The first cut-off of session is quickly approaching on Friday, February 7th, which means all bills must pass out of their house of origin policy committees or they will be considered dead unless it is deemed ‘Necessary to Implement the Budget’ (NTIB).... Continue Reading
Week Overview General Update Last week was another busy week filled with committee hearings on bills and some floor action in both chambers. A lot of advocates and constituents took the opportunity of the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday on Monday to come to Olympia and visit their... Continue Reading
Week Overview General Update The 2020 session began on Monday, January 13th. This is a short session, so it is only scheduled to go for 60 days, ending on March 12th. As a reminder, Washington runs on a two-year (biennial) cycle. In the short session years, the legislature is scheduled to run... Continue Reading
