WFIA Off the Shelf Podcast

Week 6 began on February 14th!  This week we are going to focus on key legislation that is dead or alive! This week Tammie Hetrick, WFIA President & CEO updates our members on the Long Term Care bill (HB 1732) and the 18-month delay, the Appliance Efficiency Standard bill (HB 1619), the Product Takeback bill (SB 5697), and many more.

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[tammie_hetrick]: We were at weekak, six of our session updates this week. We're going to

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[tammie_hetrick]: focus on key legislation that is dead or alive.

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[tammie_hetrick]: As always. The disclaimer is Nothing is dead until Sny die. So with that

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[tammie_hetrick]: I'll just jump into a few bills. Um, First, we had long term care hospital,

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[tammie_hetrick]: Spll, seventeen, thirty two that was signed into law on January twenty

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[tammie_hetrick]: seventh, That will delay the implementation of long term care for eighteen

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[tammie_hetrick]: months. Hopefully, by then we can get a repll and some changes to that.

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[tammie_hetrick]: Ah, the next bill we have is appliance efficiency standards, House bills

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[tammie_hetrick]: sixteen, Nineteen, This is alive. It has a public hearing in the Senate.

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[tammie_hetrick]: There had a public hearing in the Senate on February sixteenth, We testified

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[tammie_hetrick]: with concerns which would set stronger efficiency standards for certain

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[tammie_hetrick]: appliances, including hot food holding devices and commercial ovens. The

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[tammie_hetrick]: concern with this surrounds the ail availability of compliant appliances in

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[tammie_hetrick]: areas where natural gas is no longer an option for new commercial buildings.

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[tammie_hetrick]: We're asking for a delay to allow plants manufacturers time to produce more

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[tammie_hetrick]: compliant electric only appliances.

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[tammie_hetrick]: We have extended producer responsibility product take backack, Senate Bill

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[tammie_hetrick]: fifty six, ninety seven. This one is dead. We testified this week in the

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[tammie_hetrick]: Senate Environment, Energy and Technology Committee on Senate Bille Fifty

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[tammie_hetrick]: six, ninety seven, dealing with extended producer responsibility, This bill

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[tammie_hetrick]: would require producers of packaging products to establish them means of

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[tammie_hetrick]: disposing and or recycling the products they make.

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[tammie_hetrick]: The Bill also included additional products in the recycling content Bill,

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[tammie_hetrick]: and it includes Truth in labeling bills which would require proper recycling

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[tammie_hetrick]: Labeeling.

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[tammie_hetrick]: The next bill we have is vapor product's tax Hospital bill Sixteen, seventy

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[tammie_hetrick]: six. This is dead. This bill would have changed the current variable

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[tammie_hetrick]: Milloweter tax to a thirty three percent excise tax on the sall price of

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[tammie_hetrick]: each retail cell of four vapor products. The tax would have been assessed in

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[tammie_hetrick]: addition to current sales and use tax.

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[tammie_hetrick]: The additional revenue would have funded Uh, various tobacco vapor cessation

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[tammie_hetrick]: programs.

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[tammie_hetrick]: Next, we have an Organic materials management House bill Seventeen, ninety

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[tammie_hetrick]: nine, and Senate bill fifty seven, thirty, one. So the House bill Seventeen

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[tammie_hetrick]: ninety nine is alive and scheduled for a public hearing in the Senate

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[tammie_hetrick]: environment on February Seventeenth

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[tammie_hetrick]: Senate bill fifty seven, thirty one is dead,

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[tammie_hetrick]: low proof spirits, House Bill seventeen thirty four, This is unfortunately

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[tammie_hetrick]: dead. Uh, This legislation would have reduced the taxes for low proof spirit

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[tammie_hetrick]: beverages to be more equivalent to the beer and wine, In order to allow more

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[tammie_hetrick]: of these to be offered in the state. We still working on this and we would

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[tammie_hetrick]: love to see it pass. but right now it is dead.

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[tammie_hetrick]: The next bill up is encouraging the opening of safety rest areas to the

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[tammie_hetrick]: Public House Bill Sixteen fifty five. Ah, this is a big one. We've been

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[tammie_hetrick]: supporting a Washington trucking association. With this, it had a public

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[tammie_hetrick]: hearing on Senate transportation on February seventeenth and it would um

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[tammie_hetrick]: create pathways to reopen and maintain safety rest stop areas.

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[tammie_hetrick]: The next one up is unemployment insurance voluntary. ▁quits House bill

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[tammie_hetrick]: Fourteen eighty six. This was a very bad bill and is dead. Thankfully,

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[tammie_hetrick]: this would have

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[tammie_hetrick]: required unemployment insurance to uh pay benefits when a worker voluntarily

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[tammie_hetrick]: ▁quits their job,

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[tammie_hetrick]: Um for child care issues. So this is something that's out of the employer's

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[tammie_hetrick]: control. We oppose this and hopefully it will remain dead through suny day.

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[tammie_hetrick]: The next bill up. This is one that we have extreme concerns with Is

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[tammie_hetrick]: ergonomics House bill Eighteen thirty seven, It is alive.

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[tammie_hetrick]: I have to say, the House Republicans gave an amazing

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[tammie_hetrick]: uh, effort on this one to try to amend change and slow the process down.

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[tammie_hetrick]: They

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[tammie_hetrick]: worked on this for nine hours on the floor, giving speeches adding

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[tammie_hetrick]: amendments. It was brutal. I was very impressed. If you ever have time to

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[tammie_hetrick]: hear any

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[tammie_hetrick]: House

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[tammie_hetrick]: floor action that would be the one to watch So errgonomics House Bill

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[tammie_hetrick]: Eighteen thirty seven did pass with a narrow margin, fifty to forty eight.

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[tammie_hetrick]: It's now in the Senate. It had a hearing in Labor on February sixteenth. Ah,

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[tammie_hetrick]: we sure hope that we can kill this one on the floor in the Senate. Um.

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[tammie_hetrick]: again, This one brings back the bad ergonomics rules that we had fought

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[tammie_hetrick]: before,

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[tammie_hetrick]: and Uh would really entitle workers to be able to file a claim for

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[tammie_hetrick]: occupational disease that Uh isn't nessarily tied to their workplace.

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[tammie_hetrick]: Next one up is industrial insurance appeals, Senate bill fifty eight, Oh

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[tammie_hetrick]: one. this one is also alive. It has a house

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[tammie_hetrick]: hearing labor on February eighteenth, disclos up against all the basis of

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[tammie_hetrick]: workers comp, which is to keep Claan class within the scope of the premiums

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[tammie_hetrick]: paid by employers, and this would actually try to

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[tammie_hetrick]: force employers to pay the attorneys fees when they lose At the Board of

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[tammie_hetrick]: appeals. This is currently included in the premiums that we pay and should

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[tammie_hetrick]: remain there. This would be a huge disadvantage for small employers who

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[tammie_hetrick]: would like to appeal a claim, Uh, because the risk would be so high for

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[tammie_hetrick]: them. So again we oppose it, but it is still moving.

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[tammie_hetrick]: Uh. good news on workers comp exam, right, Sennna, bill fifty six, twenty

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[tammie_hetrick]: seven, House bill seventeen, sixty three is dead. This would have allowed

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[tammie_hetrick]: workers to videotape independent medical exams, which would really lead to

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[tammie_hetrick]: doctors just refusing to do them. So good news at this time it is dead.

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[tammie_hetrick]: Uh, we've got some work going on with state paid family leave, Sen. a bill

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[tammie_hetrick]: fifty six forty nine. Uh, as you've heard me mentioned before, we were a.

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[tammie_hetrick]: I guess last minute notified that this fund was failing, and uh, as one of

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[tammie_hetrick]: the members of the advisory committee, we were very dis,

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[tammie_hetrick]: uh, enchanted to hear that. So the bill has changed significantly when it

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[tammie_hetrick]: started. It was to increase benefits. It is now an accountability bill and

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[tammie_hetrick]: will increase accountability and auditity of the paid family and medical

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[tammie_hetrick]: leave program.

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[tammie_hetrick]: Uh, it would allow four benefits to a worker who

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[tammie_hetrick]: during their pregnancy may lose the child. Um, it would give them just a

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[tammie_hetrick]: seven day

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[tammie_hetrick]: a work week time frame for benefits to to deal with that Uh loss. I, same

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[tammie_hetrick]: with an adoption. They would also have that seven days, but the rest of the

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[tammie_hetrick]: bill is just about accountability. Uh, we also have retail theft, House bill

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[tammie_hetrick]: sixteen fifty four, Senate bill fifty seven, eighty one. So sixteen fifty

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[tammie_hetrick]: four is dead, But Senate bill fifty seven, eighty one is alive. No hearing

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[tammie_hetrick]: date is currently set. Uh, we are definitely in support of this. It would

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[tammie_hetrick]: add concealment to the definition of retail theft and allow us to actually

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[tammie_hetrick]: stop someone at the door. Uh, it would also increase the penalty for

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[tammie_hetrick]: aggregate theft of seven hundred and fifty dollars done with accomplices to

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[tammie_hetrick]: felony theft in the second degree. So more to come. Hopefully that will

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[tammie_hetrick]: continue to move. Uh, another good bill that's still moving is careers in

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[tammie_hetrick]: retail. Uh, this one is still scheduled for a hearing and Senate higher Ed

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[tammie_hetrick]: on February twenty second, I testified with our chair of the Education

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[tammie_hetrick]: foundation Tyler Myers, in support of this and it would develop Uh.

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[tammie_hetrick]: opportunities to increase educational pathways, credentials and training for

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[tammie_hetrick]: retail workers. Uh, this would allow us to improve our outrach with the

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[tammie_hetrick]: educational system, like retail management certifications, Um, at the high

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[tammie_hetrick]: school level, So hopefully that will continue to move forward and Uh can be

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[tammie_hetrick]: tied in with the education programs we have Now

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[tammie_hetrick]: few others on here. Uh, noise standards for delivery, essential workers that

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[tammie_hetrick]: one is dead. We were trying to get some allowance between ten and p, M and

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[tammie_hetrick]: seven a m.

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[tammie_hetrick]: Uh, chain up chain off areas for parking, Hospital, eighteen thirty nine

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[tammie_hetrick]: That one is dead. It would have provided commercial truck parking. Um.

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[tammie_hetrick]: When it wasn't winter and snowtire snow chain time,

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[tammie_hetrick]: and we have warehouse distribution centers, Senate bill fifty eight ninety

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[tammie_hetrick]: one, This is a huge win. This would have been a horribly expensive bill. Uh,

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[tammie_hetrick]: it is dead at this time,

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[tammie_hetrick]: so with that we are watching Uh transportation and the budget closely, and

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[tammie_hetrick]: well, keep you all informed, and I hope you have a wonderful day, thank you

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[tammie_hetrick]: take.