The 2020 session of the Washington State Legislature ended on Thursday, March 12 as scheduled. The final gavels came down at about 8:15 p.m., after the House and Senate approved a 2020 supplemental operating budget (SB 6168) that was substantially revised by a conference committee of lead budget writers from both chambers this past week.
Lawmakers also passed final versions of the Transportation (HB 2322) and Capital (SB 6248) budgets by unanimous votes.
They also unanimously approved spending $175 million to help fund the state’s response to the coronavirus outbreak (HB 2965).
Following are key votes taken during the final days of the 60-day session:
Senate Bill 6168, Making 2019-2021 fiscal biennium supplemental operating appropriations
Passed the Senate on final passage on March 12 by a vote of 28-21
This is the final version of the supplemental spending plan for the 2019-21 biennium, as worked out by a conference committee of lead budget writers from both chambers.
As passed, this budget would spend less than the original House- and Senate proposals, but still adds about $1 billion to the 2019-21 budget, bringing spending from the state’s General Fund to a record $53.5 billion for the two-year budget cycle.
Significantly, this budget leaves more than $900 million in projected revenue increases unspent, compared to the just over $10 million ending balances left by the original proposals.
It also now includes $175 million from reserve accounts for state and local responses to the coronavirus outbreak, which has escalated in the state since the latest state economic forecast was issued in February.
That forecast projected $1.5 billion in additional, unexpected revenues for the current budget cycle, and earlier versions of the bill passed by House and Senate majority Democrats would have spent all of it.
Republicans said they were glad to see that Democrats cut back on at least some spending in the final proposal, but that they were still concerned that spending has not been pulled back far enough.
Both the House and the Senate adopted the final agreement on the budget by partisan-line votes.
All Republicans voted against it, and Sen. Tim Sheldon (D-Mason County) voted with Republicans in the Senate.
Sen. Kevin Van De Wege (D-Sequim) Yes
Senate Bill 6168, Senate Bill 6168: Making 2019-2021 fiscal biennium supplemental operating appropriations
Passed the House on final passage on March 12 by a vote of 56-41 (one member excused)
This is the House Roll Call on final passage of SB 6168, the state supplemental budget as referenced above for the Senate vote. The bill is on its way to the Governor for his consideration.
Rep. Mike Chapman (D-Port Angeles) Yes
Rep. Steve Tharinger (D-Port Townsend) Yes
House Bill 2965, Concerning the state’s response to the novel coronavirus
Passed the House on final passage on March 12 by a vote of 96-0 (two members excused)
Both the House and the Senate last week unanimously passed HB 2965, to provide money from the state’s Disaster Response Account to be distributed to state agencies, local governments and federally recognized tribes for response to the COVID-19 coronavirus.
The House version originally allocated $50 million, the Senate increased that to $100 million, but then boosted it to $175 million.
The amendment was accepted by the House, and the bill again passed unanimously on final passage.
Rep. Chapman Yes
Rep. Tharinger Yes
House Bill 2965, Concerning the state’s response to the novel coronavirus
Passed the Senate on March 12 by a vote of 48-0 (one member excused)
This is the Senate roll call. The bill was delivered to the Governor.
Sen. Van De Wege Yes
Senate Bill 5323, Reducing pollution from plastic bags by establishing minimum state standards for the use of bags at retail establishments
Passed the House on March 7 by a vote of 67-29 (two members excused)
The bill would prohibit single-use plastic bags like those handed out by grocery stores and impose an 8-cent fee per paper bag. Thicker plastic bags designed for re-use would be exempt, but would also be subject to an 8-cent fee.
The bag fee will increase to 12 cents in 2026.
The new statewide fee would replace existing fees in jurisdictions such as Seattle, where retailers must charge a 5-cent fee per paper bag.
Rep. Chapman Yes
Rep. Tharinger Yes
Senate Bill 5323, Reducing pollution from plastic bags by establishing minimum state standards for the use of bags at retail establishments
Passed the Senate on final passage on March 9 by a vote of 33-15 (one member excused)
This is the Senate roll call on final passage. The bill was delivered to the Governor on March 12, 2020.
Sen. Van De Wege Yes
Senate Bill 6690, Concerning aerospace business and occupation taxes and world trade organization compliance
Passed the House on March 11 by a vote of 73-24 (one member excused.
This bill would repeal a tax break for Boeing and hundreds of state aerospace businesses that was passed in 2003 and extended in 2013.
The Boeing Company recently asked state lawmakers to roll back a preferential business-and-occupation tax rate that the World Trade Organization (WTO) targeted as an illegal trade subsidy, but wanted the tax break to be restored once the trade dispute was resolved. World Trade Organization tariff sanctions could affect all of the state’s international trade activities.
As passed by the House, the bill would restore only a portion of the tax break if the company meets certain conditions, such as proving that a portion of its workforce are apprentices.
This would be part of a work-force development effort, rather than an outright commitment to keep workers in the state, which would violate WTO rules on subsidies.
To keep the lower tax rate, the percentage of apprentices at Boeing and the rest of the state’s aerospace industry must be 1.5 percent by April 1, 2026, or within five years after the lower tax rate is reinstated.
Rep. Chapman Yes
Rep. Tharinger Yes
Senate Bill 6690, Concerning aerospace business and occupation taxes and world trade organization compliance
Passed the Senate on Final Passage on March 12 by a vote of 45-4
This is the Senate Roll Call on final passage. The bill is on its way to the Governor for his consideration.
Sen. Van De Wege Yes
