​Legislative update, Week 6

We’re in the 6th week of the 2022 legislative session. Only three weeks to go until the legislature adjourns sine die on March 10.
Cutoff
Bills needed to be voted off the floor of their house of origin by February 15 at 5pm in order to continue through the legislative process. Several bills WPEA has been tracking died at this deadline, including: HB 1992, a bill to raise the cap on annual leave from 240 hours to 280 hours (PRO); HB 1806, the bill granting collective bargaining rights to employees of the legislative branch (PRO); and HB 2055, a bill to give private colleges access to state capital budget money (CON).
 
ACTION ALERT
House bill 1837, a bill to restore Washington state’s ability to address work-related musculoskeletal injuries and protect workers, passed the House of Representatives on a 50-48 vote early Tuesday morning after a marathon 9-hour all-night attempt by Republicans to filibuster and kill the bill. The bill addresses ergonomic injuries – those caused by using muscles, tendons, and ligaments in awkward positions or in frequent, repetitive actions, that can cause pain and injury over time. Many of these injuries can be prevented, but the state Department of Labor & Industries is prohibited from requiring employers to take steps to protect workers from repetitive motion injuries.
After such a long legislative fight this week, the legislature needs to be reminded about the importance of this legislation.
TAKE A STAND — Please take a couple of minutes today to do two things:
1 - Thank the state representatives who stood strong all night long against Republicans’ procedural tactics, and voted “yes” on HB 1837. *** IMPORTANT! — If you enter your address and get the message, “Sorry no recipients were found,” that means none of your Representatives voted “yes” on HB 1837. So skip this action and proceed to…
2 - Urge your state senator to take action on HB 1837 and to stand strong with working families (as the House did) and vote “yes.”
You can learn more about HB 1837 at The Stand.
 
WPEA Bill Tracker
Our WPEA Bill Tracker is live, where you can see which bills affect WPEA members, what our position is, and where they are in the legislative process. The bill tracker will be updated at the end of each week throughout the session.
Upcoming
Next week, we expect to see the release of the House and Senate budgets, which will include funding for the 3.25% COLA for state employees.