2025 Legislative Agenda

Update: Senate Bill 5797 and House Bill 2046 are up for hearings on March 31 and April 3, respectively. 

The ultra-wealthy put their money into Wall Street assets that accumulate value and are not taxed unless sold (even then, they are only taxed in limited ways). The Financial Intangibles Tax is a modest tax on the ultra-wealthy to help fund public education, health care, and much more. Right now, the wealthiest Washingtonians are not paying what they truly owe in taxes. A Financial Intagibles Tax would tax the top fraction of the ultra-wealthy — just 4,300 mega-millionaires and billionaires.

The state legislature has multiple bills that would require ultra-wealthy individuals and corporations to pay back what they owe to communities across our state. They are as follows:

• House Bill 1319 is the original wealth tax bill. This is former Governor Jay Inslee’s proposal for a tax on extreme wealth. HB 1319 applies a 1% tax to financial intangible property, like stocks and bonds, with the first $100 million in value exempt. This is “agency request legislation” from the Office of Financial Management.
• House Bill 2046 was introduced as part of the House's revenue package in late March. This bill, referred to as the Financial Intangible Assets Tax, creates fairness in Washington's tax by imposing a 0.8% tax on publicly traded stocks and bonds of multi-millionaires and billionaires to help fund public education. The first $50 million in value is exempt from taxation, as are retirement funds and college savings accounts. Once fully implemented, this bill would raise $2.3 billion a year.
• Another bill to tax publicly traded stocks and bonds, Senate Bill 5797, was introduced as part of the Senate's revenue proposals in late March. This imposes a 1% tax on individuals who own more than $50 million in publicly traded stocks and bonds. SB 5797 would raise $4 billion per year once fully implemented. While there are differences in these two policies (HB 2046 and SB 5797), the policy aims and impacts are very similar.

Update: This bill is being heard on March 31 in the Senate Ways & Means Committee.

Senate Bill 5796 enacts an excise tax on large employers on the amount of payroll expenses above the social security wage threshold to fund programs and services to benefit Washingtonians. This bill imposes a 5% tax on payroll expenses over $176,100 (which are currently not taxed) on companies with over $7 million in total payroll. This tax does not affect employees and will not increase taxes withheld on employees' paychecks. This will generate about $2 billion per year.

Update: This bill is moving! There was a public hearing on February 25 where our progressive revenue policy associate, Carolyn Brotherton, spoke emphatically in favor of.

House Bill 1839 eliminates the cap on taxes that big tech companies — those with more than $25 billion in worldwide revenue — pay toward the Workforce Education Investment Account, which goes towards funding the Washington College Grant and other basic higher education programs, like community and technical colleges and much, much more.

House Bill 2045 invests in Washington families by addressing some inequities in our state's Business & Occupation (B&O) tax structure. Specifically, this bill imposes a 1% B&O tax surcharge on business income above $250 million and slightly increases the big bank B&O surcharge. Wealthy corporations benefit from strong, thriving communities and a healthy, educated workforce, but they enjoy massive tax breaks when they operate in our state. It's time that wealthy corporations pay what they truly owe back to the communities that they and their employees rely on.

Senate Bill 5794 closes tax loopholes that save over $1 billion over four years and allows us to invest in things that provide the foundations for thriving communities — from schools to public health, from parks to walkable sidewalks. At a time when Washington state is facing a massive revenue shortfall to fund community priorities, it is time for the legislature to repeal obsolete tax breaks.

They can do that by getting rid of budget-busting tax breaks, like:

• A preferential tax rate for prescription drug resellers, international charter and freight brokers, travel agents and tour operators, international investment management services, and others;
• Tax exemptions for sales of precious metals; and
• Tax reductions for banks and other financial institutions for the interest they receive on loans for residential property (first mortgages).

Giving away money to banks and financial institutions is not just bad policy, it’s also out of alignment with what everyday people want and need.

Senate Bill 5795 proposes a 0.5% sales tax reduction. While this does result in a significant revenue loss from sales tax, it is an attempt at moving toward a more balanced tax code by reducing one of our most regressive taxes.

While EOI supports policy that moves toward balancing our regressive tax code, this policy will not provide relief to low- and middle-income Washingtonians if the legislature doesn't pass significant progressive revenue to offset the loss of revenue from sales tax. If the legislature chooses to cut more essential programs like education and childcare, the relief that low- and middle-income households might feel from a small sales tax cut will be offset by the loss of access to critical programs.

We all know that the sales tax puts a much bigger strain on people with low incomes. Given the long history of policies designed to exclude BIPOC communities from wealth and opportunity, that means people of color are especially harmed by this regressive tax. So we applaud the effort of lawmakers to address this regressive tax to support people with lower incomes. However, without also passing significant sources of progressive revenue, like a wealth tax, this tax relief will create more harm than good for low-income Washingtonians.

Update: House Bill 1213 is the vehicle and has passed out of the House. HB 1213 has a hearing scheduled for March 24 in the Senate.

House Bill 1213 and its companion, Senate Bill 5539, creates job protections for workers taking Paid Family & Medical Leave and continues their health care coverage during said leave.

The current law only provides job protection to a small group of Washingtonians with limited job protection requirements, including working at an employer with at least 50 employees in the state of Washington, having worked with that employer for at least a year, and having worked 1,250 hours in the past year.

The proposed legislation would change this by including workers who:

• Worked with their employer for at least 90 calendar days in alignment with when employees start accruing paid sick leaves.

And have already met both existing requirements:

• Worked at least 820 hours in the past year,
• Experienced a qualifying event that was certified by a healthcare provider.

Additional program improvements proposed in this legislation would require four hours of missed work to qualify for PFML, reduced from eight hours. This improvement reflects shorter shifts for part-time and service workers and allows workers to take leave in four-hour increments instead of an eight-hour standard.

Update: This bill is moving! House Bill 1875 has been passed out of the House and is making its way through the Senate.

Families and individuals should be able to take paid time off work to take care of and coordinate care around urgent matters without retribution, losing pay, or fear of losing their livelihood. House Bill 1875 allows workers to use earned Paid Sick and Safe Days to respond and attend to legal and court proceedings for themselves or their loved ones.

Update: This bill is still in play! The Senate bill is the one to watch: SB 5083 was voted out of the Senate with an amendment clarifying sole community hospitals. The bill passed out of the House Appropriations Committee on March 24 and is now in the House Rules Committee.

Senate Bill 5083 and House Bill 1123 improves access to key health care services and drives down the cost of health care by rebalancing our health care spending. The bill does this by setting a reasonable limit on how much public and school employees (PEBB/SEBB) pay for hospital inpatient services and setting a minimum payment level for community-based primary care and behavioral health services.

Update: These bills are not moving forward.

Senate Bill 5387 and, its companion, House Bill 1675 codifies corporate practice of medicine protections to keep patient health decisions in the hands of licensed clinicians rather than outside business interests.

Update: These bills are not moving forward.

House Bill 1560, and its companion, Senate Bill 5683 taxes excess compensation of hospital executives, returning funds to the public if executives pay themselves more than 10 times Washington state’s average wage (~$900,000).

Update: These bills are not moving forward.

Consolidation is the leading cause of rising health care prices. House Bill 1881 and its companion, Senate Bill 5704, enhances state oversight of health system consolidation, allowing the attorney general to review proposed mergers and acquisitions to ensure the transaction would promote equitable access to services and patient affordability.

Update: Good news! The House passed this bill unanimously. Because there were no amendments in the House, the bill is likely headed straight to Governor Bob Ferugson for signature. 🎉

Senate Bill 5493 requires hospitals to publish their prices for certain services, giving the Department of Health new authority to enforce federal price transparency rules. Hospitals that fail to publish their prices cannot collect on medical debts for those services.

Update: House Bill 1686 is moving! The bill passed out of the House with bipartisan support, but was changed to an implementation plan to create the provider registry. The fiscal note was a challenge, so the bill in its current form puts Washington state on a pathway to creating a registry. The bill was voted out of the Senate Ways & Means Committee on April 7 and was placed on second reading in the Senate on April 9, so it should be coming up for a vote soon.

Senate Bill 5561 and House Bill 1686 solves Washington state’s critical infrastructure gap by creating a registry of health care providers, organizations, and facilities. This solution will help improve transparency and health care resource planning, such as analyzing rural and underserved community provider shortage areas.

Update: House Bill 1382 was voted out of the House along party lines (58-39). It was then voted out of the Senate Health & Long-Term Care Committee on March 27 and is now in the Senate Rules Committee.

House Bill 1382 improves transparency in health care spending by removing a “proprietary information” distinction in current law that allows health insurance carriers to hold back information we need to improve health care affordability.

Update: Senate Bill 5480 is moving! It passed the House with bipartisan support (59-38). There were no amendments in the House, so we're expecting it to go directly to Governor Bob Ferguson for signature.

Washington patients should not be punished for needing medical care. Senate Bill 5480 and House Bill 1632 prohibits the inclusion of medical debt on consumer credit reports and scores.

Update: This bill is moving! Senate Bill 5651 passed out of the Senate with bipartisan support and in good condition. Amendments were adopted, but the bill still eliminates the sunset, which would have ended protections, increases garnishment exemptions, and includes an escalator clause. The bill was passed out of the House Civil Rights & Judiciary Committee on March 26 and was placed on second reading in the House Rules Committee. It should be coming up for a vote soon.

Medical debt should not bankrupt Washington families. Senate Bill 5651 protects low-income families from poverty by ensuring a basic amount of family savings is protected from wage garnishment. This bill was originally titled, Increasing the amount exempt from garnishment in nonbankruptcy cases.

Update: This bill is not moving forward.

Everyone deserves access to quality, affordable health care — regardless of where you were born or how much money you make. The Washington State Legislature has taken meaningful steps in recent years to advance equity in health care access for all, regardless of immigration status. House Bill 1482 brings critical funding to ensure all low-income Washingtonians have access to life-saving medical care, regardless of immigration status. 

Cascade Care Savings program subsidies have helped thousands in Washington access more affordable care. But we are at risk of losing ground on our progress in the face of the state legislative budget shortfall and uncertain federal landscape. In Washington, 70,000 people will likely lose coverage when the federal government fails to extend federal premium tax credits. We must maintain our state premium assistance at $55 million annually and expand funding to safeguard Washingtonians against federal attacks.

Update: These bills are not moving forward.

The Washington Future Fund pilot program will study the effects of economic stability for Washingtonians who are eligible to receive these funds. The pilot program provides a $25,000 grant to young adults born under Medicaid to use on one of three eligible expenditures: homeownership, entrepreneurship, or post-secondary education.

Senate Bill 5541 and House Bill 1661 gives wealth-building opportunities to Washingtonians who do not have access to capital or generational wealth due to systemic and economic inequities. The Washington Future Fund will reduce these barriers by utilizing the power of state investing to provide direct capital assistance.

Update: This bill is not moving forward.

Senate Bill 5115 allows undocumented students and those not eligible for federal financial aid due to their immigration status access to paid work-study and other paid work opportunities to support their higher education journey.

Update: This bill is not moving forward. However, we anticipate additional bills with similar legislation to be introduced this session.

House Bill 1181 adjusts the minimum wage rate to maintain an employee’s purchasing power by increasing the current year’s minimum wage and providing paid vacation leave and five days of bereavement leave.

Update: House Bill 1214 is stalled for now, but because it's Necessary to Implement the Budget, there could be movement later. There is now a Senate compainion bill that is moving! Senate Bill 5768 has been scheduled for executive session in the Ways & Means Committee on February 27. 

Currently, the Working Families Tax Credit statute requires that people without qualifying children must be at least 25 years old, which means that most young adult workers (age 18-24) are excluded from our state tax credit. Senate Bill 5768 and House Bill 1214 expand eligibility to support 85,000 young adults living on low incomes. It would be particularly impactful for youth transitioning out of foster care, community college students supporting themselves while going to school, and young adults without familial financial support who are just entering the labor market. The young adults who would become eligible for a cash boost through this expansion are living on very low incomes ($18,591 a year, or $25,511 if married).