The state Senate voted Monday in favor of four job-related bills introduced by Sen. John Braun, R-Centralia. According to the 20th District Republican, each bill passed will help bring stability, predictability and efficiency to Washington’s private sector.
“Yesterday the Senate Majority Coalition Caucus confirmed its commitment to jobs by passing four of the bills we’d highlighted as job-makers,” Braun said. “These bills should help small-businesses to succeed and encourage them to hire new employees, increasing benefits for existing workers, and investing in capital-improvement projects.”
Senate Bill 5656 would require all cities that impose a business and occupation tax to have their general business licenses issued and renewed, if renewal is applicable, through the business licensing system or the city run portal by July 1, 2016. Cities that do not impose a business and occupation tax must have their general business licenses issued and renewed, if renewal is applicable, through the business licensing system or the city run portal by Jan. 1, 2019.
Senate Bill 5697 would restrict the frequency with which the state Department of Revenue can change local sales and use taxes. Unless otherwise specified, a local sales and use tax change may take effect no sooner than 75 days after DOR receives notice of the change, and only on the first day of April or October. If the local sales and use tax is a credit against the state sales or use tax, it may take effect no sooner than 30 days after DOR receives notice of the change, and only on the first day of a month.
Senate Bill 5726 would prohibit a local jurisdiction such as a city, town, code city or county from requiring an employer to provide paid sick or safe leave to employees unless the employer is physically located within the jurisdiction and only applies to an employee who works at a physical location of the employer within the jurisdiction for at least 85 percent of the hours worked for that employer in the current calendar year.
Senate Bill 5158 states that employers are not liable, nor can they be assessed a penalty for their failure to pay minimum wages or overtime compensation under the Minimum Wage Act if the employer can establish that they relied in good faith upon an agency regulation, order, advice, or interpretation of the director of the Department of Labor and Industries. This is true regardless of whether the regulation, order, advice or interpretation of the director is later modified, rescinded or overturned in court.
“Our caucus has focused our efforts on jobs, education and a sustainable budget,” Braun said. “If we could now get these four bills through the House of Representatives they will go a long way toward helping our private sector create jobs.”
