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As the vaccines continue to make their presence felt to all, we still live in a COVID–19 world. The pandemic may well be on its way out, but until that time, the Washington State Legislature is operating in a “Zoom” world. This not only impacts how 51������ operates but also affects employers and present and future school retirees.

Pensions, Health Care, SEBB, PEBB, Other… The legislative session has concluded, the Governor has acted, and now as the show goes on, districts have to adjust.

Sine Die occurred and the 66th Legislature has concluded. The last act is the Governor’s responses to the various legislative proposals that have delivered to his office. Once his ‘singing’ is done, attention will shift to the upcoming national and local election. There will be a more complete ‘End of Session’ summary to follow, but this is just an update on some selected bills.

The session is moving toward Sine Die and there’s a great deal of unknowns still to come. It’s the part of the session where bills need to be voted out of their opposite house. Some bills will make it; others will die as the clock runs down. Each chamber has lengthy lists of other bills eligible for debate and votes. Many won’t make it. There are at least four main areas yet to be dealt with, any of which will take a great deal of floor time as bills addressing these are debated. These are bills that seek to establish a low carbon fuel standard, a clean air rule, guidelines protecting data privacy and those that deal with the repeal of the Boeing tax break. Additionally, time can be consumed by virtue of debating proposed amendments attached to these or any remaining bills.

Proposed bills dealing with providing a benefit increase to those members in TRS1 and PERS 1 plans can easily be seen as NTIB (Necessary to Implement the Budget) so will remain alive until Session ends.