Lawmakers kick off this year’s legislative session today in a mostly virtual format due to the surging Omicron variant.

State tax receipts are also surging, but the two parties have different visionson how to handle the unexpected $8.6 billion surplus. 

“We have had strengthening economic well-being as one of our pillars of what we’re going to work on,” said House Speaker Laurie Jinkins, D-Tacoma.

Republicans want to use the windfall in several ways, including cutting taxes and investing in Washington’s aging transportation system and unreliable state ferry system, using the new money to transition away from a dependence on the regressive gas tax to pay for transportation investments.

“There’s a tremendous opportunity for the Legislature to step up and change the future of transportation in Washington,” said Senate Minority Leader John Braun, R-Centralia.

The Seattle Times and the Northwest News Network both dive into these and other issues facing the Legislature in the 60-day session that begins today. The Washington Research Council has a rundown of pre-filed bills involving changes to the state’s tax structure. One of the first issues lawmakers are expected to tackle is long-term care (read more below in Legislation of Note.)

AWB’s Government Affairs team reviewed all the issues during our pre-session webinar last week. A video recording is available online. In his monthly newspaper column, AWB President Kris Johnson calls on legislators to become champions for the economy.

AWB invites all our members to get involved by joining our robust set of issue-area committees or to come to Olympia and testify on how these proposals would affect your business and employees. Contact Dave Mastin, AWB vice president for government affairs, to learn more.