OLYMPIA — The Senate Ways & Means Committee voted April 25 to give due-pass recommendations to more than 20 bills and referred them to the Rules Committee for signature, while opting not to act on several measures. The committee met in executive session to consider bills spanning K-12 funding, tax changes, public-health programs and accounts transfers.

The committee advanced substitute House Bill 2050, a K-12 measure that the staff briefing described as making "changes to the apportionment schedule and limits the alternative learning experience enrollment used for calculations of local effort assistance (LEA)." The committee adopted one amendment that removed the apportionment-schedule change; two other amendments were defeated. Jed Herman, Ways & Means Committee staff, said the fiscal note projects savings of $22,000,000 over four years and a biennial figure that was not clearly specified in the transcript.

Why it matters: Committee action moves bills toward floor consideration and final votes; the K-12 measures under consideration were central to debate over the state's constitutional “paramount duty” to fund basic education and how to balance state aid with local levy authority.

Committee members debated substitute House Bill 2049, which would raise per-pupil limits for school enrichment levies and change the inflation factor used in local effort assistance calculations. Senator Gildan argued the bill could worsen inequities between affluent and property-poor districts, saying, "We should be investing in our state's paramount duty." Senator Petersen countered that paired with levy equalization in the budget, the change would help bridge districts until more basic education funding is available.

The committee also considered a large business-and-occupation (B&O) tax package, engrossed substitute House Bill 2081, which staff said would raise an estimated $5.6 billion over four years and includes a new 0.5% base-rate increase plus a 0.5% surcharge on portions of business income above $250 million. The bill generated extended debate and multiple amendment offers; several amendments were withdrawn and others were defeated on the floor of the committee. Senator Braun said of the package, "This bill very literally makes all of those more expensive," warning of pass-through costs to consumers; Senator Gildan echoed concerns about the impact on households.

Other notable actions included:

- Substitute House Bill 2047, which eliminates the Washington employee ownership program; the committee adopted a striking amendment that retains some program elements and delays expiration to June 30, 2030, then gave the bill a due-pass recommendation as amended.

- Substitute House Bill 1498, which would add a $100 fee to marriage licenses to fund a domestic violence co-responder grant program; the committee adopted an amendment making county imposition optional and limiting grant eligibility to jurisdictions that have enacted the fee, then advanced the bill.

- Engrossed Second Substitute House Bill 1422, changing fees and oversight for the drug take-back program, received a due-pass recommendation after sponsors withdrew two proposed amendments.

- In packet 2, House Bill 2003, establishing a Columbia River recreational salmon and steelhead endorsement and account, advanced with two adopted amendments that add a reporting requirement and refocus eligible uses to monitoring, hatch production and pinniped removal.

- The committee passed account and finance bills including the accounts bill (engrossed substitute House Bill 1468), a transfer from the budget stabilization account for wildfire suppression (substitute House Bill 1473), and changes to superior court clerk filing surcharges (second substitute House Bill 1207, as amended).

Several bills were explicitly not taken up in executive session and were left without action: engrossed House Bill 2044, substitute House Bill 2041 and substitute House Bill 1043 were listed as not being acted on during the meeting.

Quotes from the meeting capture the tenor of debate. Senator Braun, speaking to Amendment 2 on HB 2050, said the provision "keeps them from moving from one district to another and causing significant cost to some of our rural school districts," arguing the amendment would limit severance payments where a superintendent moves directly to new employment. Jed Herman, Ways & Means Committee staff, described HB 2003 as creating a new endorsement and account and estimated the program would raise about $2,000,000 in the first biennium with administration costs of roughly $193,000 per biennium.

The committee's action is procedural: a "due pass" sends bills to the Rules Committee and is not the same as final passage by the full Senate. Many of the measures will face further amendments and floor debate before becoming law.

Votes at a glance (committee action and key notes):

- Substitute House Bill 2050 (K-12 apportionment/LEA): Amendment 1 adopted (removed apportionment change); Amendments 2 and 3 defeated; outcome: due pass recommendation to Rules Committee as amended; fiscal note: $22,000,000 savings over four years; biennial figure not specified in transcript.

- Engrossed House Bill 2044: no action taken in this session (not considered).

- Substitute House Bill 2049 (per-pupil levy limit/inflation factor/LEA): Amendments 4–6 defeated; outcome: due pass recommendation to Rules Committee; fiscal note: estimated $6,000,000 savings in 2025-27 biennium and $14,000,000 over four years; increases some district revenues subject to per-pupil limit.

- Substitute House Bill 2047 (Washington employee ownership program): Striking amendment 7 adopted (delays expiration and retains some program elements); outcome: due pass recommendation as amended; fiscal note: ~$1,900,000 revenue impact in 2025-27 and $4,200,000 over four years.

- Substitute House Bill 1498 (marriage-license fee for domestic violence co-responder grants): Amendment 8 adopted (counties may opt in); outcome: due pass recommendation as amended; fiscal note: estimated ~$8,400,000 in 2025-27 and ~$16,800,000 over four years (indeterminate in transcript).

- House Bill 2039 (child support pass-through delay): outcome: due pass recommendation; fiscal note: ~$48,000,000 NGFO savings over four years.

- House Bill 2040 (delay elimination of ABD recoveries): outcome: due pass recommendation; fiscal note: ~$118,000,000 NGFO savings over four years.

- Engrossed Second Substitute House Bill 1422 (drug take-back fees/oversight): Amendments 9 and 10 withdrawn; outcome: due pass recommendation; fiscal impacts and a JLARC review cost noted in staff briefing.

- Engrossed Substitute House Bill 1119 (supervision compliance credits): outcome: due pass recommendation; fiscal note: two-year savings ~$497,000 and four-year savings ~$1,500,000.

- Substitute House Bill 2041 (postpartum coverage reduction): not acted on in this session (not considered).

- Substitute House Bill 2051 (payments to acute care hospitals for difficult-to-discharge patients): outcome: due pass recommendation; fiscal note: ~$1,600,000 general fund savings in 2025-27 and ~$3,700,000 over four years.

- Substitute House Bill 1848 (TBI services and supports): outcome: due pass recommendation.

Packet 2 highlights and outcomes:

- House Bill 2003 (Columbia River salmon and steelhead endorsement): Amendments 11 and 12 adopted (reporting requirement and changed eligible uses); outcome: due pass recommendation; fiscal note: estimated ~$2,000,000 first biennium, ~$1,350,000 per year thereafter; administration cost ~$193,000 per biennium.

- House Bill 1552 (real estate research account fee extension): outcome: due pass recommendation; fiscal note: additional fee increases revenue by ~$854,000 in 2025-27.

- Engrossed Substitute House Bill 1468 (accounts bill): Amendment 13 not adopted; outcome: due pass recommendation; bill closes inactive accounts, renames and repurposes accounts, and moves certain local funds into a new institutional welfare account.

- Substitute House Bill 1473 (transfer from budget stabilization account for 2024 fire suppression): outcome: due pass recommendation; staff estimate: $77,687,000 transfer for 2024 fire suppression costs.

- Second Substitute House Bill 1207 (superior court clerk surcharge): Amendment 14 adopted to redistribute fees with a portion retained by counties; outcome: due pass recommendation as amended.

- Engrossed Substitute House Bill 2061 (concession fee on duty-free sales enterprises): outcome: due pass recommendation; fiscal estimate included in staff briefing.

- Substitute House Bill 2077 (tax on surplus related to zero-emission vehicle credits): outcome: due pass recommendation; staff estimated significant revenue in the 2027 time frame.

- Substitute House Bill 2020 (payment card processing B&O treatment): outcome: due pass recommendation; small near-term revenue estimates cited in briefing.

- Engrossed Substitute House Bill 2081 (B&O rate increases and surcharges): numerous amendments offered; outcome: due pass recommendation after floor debate in committee; staff estimate: ~$5.6 billion over four years.

What comes next: Committee action was a procedural step to send bills to the Rules Committee for signature and possible placement on the Senate floor. Several bills advanced with adopted amendments that change scope or timing; those changes may require House concurrence before final passage.

The committee adjourned after completing consideration of packet 2 and recording the votes. The committee's recorded voice votes were cited on the transcript as "Aye" or "No"; no roll-call tallies were provided in the transcript.