Keeping tabs on your Legislature
I appreciate hearing from you throughout the session, and I want to help you stay up-to-date on budget and other discussions. We’ll do our best to keep you informed with this e-memo, but there are several other ways to stay connected with us:
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Joining my colleagues in supporting small businesses
Like most of you, I’ve been to a restaurant or bar that plays music and, most of the time at least, it’s a nice backdrop. What you may not know is that businesses have to pay royalties on that music — paying royalties is fair and compensates the artist for their work.
Unfortunately, big music licensing agencies use extremely aggressive tactics to bully small business owners into paying those royalties. Similar to collection agencies that harass people, music licensors will threaten legal action and even demand immediate payment from businesses.
While I agree musicians and artists should get paid for their work, no one should be threatened and bullied. My colleague, Rep. Kevin Van De Wege, introduced legislation to regulate these music licensing agencies, forcing them to treat small business owners with respect. His bill, HB 1763, establishes general rules for how these music licensors must operate, and penalties if they fail to follow those rules.
I’m supporting this legislation so that Washington continues to be a great state to run a business.
First day being introduced on the floor.
The best economy in the nation? It’s Washington
A few days ago, Business Insider ranked the economies of all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
Washington earned the highest marks.
The results were the outcome of seven measures: November 2015 unemployment rate; 2014 GDP per capita; November 2015 average weekly wages; growth rates for nonfarm payroll jobs from November 2014 to November 2015; quarterly GDP rates; house prices from 2014 to 2015; and wages over 2014-2015.
This is what the publication says makes Washington the best economy in the nation: “Washington state scored extremely well on most of our metrics. Its Q2 2015 annualized GDP growth rate was a stunning 8.0%, by far the highest among the states and DC. The November 2015 average weekly wage of $1,073 was the second highest in the country, and was 5.6% higher than the weekly wage in November 2014, the third highest wage growth rate.”
To see how other states fared, click here.
Dropping off one of my first bills.
Helping our local public facilities
Public facilities such as convention centers and fairgrounds would get a boost under legislation I proposed.
This is a bipartisan idea to help folks back home. It will help with county fairgrounds, performing arts centers and other key parts of our communities.
House Bill 2296 was the first bill to receive a hearing in the House Finance Committee this year.
I’m a small business owner and youth baseball coach, so I know how important it is that our communities have facilities to bring a community together and to generate local jobs through tourism.
The legislation makes it easier for public facilities districts to pay for maintenance or renovations by reforming the law to let districts continue to receive funding for up to 40 years instead of 25 years.
By law, the total amount going to public facilities would still be capped at 0.037 percent and must be accompanied by a minimum of 33 percent matching funds from public or private sources.
People come for events, whether it’s a softball tournament, a county fair or an arts festival. Those events need a place, a home, and that’s why we have public facilities and a way to pay for them. This legislation would let folks back home maintain or renovate what they have without forming a new public facilities district. It’s good for the community, good for the state and good for taxpayers.