While every legislative session brings new proposals aimed at addressing social and economic issues, not all bills are well-crafted, properly stakeholdered, or beneficial for businesses. This year, several bills introduced in Washington State had the potential to create significant challenges for retailers and the broader business community. Fortunately, these bills are unlikely to advance this session—but they still warrant attention as they could return in the future.
Supply Chain Burdens
- HB 1107 – Concerning environmental impacts of fashion
Positioned as a measure to curb the environmental effects of “fast fashion,” this bill was, in reality, a supply chain transparency mandate that would have placed significant compliance burdens on retailers. Instead of fostering sustainability in a collaborative way, HB 1107 risked creating costly and unrealistic reporting requirements, disproportionately impacting businesses with complex global supply chains.
Artificial Intelligence: Overregulation Without Clarity
- HB 1168 – Increasing transparency in artificial intelligence
- HB 1170 – Informing users when content is developed or modified by artificial intelligence
While AI transparency is an important conversation, these bills took a heavy-handed approach that could stifle innovation and add unnecessary compliance burdens. HB 1168 and HB 1170 sought to impose broad disclosure requirements without clear guidelines on implementation, potentially leading to confusion and unintended liability for businesses that use AI in customer service, marketing, or operational efficiencies.
A Public Safety Nightmare for Businesses
- HB 1380 – Public property regulations (“Homeless Bill of Rights”)
This bill would have allowed encampments on public property, including sidewalks in front of businesses, making it more difficult for retailers to ensure a safe and welcoming environment for employees and customers. While addressing homelessness is critical, HB 1380 failed to provide balanced solutions that also factor in the impact this could have on public safety and economic viability.
Prohibits Protection of Proprietary Business Information and Clienteles
- HB 1155 – Ban on non-compete agreements
A full ban on non-compete agreements would have eliminated an important tool that businesses use to protect proprietary information and maintain a competitive workforce. This ban could hurt businesses that rely on non-competes to safeguard intellectual property and prevent unfair competition.
Expanding Employer Liability Without Clear Justification
These bills sought to expand presumptive PTSD workers’ comp coverage for certain professions with extremely high fiscal notes without considering measures to prevent such incidents.
Costly increases to minimum wage and PTO
These bills would have imposed significant new and costly labor mandates by dramatically increasing the minimum wage and requiring additional paid time off, regardless of a business’s size or financial capacity.
Unworkable Data Privacy Legislation
- HB 1671 – Data Privacy
While consumer data protection is an important issue, HB 1671 took an impractical approach that would have created a maze of confusing and costly compliance requirements for businesses. Instead of establishing clear, uniform privacy standards, the bill imposed vague obligations that could have resulted in legal uncertainty, operational burdens, and increased costs. The bill was also particularly harmful to Washington-based businesses.
Looking Ahead
Although these bills are unlikely to move forward this session, there is a very strong possibility we will see them return next year. WR will continue to advocate for practical, balanced legislation that protects retailers and supports economic growth while collaborating with lawmakers on solutions to address legitimate concerns in a fair and effective manner.
