As the January 13 opening of the 2020 Legislative Session approaches in Olympia, reporters are predicting possible issues that will be on the agenda.

Olympia correspondent Austin Jenkins recently reported on four possible issues on Tacoma’s public radio station, KNKX.

Jenkins noted:

• Bills to expand access to care for the developmentally disabled
• In the midst of a current court challenge to Interstate 976 ($30 car tabs), legislators are expected to be seeking replacement funding for transportation projects. Jenkins foresees debate about diverting a portion of sales taxes on the sale of automobiles to finance transportation projects if courts uphold voter approval of the initiative.
• Discussions on boosting funding to reverse a trend of nursing homes closing down.
• A move to improve transparency by outlawing so-called “title-only” bills that are introduced without text that is revealed after filing deadlines. This has been a procedural scheme to work around deadlines by withholding the details of certain legislative agendas.

Washington Retail hosted a recent webinar on other legislative and regulatory issues of more immediate impact on retailers in Seattle and statewide. Listen to it here.