Curl Up and Dye – HB 5513, HB 1515, SB 5326
February 1, 2019
Today wraps up day 19 of the 105-day session. It has been fast and furious, in fact, over 1,600 bills have been introduced thus far with still three weeks until the first cutoff deadline. If the house continues on this pace they could run out of bill numbers (House bill numbers go from 1,000 to 4,999, Senate bill numbers begin at 5,000).
The general target of these bills is business – the anti-business agenda of the 2019 Regular Session is rampant on all fronts – labor, energy, building, products, taxes, regulatory, and everything in between. BIAW continues to advocate for homeownership opportunities for all market segments, which means providing regulatory and liability relief for builders. It particularly helps when BIAW members show up to testify and share their stories of being a part of a family’s homeownership opportunity. Please contact Ashlee Delaney if you are interested in testifying or participating with BIAW as we advocate for housing affordability.
Week three in Olympia is somewhat unexplainable – but it’s true. Thousands of hairdressers throughout the state came to Olympia, combing their way through the Capitol in protest of legislation that would make it illegal for hair salons to rent chairs to independent hairdressers. During Monday’s Senate Labor and Commerce Committee public hearing (a day off for nearly all hairdressers), one hairdresser after another clipped away at SB 5326. Hairdressers were especially frosted when they learned that the bill exempted barbers. By showing up in force, hairdressers foiled legislative efforts to move the bill.
Additionally, hairdressers helped BIAW cut the bangs off SB 5513 and HB 1515 – legislation that allows the state to aggressively determine that subcontractors are employees. While SB 5513 and HB 1515 aren’t dead, the combined efforts of hairdressers, BIAW, and other business groups have trimmed the bill’s momentum. Now at the end of the week, two things are clear – hairdressers offered business groups some dazzling grassroots tips and legislators promoting these bills had a bad hair day.