March 6, 2024
Bill Report

The 2004 legislative session concludes tomorrow. In the final days before adjournment, lawmakers have been focused on passing supplemental budgets, addressing the Initiatives to the Legislature that were filed and certified, and resolving proposed amendments on a few policy bills. 

Budget: Deliberations continue on the supplemental operating budget as negotiators try to resolve the differences between the $71.66 billion spending plan proposed by the Senate and the $72.00 billion plan proposed by the House. We expect the budget's final passage to occur on Tuesday or Wednesday, leaving enough time for action on the bills directly tied to the budget. Fortunately, this year, there don't appear to be any last-minute tax proposals or other budget issues that should unduly concern our industry. 

Initiatives: Committee hearings were held late last week and early this week, and on Monday, all three of the following Initiatives to the Legislature were approved:   

• Reasonable police pursuit (I-2113)
• Clarifying prohibition on state/local income tax (I-2111)
• Establishing the parental bill of rights in public education (I-2081)

Now that these have passed, they will become law as the Governor's signature is not required. The other three certified initiatives (eliminating the capital gains tax, rescinding the Climate Commitment Act cap and trade program, and making the state's long-term care payroll tax an optional opt-in program) will go before voters this fall.  

Policy Bills: In the final days of the 2024 session, here is where the policy bills we have been following stand.

• SB 5838 is the proposal to create an artificial intelligence task force. The House passed the legislation on February 29, and the Senate concurred with the final changes in the amended version on Monday, March 4.
• HB 1915 is WBA-supported legislation that would expand state financial literacy programs. The bill passed the House unanimously and the Senate 47-1, so it will now head to the Governor for signature into law.  
• SB 5801 deals with the regulation of special deposits. We are comfortable with the clarifications in the bill. It passed the Senate with a strong 47 votes and the House unanimously. It is now headed to the Governor for signature. 

Our next update will be a post-session summary, due out next week.  Thank you for all of your support of your organizations and communities.