Fed up with a lack of federal action to lower prescription drug costs, state legislators around the country are pushing bills to penalize drugmakers for unjustified price hikes and to cap payment at much-lower Canadian levels. "If we waited for Congress, we'd have moss on our backs," said Washington state Sen. Karen Keiser, a Democrat who sponsored the state's bill to ...
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$4 million going to help Washingtonians deceived by LuLaRoe SEATTLE — Attorney General Bob Ferguson announced today that LuLaRoe will pay $4.75 million to resolve Ferguson’s consumer protection lawsuit asserting that LuLaRoe, a California-based multi-level marketing business that sells leggings and other apparel to a network of independent retailers, was operating a pyramid scheme. In January 2019, Ferguson filed a lawsuit against ...
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The personal unemployment claims data of at least 1.4 million Washingtonians may have been stolen in a hack of software used by the state auditor’s office, raising fears of identity theft and fraud amid an already bleak pandemic downturn. State Auditor Pat McCarthy said Monday the records — including Social Security numbers and banking information — were exposed during a December ...
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A bill that would increase the minimum weekly benefit for unemployed workers and curb an increase in employers’ unemployment taxes has passed the both houses of the Washington state legislature with broad support.
The state Senate passed the bill, which was requested by Gov. Jay Inslee, in a 42-7 vote Wednesday night. It then moved to the House, which fast-tracked it ...Read More
Washington state lawmakers approved legislation that would save employers nearly $1 billion in unemployment taxes this year, raise the minimum weekly jobless benefit, and provide benefits to some workers who quit for health reasons. But some worker advocates said Senate Bill 5061, which passed the House on Friday and now goes to Gov. Jay Inslee for a signature, didn’t go far ...
Read MoreAll businesses in Washington would see significant relief from unemployment taxes, including reductions in bills due in April, if Senate Bill 5061 is passed by the Legislature by mid-February. The bill, which passed on the Senate floor Jan. 27 with an overwhelming bipartisan majority, has an emergency clause and if the House also approves it, would take effect as soon as ...
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After 36 years of service, a new Maritime Emergency Response Vessel is in the works with the help of a $750,000 allocation from Washington state. Last week, South King Fire and Rescue announced the department received the final contract appropriating $750,000 from the 2020 Washington state operating budget to pay for a major portion of the new fire rescue boat. In ...
Read MoreSB 5061 would provide nearly $1.9 billion in tax relief for employers to 2021 to 2025, according the Employment Security Department. "I’ve heard from many business owners who have received their tax bills for the next quarter, which is due April 1. Those tax bills for some of our hardest-hit employers have increased 500, 600% and more from last ...
Read MoreThe cost of caring for aging Washingtonians is set to soar in another decade and Washington lawmakers are looking to the stock market to raise more cash. In 2019, Washington lawmakers passed the Long-Term Care Trust Act, creating the first state-run long-term care insurance program funded by a 0.58% payroll tax. The program is overseen by the 15-member Washington ...
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State legislatures and law enforcement officials are boosting security at capitol complexes around the country after the violent insurrection in Washington, D.C., last week and in the face of FBI warnings of armed protests in the coming days.
Legislators say they are increasingly anxious about the armed protests, which began last year in response to lockdowns imposed to stem ...
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