Minimum wage increase, tax breaks among new laws

BY BRAD SHANNON/THE OLYMPIAN

The minimum wage is going up. Tribal police officers soon can receive certification, putting them on par with non-tribal police. And the state elections cycle is getting earlier.

Those are among the new laws that take effect on New Year's Day in Washington state.

The minimum wage is going up 30 cents to $7.93 an hour, highest of any state. Initiative 688, passed by Washington voters in 1998, increases the wage every year, based on inflation.

"Thirty cents doesn't sound like much but it adds up - especially when you live on a really small budget," said

Jeremy Alexander, a cook at King Solomon's Reef restaurant in Olympia, who earns the minimum when he takes bartending shifts during the day.

Many restaurant owners have sought to stop the yearly increase in the wage -- or let employee tips count toward the minimum.

But King Solomon's general manager Pat Stanley said he thinks his employees work hard and deserve the raise.

"Washington still has the highest minimum wage. Oregon is second," state Department of Labor and Industries spokeswoman Elaine Fischer said. Oregon's wage goes to $7.80, and only the city of San Francisco, which has an $8.50 rate, is higher, federal data show.

About 5 percent of the state's jobs -- or about 160,000 full-time and part-time positions -- are paid the minimum, Fischer said.

About 40 percent of those are in the restaurant industry.

The pay boost is one of several new laws or rules taking effect today. Other changes in the works on Jan. 1:

House Bill 2367: It lets tribal police officers earn state certification if they complete the same training that non-tribal officers do. Certification is seen as a step up in prestige. It also assures non-tribal police agencies that participate in mutual aid agreements with tribes that their officers are backed up by equally trained tribal officers.

"I think it's probably a step toward a better partnership between Indian law enforcement and local jurisdictions," Nisqually tribal administrator Richard Wells said. "Some of them actually have more extensive training than what the state provides.

Until this point, state jurisdictions never recognized their training. With this new law it will probably create a little better respect from law enforcement."

Tribal police agencies pushed for the law, led by Tulalip tribal police.

"This was a way to put a stamp of approval on the training their guys were already getting. Most of them were getting the training but they were not eligible to get the certification at the end of the day," said Don Pierce, executive director for the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs, who welcomes the change.

"It will allow a tribal officer go to another agency and already be certified," Pierce said. "And it allows agencies who engage in mutual aid to know they are giving the authority to someone who has had the same training their officers have had."

A new election calendar starts today. Engrossed Senate Bill 6236 shifts the state's primary election to August. The September primary moves to the third Tuesday of August and other dates move up on the calendar, too - including filing date for candidates, which now falls the first week of June instead of the final week of July.

ESB 6236 also requires earlier mailing of ballots to overseas voters, 30 days before an election.

Minor party and independent candidates must hold nominating conventions between the first and second Saturdays in May. And a fundraising freeze surrounding legislative sessions is lifted upon adjournment, instead of 30 days after session.

SHB 3164: Small businesses get a small tax break. This measure, which voters approved in November as a constitutional amendment, lets the head of a family deduct or exempt up to $15,000 value in personal property from taxation. Businesses would exempt office and business equipment from taxation.

Substitute HB 2394: This lets financial literacy activities be considered as part of a WorkFirst participant's individual responsibility plan for moving into a job and off public assistance. Advocates for those on welfare programs called it a good, small step. Financial literacy can include learning about credit and the pitfalls of so-called payday loans.

SHB 2780: This authorizes new payroll deductions for state employees. Workers already can authorize deductions for parking fees, savings bonds, union fees or dues, and donations to the Combined Fund Drive charity. The new law lets them also make contributions directly from paychecks to a fund, committee or group subsidiary to a labor union.

ESSB 5922: This requires the state or police to notify a parent who becomes the subject of an investigation into child abuse or neglect of that fact. Agents of the Department of Social and Health Services or law enforcement must give the notice at their first-point of contact - unless it jeopardizes a child's safety or the investigation.

Republican Sen. Val Stevens of Arlington sponsored the bill, hoping it can cut down on delays in deciding when a child should be returned home.

"It will allow the parents to prepare for the dependency hearing. They will know what kind of attorney to hire, what kind of help they must get and changes they must make in order to have their children returned. It speeds up the process," Stevens said in a statement.

Effective today

Here is a summary of some other state laws that will take effect New Year's Day:

-- Engrossed Senate Bill 6236: Dramatically shifts the state elections calendar. The September primary moves to the third Tuesday of August and other dates move up on the calendar, too -- including filing date for candidates, which now falls the first week of June instead of the final week of July. Other changes require earlier mailing of ballots to overseas voters.

-- House Bill 2367: Lets tribal police officers earn state certification if they complete the same training that non-tribal officers do. Certification is seen as a step up in prestige, but also an assurance to non-tribal police agencies that participate in mutual aid agreements with tribes that their officers are backed up by equally trained tribal officers.

-- Engrossed HB 2340: Lays out new requirements for mortgage brokers and loan originators to register with the state and provide fingerprints as part of a background check.

-- Substitute HB 2394: Lets financial literacy activities be considered as part of a WorkFirst participant's individual responsibility plan for moving into a job and off public assistance.

-- ESHB 2680: Lets members of the Teachers Retirement Systems 1 and 2, who taught out of state, to purchase up to seven years' credit in the Washington retirement system, thus qualifying the worker for retirement. As many as 28,000 active Plan 2 and 3 members could be affected; they would purchase on average 1.15 years' worth of credit at no cost to the state, according to a state fiscal analysis.

-- HB 2691: Creates a new retirement benefit option for justices and judges now enrolled in the Public Employees Retirement System plans 1, 2 or 3. It lets them pay much higher contribution rates in order to qualify for a higher annual multiplier when calculating retirement benefits; there is no taxpayer cost.

-- SHB 2780: Authorizes new payroll deductions for state employees. Workers already can have deductions made for parking fees, savings bonds, union fees or dues, and donations to the Combined Fund Drive charity. This lets them also make contributions directly from paychecks to a fund, committee or group subsidiary to a labor union.

-- SHB 3164: Lets the head of a family deduct or exempt up to $15,000 value in personal property from taxation. Approved overwhelmingly by voters in November, the constitutional amendment is considered helpful to owners of small businesses, who can exempt office and business equipment.

-- ESSB 5922: Requires notification of a parent who becomes the subject of an investigation into child abuse or neglect at the first-point of contact by agents of the Department of Social and Health Services or law enforcement -- unless a child's safety or the investigation is jeopardized by the disclosure.