Senate passes jobs and economic development bills

OLYMPIA — Last night the Senate continuing their focus on making jobs and economic development a high priority by passing several bills aimed at growing the job market and providing workers with the skills and training they need to be competitive.

Many of the bills had moved through the Senate Economic Development, Trade & Management Committee, and received the support of its chair Sen. Jim Kastama, D-Puyallup.

Our economic future depends on businesses creating good jobs, and workers having the skills and training to fill those jobs,” said Kastama. “I think these bills show our commitment to invest in all aspects of economic development, from business development to job training — especially in the face of a slowing national economy.”

Recognizing that the once fragile economy of Walla Walla benefitted from the concept of ‘clustering’ economic development around the wine industry, Kastama sponsored Senate Bill 5743 to align the workforce development goals of the Job Skills Program with the needs of growing industry clusters, while Senate Bill 6774, provides grant support for industry cluster growth.

Another element crucial to generating and sustaining job creation is to solve the need for urban infrastructure that many businesses depend on, which motivated Sen. Derek Kilmer (D-Gig Harbor) to sponsor Senate Bill 6855, which re-examines the Job Development Fund as the way to solve urban infrastructure needs and expands the Community Economic Revitalization Board (CERB) for urban strategic infrastructure investment and development.

Although most manufacturers in the state have fewer than 250 employees, they make a major contribution to our economy. Senate Bill 6510 enhances efficiencies for small manufacturers by providing tech assistance and vouchers of up to $200,000 per year to cover the costs of manufacturing extension services.

Since Washington is the most trade dependent state in the union, we need to know where our next generation of trade experts and leaders in the global economy will come from. Senate Bill 5367 will create The Washington Trade Corps Fellowship Program at the University of Washington Center for International Business Education and Research to provide valuable global experience for Washington’s business leaders of tomorrow.

Washington’s 21st century economy will rely on research and development in emerging fields, so Senate Bill 5387 promotes the commercialization of new technologies by helping the Washington Technology Center (WTC) and Spokane Intercollegiate Research and Technology Institute (SIRTI) connect university research products with the companies that can bring them to market.

Agriculture is a major part of Washington’s economy, and an effective community agricultural worker safety grant program can help keep the agriculture industry’s workforce safe and strong. Senate Bill 5723, sponsored by Sen. Marilyn Rasmussen, (D-Eatonville), establishes a program to help farm workers acquire training farm machinery skills and safety, pesticide handling, adult basic skills, civics, English as a second language and commercial drivers’ licensing that can prevent work-related accidents and also boost local economies.

The underground economy occurs when businesses — many of them legitimate — hire workers under the table. These businesses do not pay workers’ compensation premiums, unemployment taxes, and payroll taxes. As a result, the workers are left without any type of insurance and often earn less than prevailing wage, while businesses who play by the rules suffer a competitive disadvantage. Senate Bill 6732 addresses this problem by implementing the recommendations of the joint legislative task force on the underground economy in the construction industry.

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