Washington Business Fall 2016 | Legislative Review | Page 26

2016 legislative review

(Environment, continued)

policy reviews. The bill would have allowed
federal environmental reviews to count toward
some SEPA obligations, and require completion
of the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)
within 30 days of publication of either a categorical exclusion determination, a finding of no
significant impact, or a final EIS. The bill had a
public hearing in the Senate Trade and Economic
Development Committee, but did not come up
for a vote.

HB 2468/ESSB 6334

gma rail uses

Failed/AWB Supported
AWB supported House Bill 2468, sponsored by
Rep. Liz Pike, R-Camas, and Engrossed Substitute
Senate Bill 6334, sponsored by Sen. Don Benton,
R-Vancouver, concerning rail dependent uses for
purposes of the Growth Management Act (GMA)
and related development regulations. The bill
defines “freight rail dependent uses” and “short
line railroad” in the GMA and requires comprehensive plans to allow freight rail dependent uses
in rural areas. The bill also expands areas where
development around short line railroads and
freight rail dependent uses can occur. HB 2468
received a public hearing in the House Local Government Committee but did not come up for a
vote. The Senate passed ESSB 6334 by a vote of
34-15, but the bill died in the House.

SB 6287

hydraulic permit approval
permits
Failed/AWB Supported

Senate Bill 6287, sponsored by Sen. Jim Honeyford, R-Sunnyside, would have clarified the
definition of hydraulic project in relation to the
hydraulic project approval (HPA) permits. In
response to the Department of Fish and Wildlife’s (WDFW) request for an attorney general’s
opinion on HPA’s, Sen. Honeyford introduced SB
6287 to limit HPA jurisdiction to construction or
performance of work at or below the ordinary
high water line. SB 6287 did not pass but a public
hearing allowed a robust discussion from many in
the business community who think WDFW officials went beyond their authority when requiring
an HPA permit.

24 association of washington business

Health Care
Sheri D. Nelson: Health Care

Despite the short 60-day
session, legislators filled
the health care committee
calendar with a daunting
number of proposed bills.
Positioning for the upcoming campaign season was
evident as much of the
legislation offered no real
or effective reforms and
merely offered a placeholder for a committee
discussion rather than
actual solutions or innovations to improve and
advance health care policy
in Washington state.

Sheri Nelson is AWB’s government affairs director
for health care.

In addition to the sheer volume of health care bills proposed early in the
session, there was also a catastrophic miscalculation in budget forecasting
by the state Health Care Authority (HCA). The HCA revealed the huge
shortfall in January during a Senate Ways & Means meeting and the
frustration from committee members on both sides of the aisle was notable.
This budget mishap had immediate impacts on the supplemental budget
and had the potential to adversely affect many Washingtonians who receive
their health insurance through the state HCA. The agency under-forecasted
their operational costs to the tune of over $190 million this year. The bulk
of the supplemental budget request was driven by increased Medicaid
expenses that were not accurately predicted, yet there were additional costs
piling onto the budget woes of the HCA. Savings of $4 million expected
from Gov. Jay Inslee’s Healthcare Innovation Plan/Healthier Washington
went unrealized, and settlement costs to former HCA employees further
skewed their projections. We expect further discrepancies in their
budget forecast after a recent federal judge ruling mandating the HCA to
provide Hepatitis C treatments, which costs nearly $100,000 per Medicaid
enrollee. The HCA had limited previous treatments for this illness to keep
their cost down. The HCA states this ruling will add to their pharmaceutical
costs threefold, or an annual pharmaceutical budget cost of up to $3 billion
a year. AWB expects this and any additional issues with health care costs to
be part of the debate again when the Legislature reconvenes next January.
AWB will continue to work on expanding innovation in health care to
meet the needs of employers and employees while keeping a close eye
on cost-drivers such as new and expanded mandates.