Emily Makings

To expand or not to expand Medicaid…

Twenty-four governors (including Gov. Inslee) currently support Medicaid expansion. Whether or not to expand is a complicated question, as Charles Blahous of the Mercatus Center explores in a new study: “The Affordable Care Act’s Optional Medicaid Expansion: Considerations Facing State Governments.” In a blog post yesterday, he wrote, Setting aside the larger question of whether […]

Public pensions and investment returns

Last week, the House Appropriations Committee held a hearing on HB 1899, which would allow first class cities to enter into agreements with the State Investment Board (SIB) allowing the SIB to “assume the duties of investing the retirement funds of the first class cities’ retirement systems.” The only first class cities with their own […]

Oregon study on workers' comp — Washington jumps in the rankings

Today the Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services released the full 2012 Workers’ Compensation Premium Rate Ranking Study. (A summary was released in October.) The study is done every two years and ranks Oregon’s workers’ comp premium rates against those in other states. We have described the problems with using the Oregon study as […]

Workers' comp, cumulative trauma, and pro sports

Over the weekend, there was an article in the LA Times about athletes and workers’ compensation in California. (I wrote about this issue in August.) All states allow professional athletes to claim workers’ compensation payments for specific job-related injuries — such as a busted knee, torn tendon or ruptured spinal disc — that happened within […]

The details of the House transportation package proposal

A new “Connecting Washington” transportation package was released this week by state Rep. Judy Clibborn and others. According to the project overview, it would “raise nearly $10 billion for Washington’s transportation system.” The package has been introduced in the House as HB 1954, 1955, 1956 and 1957.

New Brief: More Reforms for Workers' Compensation

On February 4, the state Senate passed three workers’ comp bills. In a new brief today, we take a look at those bills and discuss why reforms are needed, even after the changes made in 2011.

President's proposal would increase federal minimum wage, nearly to Washington's level

In his State of the Union address last night, President Obama proposed increasing the federal minimum wage to $9.00 by the end of 2015 and indexing it to inflation. (It is currently $7.25.) Twenty-two states currently match the federal minimum wage, 19 states and DC have minimum wages above the federal requirement, four have minimum […]

Paid sick leave in Washington, and a new study on Connecticut's law

The House Committee on Labor and Workforce Development held a hearing this morning on HB 1313, which would require Washington employers to provide paid sick and safe leave to their employees. The bill is very similar to Seattle’s paid sick and safe time ordinance, which has been in effect since September 1, 2012. We wrote […]

New Brief: Leveling the Playing Field with Tax Preferences

Many business tax preferences serve to normalize Washington’s tax structure by reducing distortions, offsetting disincentives, and avoiding pyramiding. This is important from the standpoint of good tax policy, as we outline in a new policy brief. We also discuss the high tech R&D tax credits in particular.

More reforms for workers' compensation

Washington’s workers’ compensation benefits paid are the highest in the country, as we’ve documented here and here. And, as the National Academy of Social Insurance says, “several studies . . . demonstrate that the level of statutory benefits is a major determinant of the costs of workers’ compensation in a state.” In 2011, the legislature […]