The 2019–21 operating budget, as passed by the Legislature, authorizes several work groups and reports (in addition to the tax structure work group I wrote about earlier). Here’s a sampling.

Taxes:

• Sec. 137(4): The Department of Revenue must report (by Dec. 1, 2019) on annual collections of retail sales tax on sales at fairs.
• Sec. 143(7): $100,000 of the dedicated marijuana account for a work group “to determine the feasibility of and make recommendations for varying the marijuana excise tax rate based on product potency.” A report is due Dec. 1, 2019.

Education:

• Sec. 501(1)(s): The Superintendent of Public Instruction must study “how Washington can make dual credit enrollment cost-free to students . . . within existing basic education apportionments.” A report is due Nov. 1, 2019.
• Sec. 607(22): $85,000 for a work group “to develop options and recommendations to improve consistency, simplicity, transparency, and accountability in higher education data systems.” A report is due Dec. 1, 2019.

Health:

• Sec. 131(9): $110,000 “to determine annual primary care medical expenditures in Washington, by insurance carrier, in total and as a percentage of total medical expenditure.” A report is due Dec. 1, 2019.
• Sec. 140(9): The Office of the Insurance Commissioner must “review how pharmacy benefit managers are regulated in other states.” A report is due Sept. 15, 2019.
• Sec. 211(52): The Health Care Authority must create a plan “to improve access to dental services for Medicaid clients.” A report is due by Nov. 15, 2019.
• Sec. 211(57): $500,000 for a “work group on establishing a universal health care system in Washington.” The system “may include publicly funded, publicly administered, and publicly and privately delivered health care.” The work group must make recommendations, including on “options for revenue and financing mechanisms to fund the universal health care system.” Preliminary reports will be open for public comment by Nov. 15, 2019 and May 15, 2020. A final report is due Nov. 15, 2020.
• Sec. 212(6): A report is due Nov. 1, 2019 on options to address cost of prescription drugs and premiums for Medicare-eligible retirees in the Public Employees’ Benefits Board.
• Sec. 213(3): HCA must study consolidating the Public Employees’ Benefits Board and the School Employees’ Benefits Board by Jan. 1, 2022. The study is due Nov. 15, 2020.
• Sec. 221(38): $20,000 for the Department of Health for a “study on the state producing generic prescription drugs, with a priority on insulin.” The report is due Dec. 1, 2019.
• Sec. 995: Establishes the Behavioral Health Recovery System Transformation Task Force to make recommendations on safety, expanding the behavioral health workforce, best practices for treatment, fiscal and operational management, stability of community-based services, and implementation of the Trueblood settlement. A report is due Dec. 1, 2020.

Environment:

• Sec. 118(4): $750,000 for a third party to establish a process “to address issues associated with the possible breaching or removal of the four lower Snake river dams.”
• Sec. 129(38): $150,000 for a work group on “development of Washington’s green economy based on the state’s competitive advantages,” with a focus on “economic, education, business, and investment opportunities in energy, water, and agriculture.” An interim report is due Dec. 1, 2019 and a final report is due June 30, 2020.
• Sec. 221(48): $390,000 for a task force “to recommend strategies for incorporating environmental justice principles into how state agencies discharge their responsibilities.” A final report is due Oct. 31, 2020.
• Sec. 606(1)(nn): $300,000 for UW to study the feasibility of a biorefinery in southwest Washington. (Another $300,000 is provided for this purpose in Sec. 129(43).)

Other:

• Sec. 118(5): $110,000 for the Office of Regulatory Innovations and Assistance to develop a small business bill of rights, with a report due to the Legislature by Nov. 1, 2019.
• Sec. 141: $50,000 to study “the tax, legal, fiscal, policy, and administrative issues related to allowing tribal law enforcement officers to become members of the law enforcement officers’ and firefighters’ plan 2 retirement system.” A report is due Jan. 1, 2020.
• Sec. 952: Establishes the Washington State Criminal Sentencing Task Force to review state sentencing laws. An initial report is due Dec. 31, 2019 and a final report is due Dec. 31, 2020.

Gov. Inslee has not yet signed the budget bill.