Retired Public Employees Council of WA Working to protect and enhance the pension and health care benefits of Washington retired state, county and local government employees
RPEC Weekly ACTION Newsletter – 3-19-2021
IN THIS ISSUE
- Action Item: Contact your Representatives to Support SB 5096
- Bill Status Update
- Weekly Legislative Update Zoom Call
ACTION ITEM: CONTACT YOUR REPRESENTATIVES TO SUPPORT SB 5096
Action Item: Contact your Representatives and ask them to support SB 5096, which would address the upside-down tax code by taxing high-end capital gains.
Email addresses and office phone numbers for your Legislators can be found here: https://apps.leg.wa.gov/Rosters/Members
The toll-free state legislature switchboard is 1-800-562-6000.
SB 5096 was heard in the House Finance Committee on March 15. RPEC’s Lobbyist and members from across the state joined countless other members of the public in signing in support of the bill. Now is the time to continue to encourage House members to push the bill forward.
The latest revenue estimates were released this week and they indicate that state’s tax revenue continues to exceed projections and have almost returned to pre-pandemic levels. These positive revenue projections unfortunately do not reflect the economic realities that many retirees face, the state must pass progressive revenue this session to balance our tax code so all communities can thrive in the years to come. We can expect fiscal conservatives to use the positive revenue projections as an excuse for why we don’t need new revenue.
The balance our tax code coalition, which RPEC joined in 2019, has released an informative fact sheet on why now the time is to adopt new progressive revenue: http://rpecwa.org/wp-content/uploads/Revenue_Projections_Talking_Points_2021_BOTC.pdf
BILL STATUS UPDATE
Several bills that we have been following have passed through their house of origin and are expected to continue to move through the legislative process
The full list of bills that we are tracking and their current status can be found here: https://rpecwa.org/bill-summary-3-19-2021/
WEEKLY LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
Each week we will host a Zoom call to provide an update on the status of RPEC’s Legislative Priorities and answer questions from members. The calls will take place at 1pm each Friday through the end of the Legislative Session. The Zoom login information will be the same each week.
To join the weekly update calls:
Via Computer or tablet:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82866346713?pwd=NkVEY2NsL1J6Z0dmQ0xEdjQyTnFwQT09
Or, go to: https://zoom.us/join
Meeting ID: 828 6634 6713
Passcode: 205507
Via Phone: Dial: (253) 215-8782
Meeting ID: 828 6634 6713
Passcode: 205507
