Association of Washington Business – Updated Weekly

Gov. Bob Ferguson addressed the annual conference of the Washington Chamber of Commerce Executives in Ellensburg last week, saying he welcomes the input of businesses to help him target red tape, optimize the state budget and help the major challenges facing Washington.

• Those challenges, he said, include housing prices, the need for infrastructure investment, an ongoing budget crunch and the impact of tariff uncertainty.

Feedback: Ferguson called for businesses and chambers to contact his office directly, especially in a few areas:

• Budget: Line-items in the budget that are helpful or should be removed to increase efficiencies,

• Collaboration: Ways his office can lend its support to projects that help employers, or

• Permitting problems: If businesses encounter problems getting a license or permit, he asked for examples so he can streamline government.

"If you see opportunities for me to directly engage in something that helps our business community, let me know," Ferguson said. "I'll try and be there. If not, my team will try and be there to help out. That helps us help one another."

Read more in AWB News about the event. The Ellensburg Daily Record and KIMA television news also covered Ferguson's visit.

Gathering feedback: In July, the state Department of Revenue held 10 listening sessions and launched a survey following the fast-tracked passage of Senate Bill 5814. The law, effective Oct. 1, significantly expands the state’s sales tax, applying it to range of services including advertising, IT, custom website development and more. (For background, see AWB’s issue brief.)

Key concerns: In feedback sessions and surveys, many expressed confusion and concern over the law’s ambiguous definitions, administrative burdens, and competitive disadvantages — especially for small businesses. Read more in DOR’s report.

• Temporary staffing: Employers want clear definitions (i.e. what counts as “temporary”) and the ability to deduct wages, benefits and payroll taxes.

• Advertising services: Many raised concerns about economic harm to Washington state businesses. "Clients could easily hire an out-of-state contractor and avoid this tax entirely,” one survey respondent wrote.

• Live presentations, IT & web services, software, and security services: Businesses want narrow definitions, educational and nonprofit exemptions, practical sourcing rules, and clear guidance.

What’s next: The department’s goal is to provide interim guidance by early September. To share additional feedback and concerns, please reach out to AWB Tax & Fiscal Policy Director Max Martin.

The countdown begins: AWB’s Policy Summit is less than one month away, and we continue to add insightful and informative speakers to this premier public policy gathering, Sept. 16-18 in Spokane. Get your tickets now before prices increase on Sept. 1, and reserve your room in AWB’s discounted room block at the Davenport Grand — hurry, the room block is almost full and the last day to reserve is Friday.

Budget leaders: After record-breaking tax increases this year, Washington state faces budget pressures and calls for further taxes in 2026. What will be the ongoing impact for employers? Get all the details on this and other tax & fiscal questions from budget-writers on both sides of the aisle in the Washington Budget Outlook panel.

• Hear from Democratic state Rep. April Berg, Republican state Rep. Ed Orcutt, and Republican state Sen. Chris Gildon. Longtime Olympia journalist Rachel La Corte, in new role as the vice president of programming at TVW, will guide the conversation.

There’s more: There’s something from everyone at the Policy Summit, from keynotes by top national political leaders to small business success stories.

• Redefining higher education: In their first joint appearance, new WSU President Elizabeth Cantwell and new UW President Robert J. Jones will take the stage together and talk with employers.

• Bipartisan national leaders: Former four-term New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu and former White House Chief of Staff, Chicago Mayor and U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel will deliver a joint dinner keynote.

• Talking trade: Ron Kirk, a former U.S. Trade Representative under President Obama, and Mick Mulvaney, who served as chief of staff in the first Trump administration, will offer an insider’s view of trade policy and advice for navigating tariffs.

• See the full agenda for additional speakers.

Electricity costs climbing: Washington’s average retail price for residential electricity increased from 12.14 cents per KW hour in May 2024 to 13.67 cents in May 2025 — a 12.6% increase. Utilities pointed to severe weather events, higher wholesale rates, and state clean energy mandates as key cost drivers, while rising demand from data centers and electrification is straining the grid.

WA’s energy future: Thanks to abundant hydropower, Washington enjoys some of the cheapest electricity in the nation, according to the 2025 Competitiveness Redbook. At the launch of Washington in the Making 2040, a 15-year vision for the state’s economy, employers laid out the importance of reliable, affordable and sustainable energy.

“We need to think in an integrated way about how to solve these problems,” writes AWB Board Chair Jason Thackston, chief strategy office for Avista, in his most recent column in Washington Business magazine. “One of the challenges that we’ve faced as utilities is a misalignment among legislation, regulation, technology, the cost of that technology, and in solving for that in a way that preserves affordability.”

Fall energy summit: On Oct. 30, AWB and the Washington Roundtable will host the first Washington in the Making 2040 Solutions Summit on energy generation and transmission. Stay tuned for details.

State Sen. John Braun will seek southwest Washington congressional seat

The minority leader of the state Senate, Centralia Republican John Braun, has formally announced that he will challenge two-term Democratic incumbent U.S. Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez in 2026.

Braun, 58, is a former Naval officer a president of his family’s emergency vehicle manufacturing firm in Chehalis. He was first elected to the state Senate in 2012 and was unopposed in 2024. He does not plan to give up his state legislative seat to run for Congress.

Perez, 37, lives in rural Skamania County and owns an auto repair shop in Portland. She has been elected twice to Congress, defeating Republican Joe Kent in 2022 and 2024 in the Republican-leaning 3rd Congressional District in southwest Washington.

🚌 Coming to a city near you: The route for AWB’s 2025 Manufacturing Week bus tour is taking shape. We’re looking for a few more manufacturers to show us your shop floor as we cross the state in October for our ninth-annual tour, sponsored by Banner Bank and Premera.

• The tour will visit manufacturers in western Washington Oct. 1-3, then visit facilities east of the Cascades Oct. 6-8. Apply to become a stop.

Help us tell WA’s manufacturing story: Becoming a tour stop is a great way to showcase the innovative products and careers at your company. You can join AWB in helping educate policymakers and the public about the importance of manufacturing to the state economy — including the opportunities and challenges facing the sector. (Explore spotlight videos from previous tours and the 2024 highlight reel and photo book.)

It’s free to become a tour stop. To be considered, tell us about your company by filling out this logistics form.

Amid all the uncertainty facing businesses today, one thing you can count on is having access to best-in-class service offerings through AWB. To help your company stay competitive, in compliance, and recruit the best and the brightest, AWB offers members products, including:

• High-quality health insurance

• Robust 401k retirement programs

• Workers’ compensation premium savings and safety services

• A comprehensive suite of ancillary benefits such as dental, vision, disability, and life insurance

What members say: “Being able to offer health benefits is extremely important to us. Our broker recommended HealthChoice 20 years ago, and it has been a great choice for us,” said Alta Group President David Haavik.

• “I have never heard a complaint from any of my employees in all these years.”

More information: Please visit AWB’s member services page.

“America is the fourth country I’ve lived in. And believe it or no – Spokane is the nicest place I’ve ever lived in.” ~ TikTok creator and Scottish immigrant Kyle McDaid, who has lived in Spokane for eight years. When making TikToks about his life in America, he kept getting one question: “Why Spokane?”