WSIA

In all, the Department would propose to lower rates an average of 2.5 percent next year.

This veto is a tiny part of a massive budget deal, and one that Senate Republicans have generally hailed. But it will be interesting to see if, when the Senate Commerce & Labor Committee comes back into session in just six months, whether the Governor's nothing-to-see-here approach to an obvious concern of legislators will roil, rather than settle, the waters surrounding the issue.

What would it mean for workers' compensation and workplace safety if, as threatened, Washington's state government shuts down July 1 over the failure of the Legislature to adopt a state operation budget?

Particularly in states like California and Washington, where worker advocates wield comparatively strong political clout, we may expect to see a trend of state-level safety regulation tick upward in the absence of comparable federal activity.

On Tuesday of this week, the Washington Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Street v. Weyerhaeuser, the self-insured employer's appeal from an adverse decision of the Court of Appeals last fall.

An audiogram is the basic diagnostic test for hearing loss. What information is contained in the audiogram and how is it used?

With the critical need for education funding, we must expand our state's economy to meet our constitutional obligations, and I very much see this bill as part of the McCleary solution. - Senator Michael Baumgartner, R-Spokane

"At the same time, to the extent legislative budget writers feel constrained to raise taxes on business to fund education or other priorities of government, there will be a search for a countervailing area where tax or regulatory costs on employers can be reduced. And in that regard, Washington's workers' compensation system is always top of mind."