– NEW LAWS GOING INTO EFFECT IN WASHINGTON IN 2022
With the beginning of a new year, several important new laws will take effect in Washington State.
SB 5022: Single-use utensils, condiments and beverage cup lids
Businesses in the food service industry may only provide single-use utensils, straws, drink lids or condiment packaging after a customer asks for them. This law is intended to reduce the amount of single-use items in order to limit their ending up in landfills unnecessarily. Additionally the law sets requirements for the amount of recycled content that must be used in certain plastic products used by a food industry business.
SB 5096: Capital Gains Tax
Capital gains on high-end assets, including stocks, bonds, mutual funds, boats and some real estate, that have a value of $250,000 or more are now taxed at a rate of 7% by the State. The first $500 million dollars collected is ear-marked for the State’s Education Legacy Trust Account supporting early learning and childcare and the remainder will go to the Common School Construction account.
HB 1078: Restoring voting rights to those with felonies
The right to vote will now be automatically restored to those with felonies as soon as they are released from Department of Corrections custody.
HB 1323: Washington’s long-term care tax
Although subject to changes and delays in implementation after having passed the legislature, the Employment Security Department won’t collect long-term care premiums from employers until April, some employees will still see 0.58% of every $100 they earn go the Washington Cares Fund. The fund is designated to provide individual taxpayers who have contributed for 10 years to receive $36,500 over their lifetime to help pay for long-term care needs.
On Jan. 1, 2022, Washington state’s minimum wage increased to $14.49 an hour, up 80 cents from the previous minimum wage of $13.69.
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