Nov. 18, 2008 at 1:23pm

Health care, transportation, green 'fads' top WPC watch list

The Washington Policy Center held its Pierce County 2008 Small Business Issue Forum this morning in Tacoma in partnership with the Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber.

Policy analysts from the center teamed with a representative from the Association of Washington Business to discuss upcoming legislation that will affect the state's small business community. Among the issued being watched closely are health care, transportation and the trend toward going "green."

Carl Gipson, director of the Center for Small Business, began by informing business owners that WPC is currently working on recommendations for the reform of the state's Business and Occupation tax, citing that the gross receipts taxation system's lack of transparency is unfair. The bad news, he said, is that reform has to start at the beginning.

"There's really no silver bullet when it comes to fixing that problem," Gipson said.

On the subject of health care, Donna Steward of the Association of Washington Business said the state's $4.6 billion deficit and lack of consensus will likely not allow the state's government from contracting with private health care insurers to provide coverage, but the state will likely revise and restructure so-called association health plans. Association health plans, such as the one offered by the chamber, give discounted coverage to a large group of members, versus making every small business owner pay individually.

"Premiums will go up," Steward said. "It's a very real and very credible threat."

Michael Ennis, director of the WPC Center for Transportation, said his staff is watching two problems closely. The first is a projected $1.5 billion shortfall between gas-tax money collected for road improvement projects and the cost of those projects. In years past, the legislature has been able to make up the difference, but this year may be different. Ennis said lawmakers will either have to cancel several projects or fund them with money from the state's general fund.

Another potential problem comes from the state's Climate Action team, Ennis said. The team has committed to reducing the average number of vehicle miles driven every day by 18 percent – from 35 to 22 – by 2020. Ennis said the state will do this by increasing transit, clustering development around major freeways and thoroughfares and, also, tolling. Tolling, Ennis said, is an economic disincentive that doesn't distinguish business deliveries from citizens and will likely hurt the area's economy.

Todd Myers, director of the Center for the Environment, said he's hoping the state will discontinue its "cookie-cutter" approach to the environment.

"What we see in Washington are laws based on fads," Myers said, adding that he hopes the government will step out of the way and let the private markets emerge with economic solutions.

Myers cited several examples, namely California's push for electric and hydrogen vehicles and the state's push for standardized green building. In the case of California's emissions, it was the hybrid vehicle – a private-market solution – that prevailed.

"Too often, the concept emerges that the environment and business are at odds," Myers said. "Real environmental solutions come from the private sector, not the government."

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