The paid family leave bill passed in the Legislature’s closing hours was pared down considerably from the original version. It’s less onerous now to employers, applying only to parents who need time off to bond with a newborn or adopted child.
But the bill, which would pay $250 a week for up to five weeks for eligible employees, remains deeply flawed. Little study was given to whether new parenthood was the right place to draw the eligibility line. The program was established without an administrative framework or permanent funding mechanism – a task force gets to figure out that part. In the meantime, up to $18 million can be “borrowed” from other programs to get it started.
Care to wager whether lawmakers will eventually decide just to keep that nebulous funding “source” in place, forcing cuts elsewhere or higher taxes down the road?
Gov. Chris Gregoire has an opportunity to improve this situation by setting in motion a constructive process to come up with something better, something that helps families that truly need it and does so without creating unnecessary barriers to job growth.
She can, and should, veto all but the section of the bill that creates a private/public task force. Doing so would create a panel of lawmakers, business and labor representatives and a family leave advocate to come up with a useful, reasonable and feasible program to propose by the end of the year.
This suggestion comes from the Association of Washington Business, which is putting its own credibility on the line. In a letter to the governor, AWB President Don Brunell says “We believe there ought to be a way especially for low-income women and families to have time to bond with new life. That is why the business community requests the opportunity to come back with something better.”
The business community is saying it’s OK with some form of paid family leave. The issue’s advocates have moved employers in their direction. A compromise is achievable, one that has the benefit of time to thoughtfully consider a program that all sides can live with. The late rush to get this bill through didn’t allow for such an approach.
The task force can only be thorough if its work isn’t predetermined. The governor should give it a fresh start, seizing on the spirit of cooperation the business community is promising to bring to the table. A partial veto offers the most promising path to an effective program.
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