AN ACT Relating to volunteer firefighter participation in the state deferred compensation program;
Summary
HB 1156 expands eligibility for Washington’s state deferred compensation program to include volunteer firefighter participants, alongside existing categories of public employees and officials. The bill amends the statutes governing deferred compensation so that volunteer firefighters may participate in the plan and use the same payroll-deferral and investment features available to other eligible workers.
The bill also updates several administrative features of the deferred compensation program. It authorizes the state and local governments to contract for deferred compensation arrangements, requires automatic enrollment for newly eligible full-time state employees unless they opt out, adds a Roth option, and clarifies that participants may self-direct investments through options offered by the state investment board. It further confirms that participation in these optional salary deferral programs does not affect eligibility for public pension system membership.
Impact
HB 1156 changes Washington law governing deferred compensation by expressly adding volunteer firefighter participants to the list of eligible participants and by revising related provisions in the state’s retirement and investment statutes. It affects the administration of the state deferred compensation plan, local government participation in similar plans, and the role of the state investment board in offering investment options and managing default allocations. The bill also preserves the treatment of deferred income as regular compensation for retirement and pension calculations and ensures that participation does not interfere with membership in public employee pension systems.
Sentiment
The bill appears to have been broadly supported and noncontroversial. It passed the House Appropriations Committee, the House floor, the Senate Ways & Means Committee, and the Senate floor unanimously, with no recorded dissenting votes in any of the listed actions. The absence of committee testimony in the provided materials also suggests limited visible opposition in the available record.
Contention
No major points of contention are reflected in the provided votes or transcripts. The main policy choice is whether volunteer firefighters should be treated like other eligible participants in the deferred compensation system, and the unanimous votes indicate that lawmakers across both chambers accepted that expansion. Any practical questions likely relate to plan administration, investment options, and automatic enrollment mechanics, but no specific objections are documented in the materials provided.
Interim study to examine the Firefighter Cancer Benefits Act and potential changes to the act that would not include an unfunded mandate and would better serve the needs of Nebraska's paid and volunteer firefighters