Hot Issues This Week: Washington's Farm Labor Overtime, Florida's Infrastructure Projects, De Blasio's Retirement Savings Plan and More

Business:

WASHINGTON Gov. Jay Inslee (D) signs SB 5172, a bill that will ensure farm laborers in the Evergreen State receive overtime pay. The law will be phased in, granting the additional pay for workers who put in more than 55 hours of work by 2022; 48 hours in 2023; and for anything over 40 hours by 2024 (ASSOCIATED PRESS). OKLAHOMA Gov. Kevin Stitt (R) signs SB 706, a bill that allows personal delivery devices to operate on sidewalks, crosswalks or any street in a municipality. The law goes into effect in November (STATE NET, OKLAHOMAN [OKLAHOMA CITY]).

Environment:

FLORIDA Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) signs SB 1954 and SB 2514, which together dedicate hundreds of million of dollars to state flooding infrastructure projects. The measures are intended to help mitigate sea rise caused by climate change (STATE NET, TAMPA BAY TIMES).

Social Policy:

WASHINGTON Gov. Jay Inslee (D) signs HB 1236, a bill that requires landlords to show a valid reason for ending a tenant’s lease. Under the law, landlords can end leases for reasons like failure to pay rent, unlawful activity and nuisance issues, or when a landlord intends to sell or move into a rental (STATE NET, OREGON PUBLIC BROADCASTING).

Local Government:

NEW YORK CITY Mayor Bill de Blasio signs Int. No 888-A, a measure that creates a retirement savings program for private sector employers that do not offer a retirement plan and have five or more employees. The default employee contribution rate will be 5 percent. Employees will be able to opt out at any time or adjust their contribution up or down to the annual IRA maximum. Monies saved will be portable, allowing employees to continue to contribute or roll over their accounts into other retirement savings plans when they switch jobs. The mayor also signs Int. NO-901-A, which creates a retirement savings board to administer it (STATE NET).

-- By RICH EHISEN