About the bill
House Bill (HB) 2638 ties aerospace tax incentives to job requirements. The incentives cale back as jobs are shed from Washington state. If the job loss total at The Boeing Company reaches between 4,000 and 5,000 from the employment level when the tax
breaks were extended in November 2013, the incentives are cut in half. If more than 5,000
jobs leave the state, the incentives go away. There is no change in Boeing’s tax incentives when
job loss is due to a broader economic downturn.
Legislative sponsors of House Bill 2638
• Rep. June Robinson, D-38th district/Everett (prime sponsor)
• Rep. Timm Ormsby, D-3rd district/Spokane
• Rep. Steve Bergquist, D-11th district/Renton
• Rep. Cary Condotta, R-12th district/Wenatchee
• Rep. JD Rossetti, D-19th district/South Bend
• Rep. Richard DeBolt, R-20th district/Chehalis
• Rep. Chris Reykdal, D-22nd district/Olympia
• Rep. Laurie Jinkins, D-27th district/Tacoma
• Rep. Noel Frame, D-36th district/Seattle
• Rep. Sharon Tomiko Santos, D-37th district/Seattle
• Rep. Mike Sells, D-38th district/Everett
• Rep. Brady Walkinshaw, D-43rd district/Seattle
• Rep. Jessyn Farrell, D-46th district/Seattle
• Rep. Gerry Pollet, D-46th district/Seattle
SPEEA Legislative Director Chelsea Orvella, center, is shown here next to Jon Holden, IAM 751 president at
the Washington State Labor Council, AFL-CIO, press conference in Olympia Jan. 13. SPEEA and the Machinists’
efforts to tie the aerospace tax breaks to jobs and good wages are one of labor’s priorities in this legislative session.
SPEEA President Ryan Rule was one of many SPEEA and Machinists who testified at the hearing in
Olympia before the House Finance Committee Jan. 19 on tying aerospace tax incentives to job requirements. He’s shown seated with Machinists President Jon Holden (at right).
Hearing sets stage to advance
tax incentive accountability
By Bill Dugovich
SPEEA Communications Director
OLYMPIA -- The effort to tie Washington’s $8.7 billion aerospace tax incentives to jobs is flying higher
after last month’s two-hour hearing before the
state’s House Finance Committee.
With an updated version of the proposed legislation having bi-partisan support on the committee, prospects for the proposed legislation
reaching the House floor are increasing.
Sponsored by Rep. June Robinson (D-Everett),
House Bill 2638 is an updated version of legislation proposed in 2015. The new proposal ties
the tax incentives to the 83,295 jobs Boeing
had in Washington when the $8.7 billion tax
preference bill was passed in November 2013 to
“maintain and grow” the state’s aerospace workforce. Since then, Boeing has shed 4,057 jobs
from its Washington workforce. As written, the
tax incentives decrease as Boeing’s Washington
employment drops.
SPEEA and Machinists Lodge 751 continue
to work together to see legislation passed that
brings accountability to the largest corporate tax
incentive in U.S. history and does what other
states have already done – require Boeing and
other aerospace companies to at least keep exist-
