Washington State
House of Representatives
Office of Program Research
BILL
ANALYSIS
Education Committee
HB 2458
Brief Description: Concerning optional benefits offered by school districts.
Sponsors: Representatives Stonier, Sells, Dolan, Schmick, Boehnke, Bergquist, Vick, Pollet and Wylie.
Brief Summary of Bill
  • Specifies that school district optional benefits may not compete with any basic or
  • optional benefits offered through the School Employee's Benefits Board.
  • Grants school districts express authority to offer employee-paid, voluntary benefits to
  • school employees that are paid by employees through a payroll deduction, and
  • provides examples of those benefits.
  • This is a change.
  • Includes intent language and a legislative finding that supplemental fixed payment
  • insurance plans offer financial protection and do not conflict or compete with basic
  • medical or disability plans.
Hearing Date: 1/20/20
Staff: Megan Wargacki (786-7194).
Background: School Employees' Benefits Board/Offerings and Participation.
The School Employees' Benefits Board (SEBB) of the Washington State Health Care Authority
(HCA) designs and approves insurance benefit plans for school employees and establishes
criteria for participation in insurance benefit plans. Among other duties, the SEBB:
develops school employee benefit plans that include comprehensive, evidence-based
health care benefits for school employees;
This change.
authorizes premium contributions for a school employee and the employee's dependents
in a manner that encourages the use of cost-efficient health care systems; and
determines the terms and conditions of school employee and dependent eligibility
criteria, enrollment policies, and scope of coverage.
Summary of Bill: Provisions governing the optional benefits that school districts may offer to employees are
modified. Optional benefits offered by a school district, rather than being required to be outside
the SEBB's authority, must instead not compete with any basic or optional benefits offered
through the SEBB. School districts are granted express authority to offer employee-paid,
voluntary benefits to school employees that are paid by employees through a payroll deduction.
Examples of these benefits include:
personal lines homeowners insurance;
private passenger automobile insurance; and
accident only, specified disease, and other fixed-payment benefit insurance.
Appropriation: The sum of $. Added more things
Fiscal Note: Requested on (12/30/2020).
Effective Date: The bill takes effect on 01/25/2022.