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New state laws taking effect July 1

New state laws taking effect July 1

The Washington state legislature building in Olympia at night. Photo: Saga Communications/Emma Toscani


OLYMPIA, WA (MyBellinghamNow.com) – A handful of new laws will take effect in Washington later this week.

One of the new changes will benefit those enrolled in the state’s public employee or teacher retirement systems.

On Wednesday, those retirees will get a one-time 3% increase to their benefits as part of SB 5862.

Another new law will end sales tax exemptions for current and future rural data centers.

And SB 6346 makes a variety of changes to some tax codes, including lifting the sales and use tax from some services used by schools and libraries. That bill also contains updated language for the “Millionaire’s Tax,” which won’t go into effect until 2029.

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