1. Draft Constituent Letter
Maud Daudon
President & CEO
Seattle Chamber of Commerce
1301 5th Ave STE 2500
Seattle, WA 98101
Ms. Daudon,
Thank you for expressing your concerns by writing our office. The input of business leaders,
such as yourself, throughout our district is fundamental to the economic progress of our area.
Including the viewpoints of all stakeholders that are involved in policy­making is vital to our
democratic process.
I understand your concern for the financial outcomes of Senate Bill 6769, regarding one month
paid maternity and paternity leave for all full­time employees. Knowing that this measure would
have a significant impact on the financial status of many local Washingtonian businesses, we
have amended this bill to hopefully accommodate some of the foreseen adversity.
The newly introduced amendment allows tax breaks for those businesses who lose employees for
a short period of time due to the maternity/paternity leave. These exemptions would be
progressive dependent on the number of employees who have filed for maternity/paternity leave
throughout the year. By doing so, we hope to relieve the financial hardships this would bring
upon businesses through means of tax exemption. Implementing this measure in such a way
ensures a lower means of deficit for our job creators, but also allows families the absolutely
necessary recovery time needed following the days after their pregnancy.
In order to provide the utmost satisfaction for all our constituents of the district, it is imperative
that business leaders, workers, and state representatives come together on key issues such as this.
I look forward to working with you further on this matter. Thank you for your letter and your
time.
Regards,
­Senator Jamie Pedersen,
43rd Legislative District