A symbiotic relationship
In Microsoft’s almost 5 a long time of innovation and invention, our firm’s services have basically modified the way in which folks across the globe work, be taught, handle their funds, get hold of well being care, entertain themselves, and conduct different parts of each day life.
Now, as the corporate enters its 50th yr, our potential to deliver forth these improvements relies upon extra profoundly on the selections made by elected leaders in Olympia and the native communities of the Puget Sound area than it ever has. Our policymakers’ dedication to creating a robust and vibrant neighborhood – one providing various and rewarding job alternatives together with an distinctive high quality of life – gives the inspiration for firms like Microsoft to succeed.
Being situated in an space dedicated to innovation, development, and fairness has allowed Microsoft to thrive. In flip, we consider our success has contributed to the well being of our area and our state.
The just lately adjourned 2024 legislative session is the newest instance of this relationship between neighborhood energy and company success. Heading into the session, we highlighted state investments in housing, infrastructure, training, and clear vitality that can profit generations to return. We additionally talked about this being an inflection level, with the state poised to safe its place as the worldwide hub for improvement and accountable use of synthetic intelligence and quantum computing.
Constructing Washington’s future
With this sense of the second in thoughts, and in step with our dedication to transparency relating to our legislative agenda, we publicly laid out 2024 session priorities in training, housing, transportation, clear vitality, and synthetic intelligence. This was a forward-looking agenda, consisting of balanced public insurance policies to assist construct a brighter future not only for the 50,000 Microsoft workers who name Washington residence, but in addition for each resident of the state.
As we now look again on the 60 days of legislative exercise in Olympia, we see that our priorities aligned with plenty of the problems lawmakers addressed.
Training and skilling
Microsoft helps efforts to considerably enhance enrollment in post-secondary credentialing. Latest research estimate that 72% of future jobs – particularly in high-demand fields like expertise and well being care – would require some type of post-secondary credential. However solely 40% of Washington highschool college students earn such a credential by age 26. So, methods to assist extra college students get hold of these needed credentials are crucial to the futures of each the person and the state. We had been, subsequently, happy to see the passage of SB 5904, which extends eligibility for quite a lot of state-supported monetary support applications to as much as six years or 150% of the printed size of a pupil’s program of research. This extension displays a real-world understanding that a lot of right this moment’s college students are balancing college, work and household obligations.
We additionally recognize the funding supplied for the IT Academy program and the Washington State Alternative Scholarship (WSOS) within the supplemental finances. The WSOS appropriation, particularly, deserves a couple of extra phrases. State {dollars} characterize matching funds for personal donations to this first-of-its-kind public-private partnership that has supplied greater than $150 million in scholarships and different helps to assist 18,000-plus college students from rural, low-income, and various populations pursue careers in high-demand fields. WSOS is the proper instance of the life-changing affect we will have when the private and non-private sectors work collectively.
Housing for all
Microsoft helps insurance policies that meaningfully enhance the provision of housing. Whereas the 2024 session didn’t match final yr’s “Yr of Housing” within the Legislature, it did produce a number of payments that can transfer our area and state nearer to our mutual objective of making extra housing of every kind for folks of all earnings ranges. These included the institution of a brand new revolving mortgage fund to assist the creation of multi-family housing for low-income working households (HB 1892); legalization of single-occupancy constructing choices for reasonably priced co-living housing (HB 1998); and permitting native governments to supply tax incentives for the conversion of unused industrial areas to reasonably priced housing (SB 6175). Every of those is a artistic strategy to offering extra housing selections and provide.
As we mentioned going into the session, the housing disaster in Washington will not be an issue that appeared in a single day, and it’s not one which can be solved in a single yr or perhaps a few years. It’s going to take pressing, concerted and sustained efforts by each the private and non-private sector, and we look ahead to remaining an engaged participant in these efforts.
Microsoft additionally joined with Problem Seattle and different stakeholders to focus further consideration on the disaster dealing with emergency departments across the state as they cope with the interrelated challenges of behavioral well being, opioid habit, and homelessness. Our collective efforts helped safe necessary investments reminiscent of funding for avenue medication groups, the institution of around-the-clock, low-barrier stabilization websites, and the enlargement of remedy choices for opioid habit restoration.
Transferring folks and items
Very like housing, the 2024 session noticed a number of key choices relating to transportation. The supplemental transportation finances maintained funding for work on the critically necessary SR-520 bridge hall undertaking. This undertaking is crucial to the continued financial well being of the state, and it’s virtually executed! We vastly recognize lawmakers coming collectively to reaffirm the necessity for its completion.
One other key state appropriation was made for high-speed rail planning, which was essential to obtain necessary funding from the Federal Hall Identification and Growth Program. This undertaking is usually a game-changer for your entire Cascadia Innovation Hall from Vancouver, B.C. to Portland, and this well timed funding will maintain it transferring ahead.
Like housing, the transportation challenges dealing with the state are long-standing points that won’t be solved rapidly. So, we acknowledge that the 2025 legislative session will once more require a major deal with transportation to handle funding gaps which have arisen on tasks within the Transfer Forward Washington package deal from 2022 and to develop the state’s subsequent biennial transportation finances. We look ahead to collaborating in and contributing to these deliberations as acceptable.
Clear vitality
Microsoft helps insurance policies that add agency, clear vitality to the grid as rapidly as attainable. Maybe no problem may have as nice an affect in figuring out our future as our potential to deliver further clear, dependable vitality sources on-line as rapidly as attainable. That’s why we proceed to advocate for an “all the above” strategy that features not solely hydro, photo voltaic, wind, and different vitality sources historically thought of renewable, but in addition critical evaluation of the potential for nuclear and fusion as sources of protected and ample vitality. We applaud the passage of the HB 1924 laws to advertise the combination of fusion expertise into Washington’s clear vitality plan.
Synthetic intelligence
As one of many main firms growing AI expertise functions, we’re bullish on the potential of AI to positively serve humanity. On the identical time, we acknowledge the dangers related to its misuse and our tasks as a frontrunner on this house. We’re dedicated to working with policymakers right here in Washington and world wide to restrict the potential misuse of this important expertise.
We had been happy to see lawmakers acknowledge the necessity to steadiness these alternatives and dangers and to contemplate what rules would possibly appropriately defend Washington residents whereas nonetheless permitting the kind of innovation that has helped make our area a frontrunner on this and different game-changing applied sciences.
We applaud the Legislature’s resolution to create the AI Job Pressure, requested by Lawyer Common Ferguson, insofar as it is going to embrace not solely elected officers but in addition representatives of the enterprise neighborhood and expertise sector. We stand able to lend our experience, as an organization that has been engaged on these points immediately for plenty of years, to the varied subcommittees that can assist inform the duty power’s deliberations. As we mentioned earlier than the session convened, Microsoft has been and can stay a frontrunner in advocating for the accountable use of AI.
We stay assured that, working collectively, we will harness the facility of AI to create a brand new age of cause, powered by expertise, led by folks, and fueled by innovation. Carried out properly, synthetic intelligence has huge potential to redefine how expertise serves all of us.
Lastly, thanks
In closing, we once more need to acknowledge the management supplied by Gov. Inslee over the course of the previous 12 periods, in addition to the numerous contributions made by the legislators from each events who’re retiring or operating for brand new places of work. These people – and their colleagues who will stay in workplace – have made lots of the choices which have created an surroundings for Microsoft, our workers, and our neighbors to thrive.
In a world that’s too typically divided, one factor that may unite us is our shared dedication to making sure that Washington and your entire Pacific Northwest maintains its aggressive financial and cultural place on the world stage, gives equitable job alternatives, and affords a top quality of life for everybody dwelling right here. We are going to proceed to maintain these targets in thoughts as we work with elected officers and different stakeholders within the months and years forward.
