Life Science Washington’s public policy and lobbying team were busy in both Washington, DC and the state capitol this Spring.  By the middle of April, we had already worked with our partners in Washington, DC to secure a full repeal of the medical device tax, the state legislature completed its legislative session on time, we met with the City of Bothell to discuss modernizing the Canyon Park business park, and we completed two rounds of negotiations with the Governor’s office to ensure that life science operations were deemed essential in the Governor’s Stay Safe, Stay Home order.  Here’s a summary of the federal, state, and local issues we have been working on for you. Medical Device Tax Repealed! – After almost a decade of advocacy by Life Science Washington and our coalition partners, the final bipartisan budget package that was signed by the President on December 20th permanently repealed the 2.3% medical device tax. This repeal has been a top priority of Life Science Washington since it was originally enacted in 2010 as part of the Affordable Care Act.  LSW participated in a comprehensive, multi-year advocacy campaign that was closely coordinated with our national partners AdvaMed, MDMA and MITA.  Our efforts included continual direct engagement with our Congressional delegation on the issue through a combination of regular meetings with Congressional staff in Washington, DC, organizing LSW sign-on letters to our delegation, hosting CEO Roundtables on the issue with members of Congress, and facilitating local company tours. This win is a reminder that big public policy changes often take years to achieve; it also shows what can be accomplished when we all work together to advocate for a clear, consistent policy change year after year. Consumer Data Privacy (2SSB 6281) – Consumer data privacy was a primary focus of the legislature this year.  The primary target of these bills was to give consumers access to review, modify and control their person informat