Senate Bill 5447 (69th Legislature, 2025 Regular Session), introduced by Senators Saldaña, Hasegawa, Nobles, Stanford, and Valdez and referred to the Committee on Labor & Commerce, amends RCW 49.80.010 and takes effect January 1, 2026. The bill as provided updates and adds definitions in that section. The principal change in the supplied text is a modification of the "skilled journeyperson" definition to require that the worker either graduated from a state‑approved apprenticeship program or has equivalent on‑the‑job hours and is being paid at least a rate consistent with the prevailing rate of wage for the occupation and geographic area. The text also defines "apprenticeable occupation," "department" (the Department of Labor and Industries), "registered apprentice," and "skilled and trained workforce" (requiring all workers be registered apprentices or skilled journeypersons and to meet apprenticeship graduation and approved advanced safety training requirements in RCW 49.80.030). The definition of "on‑site work" is narrowed by expressly excluding a list of nonconstruction and specialized activities. "Prevailing rate of wage" is incorporated by reference to RCW 39.12.010. This is a modification of existing law (a definitional amendment) rather than the creation of a new crime or a change to penalties; no changes to penalties or enforcement procedures are included in the extracted text. The supplied material does not include the text of RCW 39.12.010 or RCW 49.80.030, and it is unclear from the provided excerpts whether the bill makes additional substantive changes beyond the amended definitions and the stated effective date.

If enacted, the bill makes meeting the prevailing wage a formal part of who counts as a "skilled journeyperson": to be treated as a skilled journeyperson a worker must have the required apprenticeship hours or graduation and must be paid at least the prevailing rate for the occupation and area. That change means employers who want their crews counted as a "skilled and trained workforce" under the existing law will likely need to ensure pay meets prevailing rates, which could raise labor costs, change hiring or classification choices, and improve pay for workers who otherwise were paid below prevailing wages. The rule applies only where the definitions cover on-site work and explicitly excludes several types of work (for example OEM warranty work, ship and rail car support, and other listed exclusions). The Washington state apprenticeship and training council still approves apprenticeship programs and the department of labor and industries is the named agency; the new definition takes effect January 1, 2026. Important details needed to predict exact impacts are not in the provided text: the bill relies on the definition of "prevailing rate of wage" in RCW 39.12.010 and on apprenticeship graduation and safety training requirements in RCW 49.80.030, neither of which are included here, and the chunk does not show whether the bill makes other substantive changes beyond these definitions.