Jay Inslee: “I speak in favor of this bill for the fundamental reason that this protects an extremely successful tenet of the…”

“I speak in favor of this bill for the fundamental reason that this protects an extremely successful tenet of the American innovation economy. I look around my district and what I see is a collection of companies, 10, 20, 30 employees doing incredible things and frequently using stock options. These are companies which may be on the cusp of actually developing a cure for diabetes, a company with a couple dozen employees which may develop a cure for stroke, a company with a couple dozen employees that have a solution so you cannot see muzzle fire from our soldiers' rifles. These type of companies use this system to bring in talent, and bringing in talent is absolutely fundamental to the innovation economy of America. Stock options have been one of the most successful mechanisms to make sure that when someone has a good idea, they can marry it with good brains around them who can come in without a paycheck. Let us preserve and protect the ability to use stock options.”