Note: I haven't played Minecraft for about 5 years so cannot comment to the bug still being present. Since the bug was a product of the physics produced when hitboxes of partially filled voxels interface, it might very well still be evident, unless 'fixed' by "waterlogging" mechanics.
In 1.13.1 The soul sand hitbox does not fill the entire voxel.
This causes a gap between the top of the soul sand hitbox and the top of the voxel it occupies.
The bubble column starts at the bottom of the voxel above. It is possible for entities to sit in this gap above the soul sand and below the water of the bubble column.
Steps to reproduce:
Create a bubble column on top of soul sand.
Inject entities onto the top surface of the soul sand, below the water of the bubble column.
In my initial report I showed an automated dropper firing entities onto ice and sliding into the bottom of the bubble column system where some of the entities could get caught in the gap below the water.
In the recreation by Alexis they use a spawn egg in creative mode to directly inject skeletons onto the surface of the soul sand, where the bubble column fails to propel them upwards.
I hope this helps.
Ah duplicate. So the comparator behaviour and the dropper behaviour with the signal are as designed? Excellent. Again, sorry for that.
I'm happy for this issue to be merged.