By Jim Hedrick, GSI WA State Lobbyist and Spokane Regional Advocate
Tuesday, April 8 was the deadline for bills to be voted out of fiscal committees, and the legislative process now enters its next phase. Both the House and Senate will shift their focus to floor debates, caucus, and conference committee negotiations as they work through the last two weeks of the 2025 regular legislative session. The next deadline of consequence is the Opposite Floor Cutoff on April 16, by which bills must be voted out of the opposite chamber.
Although the broader legislature remains focused on voting on policy bills through April 16, budget negotiations are ongoing behind the scenes. Fiscal leaders are grappling with how to reconcile their funding priorities with concerns raised by Governor Ferguson last week, especially around proposed revenue measures. The central challenge is finding common ground between legislative goals and the governor’s push for reduced spending and less new revenue. An announcement on a revised budget and revenue package is expected next week.
Rent Cap Legislation Advances
One of the most consequential – and certainly one of the most oxygen-consuming legislative showdowns of the week centered around HB 1217 (Alvarado, D-Seattle). This bill, which seeks to implement a cap on rent increases along with a suite of other housing-related provisions, ignited significant debate and mobilized a wide array of lawmakers, advocates, and stakeholders, with communications flooding into legislative email boxes. The legislation is a flashpoint in the broader conversation about housing affordability, laying bare the deep divides on this issue across the state.
When HB 1217 reached the House floor on March 10, 83 amendments were offered – most of them put forth by the minority party in an effort to slow down the legislative process and dissuade Democrat leadership from advancing the bill. Despite the procedural roadblocks, the bill cleared the Democrat-led House and proceeded to the Senate, where it continued to stir debate.
On Tuesday, the bill passed through the Senate Ways & Means Committee, with only one Democrat – Senator Cleveland (D-Vancouver) – casting a dissenting vote. The very next evening, it was pulled from the Senate Rules Committee and brought to the floor for a vote the following day on Thursday afternoon. With such little turnaround time, only 34 amendments were proposed, though many were ultimately withdrawn during debate.
Throughout its journey, HB 1217 has been a lightning rod – not only for partisan criticism, but also for deeply emotional intra-party conflict among Democrats. On the Senate floor, Senator Shewmake (D-Whatcom County) offered an amendment to raise the rent cap from 7% to 10% plus inflation (CPI). This passed with Senators Cleveland, Cortes (D-Battle Ground), Liias (D- Mukilteo), Lovick (D-Lake Stevens), Salomon (D-Shoreline), and Shewmake, supporting. The Liias amendment exempts single-family homes if they aren’t owned by a real estate development trust or company (requested by the Realtors). Senators Cleveland, Cortes, Krishnadasan (D-Gig Harbor), Liias, Salomon, and Shewmake voted in support. Ultimately, on final passage, the only Democrat to vote no to the bill as amended was Senator Cleveland. The bill will now return to the House for further negotiation.
Funding for Police / Public Safety
HB 2015 concerning public safety funding by providing resources to local governments, local criminal justice agencies, and authorizing a local option tax was approved by the Senate Ways & Means Committee this week (Tuesday) on a razor-thin 13-11 vote. A deeply mixed vote with Rs and Ds voting for and against the bill. HB 2015 requires the local jurisdiction to receive funding from either the new sales tax (councilmanic) or the existing criminal justice or public safety sales taxes to qualify for the state grant program. Some Senate Ways & Means Committee amendments are problematic, including limiting the use of grant funding to hiring officers from the communities in which the officers will be working, and requires the state Attorney General to impose a large fine on cities and counties who improperly impose the newly created tax. HB 2015 goes to the Senate Rules Committee. HB 2015 is the only public safety funding bill currently advancing in the legislature.
Property Taxes
HB 2049 concerning the property tax levy lid is scheduled for a House Finance Committee vote Friday (4/18) as part of the overall budget. HB 2049 would increase the property tax levy growth limit on state and local property taxes from 101 percent to 100 percent plus population change and inflation, capped at 103 percent. Increasing the local property tax levy limit has been a priority for local governments for years. A similar bill in the Senate, SB 5798, has not been scheduled for any further action.
On Tuesday, the founder of Let’s Go Washington filed another measure, this time aiming to reduce the allowable property tax increase from 1% to 0.5%. Local governments – such as cities, counties, fire districts, and school districts – often rely heavily on property taxes to fund services. Jurisdictions needing more than 0.5% increases would then need to seek voter- approved levy lid lifts more often and with less revenue, local jurisdictions might need to reduce spending.
Fish Culverts
SB 5804 is designed to address the state’s federal court order to address fish culverts. Senate capital budget writers revealed SB 5804 only last week. SB 5804 would authorize revenue bonds to raise an additional $5 billion for salmon recovery projects to address the US District Court decision that the State of Washington has a treaty-based duty to preserve fish runs for 21 Washington treaty tribes. To date, the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) has corrected 146 injunction barrier culverts. The estimated cost to repair the remaining identified culverts is in excess of $5 billion.
Local government interests like cities and counties are opposed to SB 5804 because the Public Works Assistance Account (PWAA) is currently funded by dedicated revenues from the Public Utility Tax, Solid Waste Tax, and state Real Estate Excise Tax, which would be diverted to a new Federal Injunction Salmon Habitat (FISH) account under SB 5804. The Association of Washington Cities and Washington State Association of Counties do not support the tax diversion, as the PWAA is a primary source of infrastructure funding and loans for local governments. SB 5804 is on the Senate floor calendar and is expected to come up for a vote of the full Senate next week.
The Process: Final Steps for a Bill: Concurrence, Conference, Enrollment & Signatures
If a bill has been amended by the second house, the first house has to decide whether it will concur in the amendments or not. Leadership decides which bills returned from the second house will be discussed and places those bills on the concurrence calendar (House) or concurring calendar (Senate). If the first house concurs in the amendments, the bill has passed the Legislature.
If the first house disagrees with the second house, it can ask the second house to recede from the amendments. If the second house recedes, the bill has passed the Legislature. If the two houses cannot resolve their differences, one of them can ask for a conference committee. Members from each house meet to discuss the differences. If they agree on what is to be done, the conference committee makes a report. Both houses must adopt the conference committee report for the bill to pass the Legislature. If one house does not adopt the conference committee report (whether by vote or inaction), the bill has not passed.
Once a bill has finally passed the Legislature, it is enrolled. A certificate proclaiming that it has passed is attached and, if necessary, the amendments from the second house or conference committee are incorporated into the body of the bill. The bill is signed by the Speaker of the House, the Chief Clerk of the House, the President of the Senate, and the Secretary of the Senate and is sent, sometimes a few days later, to the governor for his action.
Generally the governor has 20 days after adjournment of the legislature. Governor Ferguson will have until Tuesday, May 20 to take action on the bill passed by the 2025 legislature.
About the Author
Jim Hedrick is GSI’s State Lobbyist and Owner of H2 Government Relations. Jim has advocated on behalf of our community for more than 20 years and has 25 years of experience in the Washington State legislative and public policy venue as a fiscal analyst, legislative advocate, and political advisor to the Governor, state agency directors, and legislative officials.
About this Blog
As part of GSI’s year-round work with our community to advance policies that support the success of local businesses, we’re active in Washington State’s current legislative session – tracking bills, advocating on behalf of our community, planning our annual trip to Olympia, communicating our State Agenda, and working with our lobbyist, our Regional Advocacy Committee, and our elected officials, to advance priorities that support local businesses and enhance our community. Learn more about what we do to create a greater voice for the future of our region and view this year’s State Agenda.
