Legislative Session

By Jim Hedrick, GSI WA State Lobbyist and Spokane Regional Advocate As the 2026 legislative session races toward its March 12 adjournment deadline, lawmakers in Olympia tackled major housing, privacy, tax, budget, and policy battles this week. With Friday night marking the opposite-house floor cutoff, several high-profile proposals moved forward while others quietly faded as […]

By Jim Hedrick, GSI WA State Lobbyist and Spokane Regional Advocate As the 2026 legislative session enters its final weeks, budget negotiations have shifted decisively from policy aspirations to balance-sheet reality. Last Sunday’s release of House and Senate supplemental operating budgets marks the point at which fiscal assumptions, revenue risk, and long-term cost exposure move

By Jim Hedrick, GSI WA State Lobbyist and Spokane Regional Advocate Breathing Room The Washington State Legislature wrapped up House of Origin floor action this week, sending a wave of bills across the rotunda to opposite-chamber policy committees. Lawmakers now face a fast-moving timeline, with only until February 25 to review, debate, and advance those

By Jim Hedrick, GSI WA State Lobbyist and Spokane Regional Advocate No Rest for the Weary It was a whirlwind weekend in the Washington State Legislature, as fiscal committees heard testimony and voted on bills ahead of the Monday, February 9 deadline for measures to advance out of those committees. That cutoff marked a critical

By Jim Hedrick, GSI WA State Lobbyist and Spokane Regional Advocate Got Million? The highlight of the week for those both for and against it was the long-awaited formal introduction of SB 6346 (Pedersen, D-Seattle) / HB 2724 (Fitzgibbon, D-Seattle), the “Millionaire’s Tax.” As currently drafted, the bill would impose a 9.9% state income tax

By Jim Hedrick, GSI WA State Lobbyist and Spokane Regional Advocate Committee Process The third week of the 2026 Washington State Legislative Session marked a transition in the legislative process, as committees began moving beyond the preliminary stage of holding public hearings on newly introduced bills. This period, known as the “executive session” phase, is

By Jim Hedrick, GSI WA State Lobbyist and Spokane Regional Advocate Week two of the 2026 short legislative session was marked by intense activity as lawmakers worked within a highly compressed short session timeline. In a short session, bills have only 24 days to be introduced, heard in committee, potentially amended, and voted on before

By Jim Hedrick, GSI WA State Lobbyist and Spokane Regional Advocate The first week of the 2026 Washington State Legislative Session is complete, as lawmakers returned to Olympia for what is expected to be a fast-moving, 60-day session shaped by several powerful forces: a sharpened progressive edge following the 2025 special elections, a deeply challenging