NAIOPWA Legislative Session Lookback

Krystelle Purkey and Ehren Flygare, State Lobbyists

The 2025 Washington State legislative session was one of the most tumultuous and emotionally charged sessions in recent memory, marked by significant political tension, major fiscal challenges, and the deaths of two beloved legislators. From the opening days, the atmosphere was fraught with division. Deep ideological splits over how to address the state’s financial crisis created a highly charged environment where lawmakers frequently clashed not only along party lines but also within their own caucuses.

The most pressing issue was the staggering $16 billion budget deficit. The reality of the shortfall quickly consumed legislative discussions, setting the tone for the months ahead. Proposed cuts sparked widespread protests and added to the strain inside the building. In response, a range of revenue ideas were volleyed around the Capitol, from new taxes on capital gains to expanded sales tax bases and proposals for bond measures.

NAIOPWA Legislative Session Report - Week 15

Krystelle Purkey and Ehren Flygare, State Lobbyists

With just two days left of the 2025 regular legislative session, there is speculation that we may be headed into a special session if lawmakers are unable to agree on a budget by sine die.

Rent Caps Bill Gets Another Round of Changes in Conference Committee

Revenue Proposals: A Race to the Finish Line
The most current Democrat tax suite projects a revenue of approximately $12.2 billion over the four-year outlook.

Major tax bills still in play include an excise tax on zero-emissions vehicle credits, an expansion of the capital gains and estate taxes, a B&O tax on high-grossing businesses, sales tax on certain services, tax preference repeals, and a possible watered-down wealth tax poised to test the constitutionality of the policy. Governor Ferguson has signaled his opposition to the original wealth tax proposal that hoped to raised an estimated $2-4 billion over the next biennium.

NAIOPWA Legislative Session Report - Week 14

Krystelle Purkey and Ehren Flygare, State Lobbyists

The Opposite House floor cutoff on Wednesday came and went quietly, leaving many policy bills dead on the calendar—a disappointing outcome for advocates who had hoped for progress on their legislation and a win for legislators and lobbyists wishing for the demise of certain proposed policies. Despite the looming deadline, neither the House nor the Senate designated a “5 p.m. bill,” and both chambers adjourned their sessions promptly at or before 5 p.m. Meanwhile, members of the Senate Ways and Means Committee quickly transitioned to a 5:30 p.m. scheduled hearing focused on new revenue proposals, underscoring the ongoing discussions about the state's fiscal strategy even as a major legislative deadline passed.

Majority Democrats Propose New Revenue Measures

Democratic lawmakers are exploring several new tax proposals aimed at generating revenue for public services, education, and healthcare. But on Thursday afternoon, seventeen hours before the $12 billion tax package was set to be voted on in Senate Ways & Means, Governor Bob Ferguson voiced concerns in a press release, calling it "too risky." Ferguson did not however present any level of revenue policy he would sign, or specific programmatic cuts he would recommend.

NAIOPWA Legislative Session Report - Week 13

Krystelle Purkey and Ehren Flygare, State Lobbyists

With the passing of the Tuesday, April 8 deadline for bills to be voted out of fiscal committees, 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.

NAIOPWA Legislative Session Report - Week 12

Krystelle Purkey and Ehren Flygare, State Lobbyists

As the iconic campus cherry blossoms bloom and the deadline for bills to be voted out of fiscal committees approaches on Tuesday, April 8, the Washington State Legislature is entering the final stretch of the 2025 regular session. This marks a crucial phase in the legislative process, where lawmakers race against time to advance their proposals before critical cutoff dates.

Following the April 8 deadline, legislators will shift their focus to intense floor debates and caucus discussions, working long hours to negotiate and pass bills before the opposite house floor cutoff on Wednesday, April 16. As the session winds down, the stakes are high, with advocates, stakeholders, and policymakers pulling out the stops and closely watching the fate of key measures that may either advance or pause until the next session.

NAIOPWA Legislative Session Report - Week 10

Krystelle Purkey and Ehren Flygare, State Lobbyists

This week, regular legislative activity primarily revolved around policy committee hearings, where lawmakers reviewed and debated bills that had recently advanced from the opposite chamber.

Some of these include high profile bills like Unemployment Insurance for Striking Workers (5041), Waste Management (5284), Firearm Restrictions in Sensitive Places (5098) and Rent Stabilization (1217). These hearings are part of the lead up to the April 2 deadline for bills to be passed out of policy committees.

NAIOPWA Legislative Session Report - Week 9

Krystelle Purkey and Ehren Flygare, State Lobbyists

Wednesday, March 12, marked the critical deadline for bills to advance out of their chambers of origin. With this milestone passed, legislative focus now shifts to the next phase: bills making their way across the rotunda to be considered by policy committees in the opposite chamber. 

Each floor cutoff day brings anticipation with one recurring question—what will be the “5 p.m. bill?” According to legislative rules, so long as the bill’s process begins before the 5 p.m. deadline, discussions can continue well into the evening. So sometimes, the bill was brought up the day prior or earlier in the day, only to be finished later, even brought up again at 4:59pm or later. This final bill of the day often carries symbolic weight. Sometimes, it's a contentious measure that sparks extended debate, stretching late into the night. Other times, it's a broadly supported, feel-good proposal—perhaps a resolution honoring a local hero, commemorating an historic event, or recognizing a cause that garners bipartisan backing. This year, we witnessed both types of bills.

NAIOPWA Legislative Session Report - Week 8

Krystelle Purkey and Ehren Flygare, State Lobbyists

The Washington State Legislature has reached the midpoint of its 2025 session, with members working long hours on the floor and in caucus as they approach the March 12 deadline for bills to pass out of their chambers of origin. As of this week, 1051 House Bills have been introduced, and 519 have made it to the Rules Committee for further consideration. Over in the Senate, 805 bills have been introduced, with 271 entering the Senate Rules process. Bills that do not clear this stage of Rules committee pulls and floor action — unless deemed "necessary to implement the budget" (NTIB) — are generally considered dead for the session. However, it’s worth noting that no bill is entirely off the table until the biennium ends.

To read the full legislative update using your NAIOPWA member profile, click here. 

NAIOPWA Legislative Session Report - Week 7

Krystelle Purkey and Ehren Flygare, State Lobbyists

The most significant development of the week besides fiscal committee actions prior to the February 28 Fiscal Committee cutoff was Governor Bob Ferguson’s news conference, where he outlined approximately $4 billion in additional budget cuts for the legislature to consider. These cuts, on top of those in Governor Inslee’s proposed budget, could cover nearly half of the state’s projected shortfall.

Currently, the state operates on a balanced budget that extends through June 30, 2025. However, the primary focus of the 2025 legislative session is crafting a new operating budget for the following years. A significant challenge looms: a projected $15 billion gap between expected tax revenue over the next four years and the state’s existing financial commitments, including funding for education, healthcare, corrections, and human services.

NAIOPWA Legislative Session Report - Week 6

Krystelle Purkey and Ehren Flygare, State Lobbyists

The 2025 legislative session is now one third of the way over. Friday, February 21 was the cutoff for bills to be voted out of policy committees in the House of Origin. Fewer than 20% of bills introduced become law and this was the first of the hurdles bills must jump to stay alive. It is a very quick turnaround until the next cutoff Friday, February 28, where bills with a fiscal impact to the state budgets must be voted out of the main fiscal committees, Finance, Appropriations, Transportation, and Ways & Means.

To read the full legislative update using your NAIOPWA member profile, click here. 

NAIOPWA Legislative Session Report - Week 5

Krystelle Purkey and Ehren Flygare, State Lobbyists

This week saw several supply-side bills work their way through committee. Bills have until Friday of next week to pass out of their original Policy Committee in the chamber where they were introduced. 

Senator Liias introduced SB 5604 which would establish a new 20-year MFTE program in TOD station areas while also reducing certain impact fees by 50% and instituting a sales and use tax deferral.

NAIOPWA Legislative Session Report - Week 4

Krystelle Purkey and Ehren Flygare, State Lobbyists

With only two more weeks until the February 21 policy committee cutoff, Washington State legislators have been busy introducing, hearing, and passing broadly consequential bills out of committee and sending them to the Rules committee for further consideration in the coming weeks.  

We are beginning to see revenue bills introduced in the House and Senate. HB 1785 (Doglio, D-22) imposes a tax where CEO pay in publicly traded companies vastly exceeds median worker pay. 

NAIOPWA Legislative Session Report - Week 3

Krystelle Purkey and Ehren Flygare, State Lobbyists

We are now three weeks into the 2025 session, 1,442 bills have been introduced, and legislative business is moving quickly. At the same time, Majority Democrats are forging a path with the new governor, Bob Ferguson (D) as well as their Republican colleagues, and drawing firm lines with the new Trump Administration. 

House Democrats in Washington state have made significant changes to a longstanding rule that restricted access to the wings of the House chamber. The new policy now allows access only for the governor, excluding the governor’s staff unless specifically invited by a House member. The rule adjustment was part of a broader overhaul of legislative procedures, which included reducing the threshold to end debate, allowing a simple majority vote instead of a two-thirds majority.

NAIOPWA Legislative Session Report - Week 2

Krystelle Purkey and Ehren Flygare, State Lobbyists

This week saw movement on several major legislative issues, including waste management, rental housing, and gun violence prevention. House Bill 1217, on Rent Caps, passed out of the Housing Committee and now awaits a committee hearing in House Appropriations. Its Senate Companion Bill, SB 5222, had its first hearing on Wednesday. This week also included several appointments in both the Legislative and Executive branches.

Final appointments took place with Rep. Emily Alvarado (D-34) transitioning to the Senate and Brianna Thomas (D), a senior advisor to Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell, filling her House seat. Meanwhile, Janice Zahn (D), a Bellevue City Councilmember and Port of Seattle employee, succeeded Rep. Tana Senn (D-41), who now serves as the Secretary of the Department of Children, Youth, and Families. Governor Bob Ferguson announced this week the appointment of former journalist Jesse Jones as the new director of Results Washington, the agency tasked with improving government performance for the people of Washington. 

NAIOPWA Legislative Session Report - Week 1

Krystelle Purkey and Ehren Flygare, State Lobbyists

The Washington State Legislature started off with a bang this session. On Day 1 the rent cap bill was up for a public hearing in the House of Representatives Housing Committee. Over 700 people signed in to testify on the bill. Ultimately, the House kept the hearing to less than an hour and wrapped before panels were completed. The House Bill, HB 1217, will be voted out of the House Housing Committee on Monday.

The Senate Bill, SB 5222, sponsored by Senator Trudeau, will be heard in the Senate Housing Committee on Wednesday, January 22, at 1:30 p.m. The second sponsor on the bill is now-Senator Mike Chapman, who voted against the bill on the House Floor last year.

To read the full legislative update using your NAIOPWA member profile, click here. 

Major Week for Priority Bills: Housing Affordability, REET, Energy Efficiency, Rent Control. 

The Seattle City Council recently rejected a proposal to move forward with a comprehensive plan amendment that would pave the way for Transportation Impact Fees in the City. As a commercial real estate association that advocates on behalf of our members, NAIOP Washington State opposed this effort to add unnecessary and harmful fees to the already costly development process. Though the City made the right decision, other municipalities continue to consider impact fees or fee increases, and the proposal could come forward again in Seattle in the future.

In 2023, NAIOP Washington State successfully defeated a bill during the legislative session that would have increased the real estate excise tax (REET). We anticipate similar legislation during the 2024 Washington State Legislative Session. During this session, REET may be rebranded as a “transfer tax.”  While we were previously successful in our efforts to stop a REET increase from moving forward, NAIOPWA’s Government Affairs team is actively engaged to defeat its passage once again.

With the start of the 2024 Washington State legislative session, bills overturning the current state pre-emption to rent control have been brought forward, as well as proposals which would implement state-wide rent control measures.  We strongly oppose any efforts to implement rent control, as well as efforts to overturn the state’s pre-emption.  It is important to take a sober look at why rent control is bad policy.

The latest results of the 2023 Seattle City Council election indicate a new phase for NAIOPWA’s local advocacy.  Through a substantial fundraising effort, we were able to support candidates in key races who offer a change in direction for many important issues our industry faces.