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.

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.

Today, February 24, 2023, is the final day for consideration of bills in the fiscal committees (unless necessary to implement the budget). Starting Monday and until March 8, legislators will be focused on floor debate in each chamber. By March 8, bills from the original chamber need to be passed to the other chamber.

To view NAIOP's bill tracking report and the full legislative update, log in to your NAIOPWA member profile by clicking below. 

Read the full report

For more information about becoming a member, contact Danielle Duvall, danielle@naiopwa.org.

Friday, February 17 is policy committee cutoff, meaning all bills need to be out of their policy committee or they will not advance.  The fiscal committees will meet next week and have until February 24 to act on bills. Today’s report still shows bills that may be voted on in today’s hearings.

To view NAIOP's bill tracking report and the full legislative update, log in to your NAIOPWA member profile by clicking below. 

Read the full report

For more information about becoming a member, contact Danielle Duvall, danielle@naiopwa.org.

The last week of bills to be heard in policy committees is next week.  The focus next week will be considering amendments and voting bills out of committee. Bills with a fiscal impact will have until February 24 to be considered and voted on.  In the meantime, both the Senate and the House will start to spend more time on the floor debating and passing legislation to the other body.

Log in to your NAIOPWA member profile to see the status of the bills we are following and committee hearings next week.

Read the full report here

For more information about joining NAIOP and receiving exclusive legislative updates, contact Danielle Duvall, danielle@naiopwa.org. 

The week of February 6 is week five.  The focus will be on policy committee activity on hundreds of bills.  We have two weeks to go prior to the February 17 cut off. You can find next week’s hearings in the upcoming events section by logging in to your NAIOPWA member profile below.   Also, the bill status section of the bill tracking overview will illustrate where the bill is at in the process as of Friday, February 3.

I will provide a more detailed update of which priority bills have moved out of committee after February 17. 

Click here to read the full report

For more information about joining NAIOP and gaining access to exclusive legislative reports, contact Danielle Duvall, danielle@naiopwa.org.

Week three was focused on committee hearings with hundreds of bills being considered by the various policy committees.  Next week will be the same.  You can review the new bill introductions as well as next week’s hearings using your member profile. For more information about becoming a member, contact Danielle Duvall, danielle@naiopwa.org.

Click here to read the full report

NAIOP Washington State 2023 Legislative Report - Week 1

Greg Hanon, Communico

The 2023 session of the Washington State Legislature convened on January 9 for a 105-day legislative session. This is the first since 2020 to completely return to Olympia for both committee hearings as well as floor action.  One addition to the legislative process is the complete integration of hybrid legislative hearings allowing for both in person testimony as well as remote testimony allowing individuals who cannot make the trip to Olympia to participate in hearings from around the state.

Per tradition, the first few days were dedicated to the organization of the legislature, the swearing in of public officials, as well as a state of the state address from Governor Inslee in which he presented his priorities for the legislative session.  Governor Inslee outlined several policies including significant increases in spending on housing, homelessness, behavioral health, and education.  He also advanced policies on gun control and abortion rights.

NAIOPWA Member McKenzie Darr of The Wolff Company has compiled a concise update of our chapter advocacy updates, including news and bills we're keeping our eye on. For more information about getting involved with NAIOPWA's government affairs efforts, click here.

State

The 2021 legislative session is underway. NAIOPWA is publishing exclusive weekly legislative updates online for chapter members. Select key pieces of legislation proposed this session are outlined below. 

We're beginning the fifth week of the session, and bills must be passed out of policy committees in one week's time--Monday, Feb. 15, is the deadline.

The early action COVID relief package is expected to pass the Senate this week (HB 1368). Both chambers now have transportation packages in play and a capital gains bill has been introduced in the House. 

NAIOPWA's state lobbyist, Greg Hanon, sends weekly reports for NAIOPWA members during the legislative session. These include a brief overview of session activity and highlights of the most pertinent issues for our industry. Additionally, Greg includes a complete list of bills and hearings that inform how we do business in Washington State. You'll see a link to download that list at the end of each short weekly update.

After three complete weeks in session, two weeks of policy hearings are next. Bills need to be passed out of policy committee by February 15.

NAIOPWA is a member of the Partnership for Affordable Housing. We are committed to policies that increase housing creation, access, and affordability. Legislators are considering a rent control bill that would have grave consequences for housing creation and long-term access to affordable housing. SB 5139 would impose the strictest rent control in the nation.