By Torin Record-Sand
Reporting for West Seattle Blog

Two topics that have receded from the spotlight a bit lately took it back at the April meeting of West Seattle Indivisible, with two presentations aimed at providing a retrospective on the current federal government’s actions.

The first was a presentation from longtime local immigration lawyer Ester Greenfield on ongoing legal issues for immigrants, and the other was from WSI member Karen Lezon, highlighting the importance of climate change and neglect of environmental issues by the current administration. Both speakers sounded a similar theme: With the Iran war dominating the attention of mass media, public consciousness has moved so fast that we have begun to forget about some ongoing political issues here at home.

Greenfield’s presentation was titled “Immigration Whack-A-Mole” – which she explained was her sense that, as soon as one legal issue disappears or seems to diminish, another one reappears, like the “whack-a-mole” arcade game. She began with a brief self-introduction, explaining that she has some of the most in-depth familiarity with immigration issues on a local level, having volunteered at Riverton Park United Methodist Church for the past several years, helping around 800 people with their asylum applications.

She split her discussion into seven ongoing issues:

The first was the “pretermission of asylum.” This legal terminology refers to the action the United States has recently taken to deport asylum seekers. While at face value, these look like simple deportations, she explained that it is in fact because we have deals with other countries for them to take asylum seekers instead of the US, such as Honduras, Guatemala, Ecuador, and Uganda. But, Greenfield said, these places offer no guarantee of safety, and the asylum deals we have with them are poorly explained at best. However, she noted, the government stopped deporting asylum seekers around mid-March of this year, but there was no retroactive reprieve for those already deported.

The second issue the problem of excessive fines many longterm asylum-seekers face. If their initial application for asylum is not granted, they can face fines of up to $1000 per day for up to 5 years – leading to some longterm immigrants facing legal fines of a cumulative $1.8 million. This, she said, is an ongoing court battle over Eighth Amendment rights.

The third issue is one of ongoing detention, particularly for people who have had their deportation withheld as a form of temporary asylum grant. Under the old system, some immigrants could make an appeal after being held in detention long enough that they should be released but not deported under fear of persecution. They would be granted that via the courts, and released. Recently, she explained, the federal government has said that they can be re-detained even if the court had decided on the withheld deportation.

The fourth is the ongoing difficulty of filing fees for immigrants, particularly those filing for asylum, which she said have increased after the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” of 2025. Asylum application and subsequent work permits, she said, used to be free, but now respectively cost $100 and $650. This can be incredibly punishing on immigrants, many of whom have limited access to financial resources.

The fifth is the current pause on adjudications. This, Greenfield said, means that the United States has decided to simply hold off on making any decision whatsoever for asylum applications from 39 countries. These include most of Africa, excluding Uganda and South Africa.

The sixth: Tightening of the appeals process in the court of immigration appeals. Recent legislation from the Trump administration had required a change in the appeals process, cutting the period for appealing from 30 days to 10 days, plus increasing the price of the appeal filing to $1000, and making it so the court must accept the appeal within 10 days. Most of this, in her view, was intended to make the process even more difficult for immigrants: 10 days for a complicated process and a large sum of money could prove difficult to ESL speakers without financial resources. She did say, however, that recent court battles had thwarted most of the planned changes, but some still persisted.

The seventh and final issue she discussed was the ability for asylum seekers to file for work permits in the United States. This is an ongoing issue, she said, with more upcoming legislation aimed at making the process more difficult. Currently, asylum seekers must wait 180 days after applying for asylum to submit a subsequent work permit, and it is decided by random draw who receives the final work permits; upcoming regulation seeks to lengthen the wait period of 6 months to a year, severely endangering immigrant livelihoods. She said public comment to the government on this issue is due on April 24th, and she encouraged those who wanted to make a change to immigration law to file their comment soon. (You can find the public comment form, as well as more information, on the Federal Register here.)

She ended her presentation by calling for donations and support for both Riverton Park United Methodist Church and the Northwest Immigrants Right Project.

Lezon’s presentation was briefer, but no less salient. She gave a general speech reminding the audience of the massive changes that have been made in the Trump presidency to deny the effects of climate change. “’Climate change’ – those two words, she said, cannot be seen anywhere on any federal government site or document any more. Hundreds of thousands of scientists have lost their jobs, valuable research and valuable time is being lost, the U.S. Forest Service is being decimated, and national parks and monuments are no longer valued by the government. “Crimes are being committed against humanity in our name.” she said. “[But] poll after poll of voters show they do not have the environment as a priority.” She recommended that those concerned should look for their best available short-term efforts, such as participating in WSI’s environmental workgroup and continuing to contact legislators about ecological concerns and legislative issues. “As the protest signs say, there is no Planet B.” she closed.

The rest of the WSI meeting went to a recap of their last large protest. On March 28th, they participated in “No Kings Day 3”; this time, along with partner organization Vashon Indivisible, a large contingent of members went to protest downtown. Around 175 members from both organizations organized bus routes and other transportation, and went to march in the Capitol Hill neighborhood – starting in Cal Anderson Park, routing through Seattle University, and going down much of 12th avenue. (Others who did not go downtown gathered here across many parts of West Seattle – you can see our coverage here.) They shared footage and video from the protest, with a large number of interviews asking people their reasons for attending: These included many recent concerns, such as oil prices and the Iran war, the continuing Epstein Files scandal, and immigration-enforcement brutality, among others. Closing their summary of the event, WSI deemed it as a success for future large-scale planning and coordination.

WSI also looked toward future plans. Their next large political event is participation in the traditional May Day (Friday, May 1st) events across the city, which they said aim to demonstrate the potential for a future general strike with 3 core tenets: no school, no work, no shopping. They’re planning a May Day Eve rally about this April 30 4:30-6 pm at Fauntleroy/Alaska; on May Day itself, they hadn’t yet settled on a focus location, but noted that protests are planned that day at Cal Anderson Park at 12 PM, and the DHS office building in Tukwila at 9 AM.

Also ahead, WSI is looking to do one of its first larger fundraisers, with a planned benefit concert at Kenyon Hall on June 20th. They are also planning a collective garage sale for their organization via member contribution on West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day, May 9th, 9 am to 3 pm, at 4557 49th Ave SW. Other upcoming events are on their online calendar.

5:56 PM: Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson says the King County Regional Homelessness Agency can’t account for $13 million in “public funds,” according to a review of the agency commissioned by the city and county before she took office, Here’s her statement:

The City and County launched a forensic evaluation into the KCRHA in August 2025 in response to ongoing operational and financial issues at the agency, including leadership turnover, delayed payments, State Auditor findings, unverified accounting of cash advances, persistent cash flow challenges, and overspending on administrative resources.

The City of Seattle has received the results of a forensic investigation covering the period from the agency’s inception through July 2025 which identifies serious failures of KCRHA’s internal controls, fiscal management and accountability. The investigation found that the agency is unable to account for $13 million in public funds, and the City will be pursuing immediate corrective action.

“Addressing homelessness is my highest priority, and I have serious concerns about KCRHA’s management of city funds,” said Mayor Katie B. Wilson. “We need to take swift action to protect public dollars. All options are on the table.”

The agency is supposed to be handling contracts with service providers, including the $3 million contract for the planned new West Seattle tiny-house/RV-lot site Glassyard Commons. Some Seattle councilmembers are reacting with anger; Councilmember Maritza Rivera says the agency should be dismantled, while Councilmember Bob Kettle says the review surfaces “systemic issues that can no longer be ignored.” (He cites the amount of missing money as $8 million; as of this writing, the actual report by Clark Nuber P.S. hasn’t yet been released to media. We’ll link it when we get/find it.)

6:33 PM: Here’s the report, forwarded by the mayor’s office.

7:03 PM: As the cover letter, also provided by the mayor’s office, notes, KCRHA has until May 8 to provide a response, then must provide a corrective plan later in the month.

7:42 PM: Also weighing in tonight, citywide Councilmembers Alexis Mercedes Rinck and Dionne Foster:

… The findings are serious, unacceptable and demand immediate action and accountability.

Every misstep revealed in this audit represents another missed opportunity to prevent further trauma in our streets and neighborhoods across the region. At the same time, the homelessness emergency continues to demand strong regional coordination to ensure an effective response across Seattle and King County.

As elected officials, we are entrusted by our constituents to ensure every dollar is driving real, measurable impact for our communities. In response to this audit, KCRHA must act immediately to instate stronger financial controls. Following that, we must bring our region together to determine the future of our regional homelessness system. Fundamentally, we have a duty to get people housed and do right by the taxpayers of Seattle and King County.

On a day when our part of the city yielded three crashes of note, District 1 City Councilmember Rob Saka called for an audit of SDOT‘s “Vision Zero“ safety initiative. That’s one of two City Council notes we have tonight. Saka’s call for an audit was announced in an emailed news release one day before the committee he chairs, Transportation, Waterfront, and Seattle Center, gets a Vision Zero briefing. That’s on the agenda for Thursday’s 9:30 am committee meeting; in the news release about the audit, Saka is quoted as saying, ““Vision Zero is about saving lives, and while we are seeing some real progress, the fact remains that too many people are still dying and suffering serious injuries on our streets. This audit will help us take a hard look at what’s working, what’s not, and where we need to sharpen our approach to prevent further tragedies on our roads.” SDOT presented its latest review of Vision Zero during this council briefing three months ago.

Meantime, Saka was one of two councilmembers who showed up this past Monday for a new monthly media availability in which the council’s communication team sends invites to reporters to come to City Hall for open Q&A with councilmembers. We couldn’t go to the first one but decided to go downtown for this one; it’s voluntary for them to participate, and only two signed on this time – Council President Joy Hollingsworth and Councilmember Saka. The half-dozen or so of us newspeople who showed up sat in a conference room facing each of the participants in turn, for about 20 minutes apiece. Hollingsworth went first; we recorded audio of both just in case anyone might be interested in what happened in unrestricted Q&A with councilmembers (spoiler alert, nothing revelatory).

Hollingsworth was asked about the latest budget forecast, encampment policy, neighborhood foot policing as recently announced for two neighborhoods, potentially auditing the Human Services Department (she said she’d “welcome an audit in any department”), the mayor’s call for more density in the Comprehensive Plan, the library levy, and construction costs (observing that those affect people building backyard ADUs as well as professional builders and saying “I think we should look at everybody as a developer”). Here’s the unedited audio:

Next, Councilmember Saka, who was asked about some of the same topics – neighborhood policing (“West Seattle could benefit from a similar program”) and the Comprehensive Plan, as well as whether anything should be done to rein in rising rents.

We asked about last weekend’s gunfire incidents, with bullets through home windows in two West Seattle neighborhoods;
he said he’s “aware” of them, noted he meets regularly with SPD Chief Shon Barnes, said we “need to get creative in prevention” and touted some money he secured in last year’s budget for a late-night teen program in High Point (one of the neighborhoods where there was weekend gunfire). Later in his Q&A, we asked about the east-of-35th encampment sweep, having just learned about it; Saka said he’d been calling for “remediation” of that area (his operations director Erik Schmidt, who was in the room, told us afterward that they’d just learned about the sweep plans that morning). Here’s unedited audio of the Q&A with Councilmember Saka:

Councilmembers have several committee meetings most weeks, plus full-group meetings at 2 pm Mondays and Tuesdays – all the agendas can be found here.

(WSB photo, January 2, City Hall)

Since covering her inauguration at City Hall on January 2nd, we’ve reported on five appearances by Mayor Katie Wilson in and near West Seattle. Today marks her first 100 days in office, according to her team’s summary of what she’s done in that time – including two West Seattle references:

On January 2nd, an overflow crowd packed City Hall to celebrate Mayor Katie B. Wilson’s inauguration and mark a new era of city government. In the 100 days since taking office, the mayor and her team have gotten to work and quickly started making progress on some of the city’s biggest challenges.

“We’re just getting started,” said Mayor Wilson. “There’s a lot of work ahead, and there will be lots to celebrate too.”

The Mayor promised a coalition-building approach to the office, and she’s delivered. The members of her transition team carried out a uniquely robust body of work that included reaching out to hundreds of community members about their priorities for her term in office. And thousands of people have reconnected with their city government through events, forums, and digital media because the mayor is rooting her work in shared values, articulating a powerful vision for change, and bringing people together to make those changes real.

First 100 days on expanding shelter
In her first weeks in office, Mayor Wilson announced an executive order to dramatically accelerate the process to build new shelter and housing. She assembled an Interdepartmental Team which rapidly reviewed a number of potential sites for new shelter and emergency housing and managed to cut development timelines in half. She also advanced a package of legislation which would further accelerate the process of opening new shelter with wraparound services, allow existing successful shelters to serve more people, and identified underused city funds to make it happen.

Earlier this week, the mayor gathered hundreds of community members at City Hall to provide an update on progress toward the goal of opening 1,000 new units of shelter and emergency housing with wraparound services this year. She announced that an initial go-first shelter will be moving forward on West Armory in Interbay, and that two sites already under development (Glassyard Commons and Brighton Village) are being accelerated through the permitting process. These are just the very first sites, with many more ahead as we finally treat this citywide issue with the citywide focus it deserves.

First 100 days on affordability
Almost 9,000 people completed the Mayoral Renters Survey to share their experiences trying to find an affordable place to live in the city and speak to their biggest challenges as renters. This survey will inform the development of policy this year to address some of the pressures facing Seattle renters.

In order to help address our shortage of housing that people can afford, the mayor also signed legislation that will speed up development by eliminating unnecessary and time-consuming SEPA review, and announced a plan to build “taller, denser, and faster” by accelerating, combining, and expanding the next two phases of the city’s comprehensive plan.

The mayor also announced that the expanded Seattle Preschool Program is now open for all 3- and 4-year olds to apply, and that she’s enrolling her daughter in the program.

First 100 days on public safety
The mayor announced specific steps to respond to any potential surge in federal immigration enforcement activity, and announced a decision to pause the expansion of the city’s Real-Time Crime Center until an audit of data governance and privacy protections can be completed.

Her team is focused on building out new neighborhood based framework to address hotspots, and developing a multipronged approach building on national best practices to reduce gun violence.

First 100 days on transportation
Mayor Wilson is committed to delivering on a vision of a world-class transportation system that works for everyone — whether or not they own a car. And she’s moving quickly to make that a reality for more people across the city. Just weeks into office, she issued an executive order directing the Seattle Department of Transportation to develop a plan to open a new bus lane on Denny Way to speed up the Metro #8, one of the city’s most-used and slowest-traveling bus routes.

A new Sound Transit Board Member, the Mayor got to celebrate the opening of the Crosslake Connection linking Seattle light rail riders to the Eastside. She is working to advance the promised extension to West Seattle with shovels in the ground this year, and to go on to deliver the Ballard line voters were promised. She also helped mark the newly open Yesler bike lane, which safely connects waterfront riders right up to City Hall.

First 100 days of civic pride
Since the mayor took office, Seattle has leveled up into one of the best sports cities in the country. The Seahawks won the Super Bowl, the Rainier Beach High School boys basketball team won the state championship, we’re getting ready to host the FIFA World Cup, and we took a huge step to welcoming back our Sonics.

The mayor also introduced a new library levy, helped open a ton of new buildings and projects, address the public through dozens of media appearances, met another Katie Wilson who already worked at the City, visited the top of the Space Needle, got a haircut, took a port crane for a test drive, enjoyed a snow day, and even welcomed a 7-foot tall urbanist sasquatch to the waterfront.

And there’s about 265 more days ahead this year alone.

Did you catch the two references? (West Seattle light rail and the forthcoming Glassyard Commons RV/tiny-house site.)

Story and photos by Torin Record-Sand
Reporting for West Seattle Blog

This month’s meeting of the 34th District Democrats offered a preview of what lies ahead in August 4’s rapidly approaching primary for state and county elections, and the subsequent November 3 general. Many topics were in the spotlight Wednesday, but most of the candidates who spoke set their sights on two things: More progressive reforms for existing institutions, and opposition to the federal overreach of the past year and a half. Candidates came seeking the 34th’s endorsement for positions on the Washington State Supreme Court, the Seattle Municipal Court, the King County Council, King County Prosecutor, and King County Assessor. Around 50 people were in attendance in person at The Hall at Fauntleroy, but given the stakes, it seemed almost half of them were candidates.

Ian Birk and Sean O’Donnell were there running for the fourth position on the Washington State Supreme Court. The Supreme Court is drawing more attention than usual this year, as five of the nine seats on the court are up for election. Both candidates touted long-running service in the legal system: Birk had 20 years as a private lawyer before being appointed to the Washington State Court of Appeals in 2022, and O’Donnell worked as a prosecutor for 12 years prior to becoming a King County Superior Court judge in 2013.

The core of Birk’s pitch was that he would bring a voice to the Supreme Court to defend the little guy, something he said he learned a lot about in his years as a private lawyer. He told a story about defending and winning a case for a retired public -school teacher who had been defrauded by their district’s group life insurance policy. “You would think you could resolve that by writing a sternly worded letter but that’s not the society we live in – that’s the kind of fight that I have, and it’s the kind of voice I think we need in public court.” said Birk.

O’Donnell, on the other hand, focused more on the results of his career as a prosecutor and judge as signs of his aptitude for higher office. He highlighted a long and consistent career he described as giving voice to women’s rights, working on cases including sexual violence and human trafficking, and even time spent on the Green River Killer task force. He also pointed toward recent work to make courthouses safer and more equitable, such as working to expand funding for court interpreters and better security in smaller courts. He said he hopes to bring that systems forward-thinking with him to higher office.

Katharine Edwards appeared, asking for the 34th’s endorsement for a position as judge on Seattle’s Municipal Court. Even though she is currently unopposed, she said the 34th’s endorsement would mean a lot to her: “I would be over the moon if you all would endorse me.” (She also said she is a resident of the 34th, living in West Seattle, with her son even going to school right where the meeting was held – at Fauntleroy Children’s Center at the other end of the historic schoolhouse.) She highlighted her career of 15 years as a public defender, saying she took each case with a lens of social justice. “Real accountability is that the court does its part too: that it offers programs that address root causes of behavior, services that actually redirect people away from the legal system, holding people to clear expectations and giving them a genuine path to meet them, tracking outcomes using real data, and being honest about what works and does not.” If elected, she hopes to bring that same lens to her work as a judge.

Teresa Mosqueda and Leesa Manion both came to pitch their re-election campaigns. Mosqueda is looking for re-election to the King County Council as the representative for the 8th District, which she has been since 2024, and Manion is running for re-election as King County Prosecutor, which she has been since 2023.

Mosqueda said she will continue to work on her same social-services-oriented agenda: “With your support, I will continue to focus on health, housing, and human services.”

Manion listed results of her efforts on gun violence, sex trafficking, and making sure there were equitable salaries by gender in the prosecutor’s office. She also emphasized that she will remain a staunch opponent of federal overreach: “I will absolutely keep fighting the Trump administration, through every legal means, against the unlawful and illegal overreach it presents.”

Chris Roberts and Rob Foxcurran spoke of their campaigns for King County Assessor. The assessor’s office deals mainly with property taxes, relief for those taxes, and property value appraisal.

Roberts is a veteran of politics, having served the city of Shoreline as both a councilmember and mayor at various points continuously since 2009.

Foxcurran, in his own words, was coming as a relative newcomer – although he currently serves as a City of Seattle Senior Appraiser. Roberts focused more on using the office as a way to lower the pressure of property taxes on families and individuals to prevent escalating the ongoing housing crisis, whereas Foxcurran saw the office as having the opportunity to come down harder on corporations for evading property taxes. Both shared the same concerns about the current system of property taxes reliance being highly inequitable.

After the presentations by the candidates, there was also a special presentation on the state of King County election services by King County Elections Director Julie Wise. She kept a lively tone throughout, recognizing the difficulty elections seemed to be undergoing with ongoing federal threats to change the system. “In times like these, it’s better to laugh than to cry.” she said.

She said that despite the uncertainty, especially regarding the upcoming midterms, she wanted to offer a message of hope. “[King County elections] is a dedicated group of election administrators who are passionate about it like none other.” She began by highlighting the strength King County has in terms of turnout: for this year, they are expecting 45% of registered voters for the August primary, and 75% for the November general election. “We have the highest voter turnout in the nation along with Oregon, Colorado, due to accessibility.” she said.

She moved on to highlighting the security and the accountability that mail-in voting has, despite recent aspersions cast toward it from the federal government. “Vote-by-mail elections are accurate and secure. Period.” she said. She said that King County elections in general has one of the most secure processes in the nation, if not the world, with their elections facility having state-of-the-art physical and cybersecurity. (Dramatically, she added, this had been done in consultation with firms well-versed in creating casino security systems.)

In the Q&A portion of her presentation, many audience questions were about how the office would handle possible election interference, whether from independent actors, or from federal actors such as ICE agents. “We are working with local law enforcement and the prosecuting attorney’s office, to be proactive and be prepared. […] We are doubling down on ordinances about where are federal agents being allowed to be – and working with local law enforcement to do plainclothes and non-plainclothes at the drop boxes to prevent voter intimidation.” She also noted threats about the federal government canceling USPS deliveries of ballots. “He does not have the authority to do a lot of things he does, but he especially does not have the authority to do that.” she said. She said if it did come to that scenario, the office is looking at other potential partners to deliver and pick up ballots. She also said that there is the potential for the elections office to expand in-person voting sites, if need be.

Wise closed her presentation with a reminder that things are not as bleak as they might seem. “Since 2016 there have been threats about voting security, personal threats to me, even. Sometimes, it is a really awful job, but you have to step back and remind yourself: there are really just a very few awful people. That is not the vast majority of people, who are appreciative and thankful of the work we do.”

Other business for the 34th included debate over their current budget (with their fiscal year for 2025 ending as of May), and further amendments to the platform they’ll be taking to the state convention later this year. For the former, concerns arose over the price of meeting in person, though there are no plans to cut the number of remaining in-person meetings for this year. For the latter, the amendments focused on creating a Democratic platform for AI regulation in the arts, environment and energy use, and the government. The amendments seemed to highlight anxieties about the current administration kowtowing to current tech companies at the neglect of civil and environmental rights. Other amendments also focused on a further emphasis on social health care, labor rights, and immigration rights.

The April pre-meeting program was a “civics mini-jam” led by the West Seattle Joiners, with attendees invited to circulate between and learn about the organizations in attendance WS Walking, the West Seattle Timebank, West Seattle Democratic Women, West Seattle Indivisible, representatives from the Defend Democracy sign campaign, and West Seattle Bike Connections. (The Joiners have another Jamboree coming up, too, on May 16 in White Center.)

The meeting closed with reminders of upcoming events for the 34th. They will be holding a pop-up social at Jules Maes Saloon in Georgetown on April 24th between 5:30 PM and 8:30 PM. Their big annual fundraiser, “Your Voice Our Future,” will be held on May 30th, at the newly opened White Center HUB. For more information, you can visit the 34th on their website here.

That’s video of this morning’s City Council Land Use and Sustainability Committee meeting, which included a discussion of Mayor Katie Wilson‘s proposed legislation to facilitate adding shelter space. Though the mayor has yet to announce the plan for where that’ll happen, the discussion focused almost entirely on expanding existing tiny-house villages. One of the mayor’s proposal would increase the number of people who could stay at a tiny-house village any given time to 150 (from the current 100), and would allow one site in each council district to host up to 250 people – more than double the current cap. Again, no specific sites are proposed for increases yet, but one “hypothetical” example of how it might work was in the presentation, a “what if” regarding southeast West Seattle’s Camp Second Chance:

Again, Jon Grant from the mayor’s office emphasized that is just a hypothetical example – and note the word on the side – but it’s an example of the kind of expansion the city is looking at, to find room for hundreds more people without having to find new village sites. The committee, chaired by new Councilmember Eddie Lin, also heard from organizations including LIHI – which manages most of the tiny-home villages in Seattle including Camp Second Chance and the upcoming Glassyard Commons tiny-home/RV site, also in southeast West Seattle – and treatment and outreach providers, who addressed the aspiration of “service-rich” shelter. No votes were taken today, but the mayor’s proposals will come before this committee for that before going to the full council.

By Macey Wurm
Reporting for West Seattle Blog

The 2026 Washington State Legislature session and the 2025-2026 biennium officially ended last Thursday (March 12). Since our last update, two additional bills primarily sponsored by your 34th District legislators – State Senator Emily Alvarado, House Rep. Joe Fitzgibbon, and House Rep. Brianna Thomas – have been signed into law by Governor Bob Ferguson. Apart from these, five bills have been delivered to the governor’s desk, awaiting action.

SIGNED BY GOVERNOR

The following bills have been signed by Governor Ferguson are now considered session laws. This version is created by the Code Reviser’s Office, and is considered the law until the legislation is officially codified in the Revised Code of Washington (RCW).

HB 2367 – Rep. Fitzgibbon
Exempts emissions from a coal facility occurring before January 1, 2026 from the Cap-and-Invest Program. Makes it so that the limitation on state agencies creating more emission performance standards on a coal facility in operation before July 22, 2011 doesn’t apply after December 31, 2025 to a coal facility subject to the memorandum of agreement. Sales and use tax exemptions for coal purchased or used at a coal facility in operation after December 3, 1969 and before July 1, 1975 are repealed.

HB 2355 – Rep. Thomas
Creates labor protections for domestic workers including minimum wage and overtime requirements. Domestic workers include any employee or independent contractor working in a private residence for four or more hours a month. Allows domestic workers to bring a private cause of action under the Washington Law Against Discrimination in some instances.

HB 2303 – Rep. Thomas
Prohibits employers from microchipping employees. An employer cannot request, require, or coerce an employee to have a microchip implanted.

DELIVERED TO GOVERNOR

The following bills have been delivered to the governor’s desk but are awaiting action. Since they were delivered within five days of the end of the 2026 legislative session, the governor has 20 days from their delivery to take action. All of these bills were delivered to the governor on either March 11 or 12.

SB 6026 – Sen. Alvarado
Certain local governments must include residential development in commercial and mixed-use zones. Prohibits requirement for ground-floor commercial and mixed-use in these zones– subject to exceptions. Prohibits local governments from imposing ground floor commercial and mixed-use requirements on subsidized affordable housing.

SB 5911 – Sen. Alvarado
The Department of Children, Youth and Families cannot apply benefits, payments, funds, or accrual paid to or on behalf of young adults receiving extended foster care as of January 1, 2027. Aims to strengthen the financial stability of persons in the care of DCYF. Specifies when DCYF can assess whether someone is eligible for such benefits.

SB 6027 – Sen. Alvarado
Changes the allowable uses for local sales and use tax for housing and related services. Changes the eligible uses of funding in the Affordable Housing for All Account. Updates the definition of emergency housing for property tax exemptions for low-income persons or victims of domestic violence.

HB 2215 – Rep. Fitzgibbon
Reduces emissions threshold determining covered entity status and compliance obligation in the Cap-and-Invest Program for certain fuel suppliers starting January 1, 2027 for suppliers that began supplying fuels after Jan 1, 2023. Requires them to report emissions to the Department of Ecology. Prohibits state from awarding a procurement contract to certain fuel suppliers, with some exceptions.

HB 2251 – Rep. Fitzgibbon
Repeals three of the Climate Commitment Act funding accounts and replaces them with the Climate Commitment Act Operating Account and the Climate Commitment Act Capital Account. Renames the Carbon Emissions Reduction Account to the Climate Commitment Act Transportation Account. Makes changes to the use of CCA funding and distribution of revenue.

NEXT YEAR

The 2027 legislative session will be a regular session, lasting 105 days, compared to this year’s short session lasting just 60 days. The 2027 session will begin on January 11, marking the beginning of the next legislative biennium.

By Macey Wurm
Reporting for West Seattle Blog

On Thursday (March 12), the 2026 Washington State legislative session will adjourn under the state Constitution. With this deadline rapidly approaching, we are providing another update on how bills for which the primary sponsors are your 34th District legislators – State Senator Emily Alvarado, State House Rep. Joe Fitzgibbon, State House Rep. Brianna Thomas – have fared since our last update two weeks ago.

Since then, another two major deadlines have passed: the last day to read in-committee reports from House fiscal committees and Senate Ways and Means and Transportation committees was Mar. 2, and the last day to consider bills in the opposite house – with some exceptions- was last Friday, March 6. Each bill number links to its page on the WA Legislature site with details, bill reports, and ways to comment.

GOVERNOR SIGNED:
The following bill has been signed into law by Governor Ferguson, and will take effect July 2027:

HB 2355 – Rep. Thomas
Creates labor protections for domestic workers including minimum wage and overtime requirements. Allows domestic workers to bring a private cause of action under the Washington Law Against Discrimination in some instances.

DELIVERED TO GOVERNOR:

Bills that have been delivered to the Governor have passed both chambers, House and Senate, and have passed any concurrence, dispute, or conference committees. These committees come about if the bill is amended in the second chamber, which then requires the initial chamber to concur with the new amendments. After this, the bill is considered to have passed the Legislature. The bill is then signed by the Speaker of the House and the President of the Senate, before it is sent to the Governor. The bills below have reached this point:

HB 2367 – Rep. Fitzgibbon
Exempts coal facility emissions occurring before Jan. 1, 2026 from the Cap-and-INvest Program, rather than all emissions. Gets rid of limitations on state agencies to impose emission performance standards on a coal facility as of Dec. 31, 2025. Repeals sales and tax exemptions for coal purchased or used at a coal facility.

HB 2303 – Rep. Thomas
Prohibiting employers from microchipping employees.

Governor Ferguson may decide to sign, partially veto, or completely veto a bill. If the governor does not take action within 5 days – if the bill is delivered while the legislature is still in session, or within 20 days – if it has adjourned, the bill automatically acts as if it were signed.

PASSED OPPOSITE CHAMBER: Some bills have passed the opposite chamber, but are not yet considered to have passed the Legislature – the step before being placed on the Governor’s desk. These bills have either not yet been signed by House and Senate leaders, or the opposite house has not yet concurred with new amendments:

HB 2215 – Rep. Fitzgibbon
Reduces emissions threshold determining covered entity status and compliance obligation in the Cap-and-Invest Program for certain fuel suppliers. Requires them to report emissions to the Department of Ecology. Prohibits state from awarding a procurement contract to certain fuel suppliers, with some exceptions.

HB 2251 – Rep. Fitzgibbon
Repeals three of the Climate Commitment Act funding accounts and replaces them with the Climate Commitment Act Operating Account and the Climate Commitment Act Capital Account. Makes changes to the use of CCA funding and distribution of revenue.

SB 6026 – Sen. Alvarado
Certain local governments must include residential development in commercial and mixed-use zones. Prohibits requirement for groundfloor commercial and mixed-use in these zones– subject to exceptions. Prohibits local governments from imposing ground floor commercial and mixed-use requirements on subsidized affordable housing.

SB 5911 – Sen. Alvarado
Prohibits the Department of Children, Youth, and Families from applying funds for or on behalf of a person in extended foster care as a reimbursement for the cost of care. Strengthening the financial stability of persons in the care of DCYF.

SB 6027 – Sen. Alvarado
Changes the allowable uses for local sales and use tax for housing and related services. Changes the eligible uses of funding in the Affordable Housing for All Account. Updates the definition of emergency housing for property tax exemptions for low-income persons or victims of domestic violence.

MISSED MARCH 6 DEADLINE: Some bills missed the opposite house cutoff that occurred last Friday, March 6. This cutoff was the last day for bills to be considered in the opposite house, barring some exceptions including budgets and matters necessary to implement budgets:

HB 2123 – Rep. Fitzgibbon
Candidates, campaigns, sponsors of electioneering communication or political advertising must confirm the absence of foreign national influence through a certificate, when the value of the contribution totals more than $6,000.

SB 5500 – Sen. Alvarado
Asserts that a DCFY biennial report that includes a market rate survey also includes a current cost of quality childcare study and a cost of quality childcare study defined by the early educator design team.

SB 5647 – Sen. Alvarado
The real estate excise tax exemption for self-help housing would include qualified affordable housing.

SB 5993 – Sen. Alvarado
Lowering the interest rate for medical debt. Prohibits interest from being charged, and requires a refund for interest paid for medical debt in certain circumstances.

SB 5496 – Sen. Alvarado
Limits excessive home buying by certain entities including those with interest in more than 100 single family residences, with some exceptions.

WHAT’S NEXT: This legislative session will officially adjourn on Thursday. This year is the second year of the Legislative biennium, meaning that bills that didn’t pass will have to be completely reintroduced next year under new bill numbers for the 2027-2028 session, if their sponsors want to try again.

By students, for students! This spring, the first-ever West Seattle Math Competition will challenge middle-schoolers to test their skills. An organizer’s parent asked us to share this announcement – if there’s a middle-school student in your household, be sure they’ve heard about this, because signups are happening now!

West Seattle Math Competition is a small group of middle school students who have been competing in the Math Counts competition throughout their middle school careers – and they have decided to put together their own math competition! They have designed their own website and have written all of the problems themselves. It is very impressive what they have done and myself and the other parents involved are very proud of them.

The competition is put together BY middle school students and is FOR middle school students. The competition will be held at the Admiral HUB in West Seattle (the old Admiral Church building) from 12 PM to 5 PM on Saturday, May 16, 2026. Registration is OPEN and will close on April 18, 2026. This event is for ALL middle school students grades 6-8. Kids can sign up individually or as teams of 2 to 4. If you check out their website, there is a ton of information about signing up, how the competition is structured, as well as sample problems within the Registration tab.

Find all that by going here.

The only member of District 1 City Councilmember Rob Saka‘s staff who’s been there since he took office two years ago is leaving. But Chief of Staff Elaine Ikoma Ko – who’s been his representative at so many community events (among other duties) over those two years – says this was always the plan. She sent us the farewell note she sent to city colleagues:

Dear colleagues,

I have completed the two-year term I agreed to with Councilmember Saka. I’m grateful for the opportunity to serve and for our outstanding D1 team and colleagues who supported and partnered with me along the way.

Although I’m retiring, again, I will remain engaged in the community and continue supporting the important work happening in D1 as a resident and neighbor.

Let me be clear: this transition was planned from the start when I joined two years ago. There is no drama and no backstory. It has been a privilege to work alongside Councilmember Saka, and I remain one of his strongest supporters in the work he does every day for the people of D1 and the entire city.

All my best,
Elaine

Today is her last day; she says a successor, interim or otherwise, hasn’t yet been announced.

Thanks for the tips about citywide-media reports that 34th District State Rep. Joe Fitzgibbon, who serves as State House Majority Leader, has acknowledged being drunk on the job. We requested and obtained his statement from the State House Democrats‘ office:

I deeply regret and apologize for the fact that I consumed alcohol before the work of the Appropriations Committee was completed on Wednesday, and the result was obvious. This was a serious mistake for many reasons. Being impaired in that situation was harmful to my work and to my co-workers. This was a painful and embarrassing lesson, one I won’t forget, and I will not put myself and others in this situation again in the future. Again, I apologize.

“The result” is visible/audible in video from a hearing, as recorded by TVW (and embedded here).

Fitzgibbon has been in the 34th District’s State House Position 2 for 15 years and has been House Majority Leader for three years. He has filed to run for re-election this year, after winning his current term in 2024 with 84 percent of the vote over Republican challenger Jolie Lansdowne.

We also have received a statement from State House Speaker Rep. Laurie Jinkins (D-Tacoma) about the situation:

We expect professionalism in the workplace, and while Rep. Fitzgibbon did not meet that standard Wednesday night, he has acknowledged that behavior is unacceptable and has apologized. The people of Washington expect and deserve their legislators to be fully focused and clear on the work we are here to do on their behalf, and House Democratic Caucus leadership stands with Rep. Fitzgibbon as he takes whatever steps he needs to ensure his well-being.

We’ll add anything more we find out about fallout.

By Macey Wurm
Reporting for West Seattle Blog

We’re checking in again with the latest updates on bills sponsored by local 34th District legislators – State House Rep. Joe Fitzgibbon, State House Rep. Brianna Thomas, and State Senator Emily Alvarado. Significant cutoffs for this year’s Washington State legislative session are rapidly approaching, with the 2026 session scheduled to close on March 12. You can find details on any bill below by using the “find a bill” link here to access its page with more details, including full text, and ways to comment.

POSSIBILITY TO ADVANCE: Today, Feb, 25, is the last day for in-committee reports to be read in the opposite house, minding that all bills eligible to advance at this point have already been passed in their house of origin. This cutoff date does not apply to bills in House fiscal committees or Senate Ways and Means or Transportation committees, which are subject to a Mar. 2 deadline. The last step for bills to pass their designated committee and advance is for the bill to be voted on by the committee during an executive session. Currently, two 34th district legislator bills are scheduled for executive session today, which will determine their potential to move forward. These include:

SB 6026– Sen. Alvarado
Local governments must include residential development in commercial and mixed-use zones. Prohibits requirement for groundfloor commercial and mixed-use in these zones– subject to exceptions.

(Scheduled for executive session in the House Committee on Local Government this morning.)

SB 5911– Sen. Alvarado
Prohibits the Department of Children, Youth, and Families from applying funds for or on behalf of a person in extended foster care as a reimbursement for the cost of care. Strengthening the financial stability of persons in the care of DCYF.

(Scheduled for executive session in the House Committee on Early Learning and Human Services today at 1:30 p.m.)

LATER-DEADLINE BILLS: While Feb. 25 is the cutoff for most in-committee readings, some bills are eligible to stay in committee until Mar. 2 and have an additional week. These include:

HB 2215– Rep. Fitzgibbon
Reduces emissions threshold determining covered entity status and compliance obligation in the Cap-and-Invest Program for certain fuel suppliers. Requires them to report emissions to the Department of Ecology. Prohibits state from awarding a procurement contract to certain fuel suppliers, with some exceptions.

(Scheduled for public hearing in the Senate Committee on Ways and Means tomorrow at 1:30 p.m.)

HB 2251– Rep. Fitzgibbon
Repeals three of the Climate Commitment Act funding accounts and replaces them with the Climate Commitment Act Operating Account and the Climate Commitment Act Capital Account. Makes changes to the use of CCA funding and distribution of revenue.

(Scheduled for public hearing in the Senate Committee on Transportation Friday at 1:30 p.m.)

SB 6027– Sen. Alvarado
Changes the allowable uses for local sales and use tax for housing and related services. Changes the eligible uses of funding in the Affordable Housing for All Account. Updates the definition of emergency housing for property tax exemptions for low-income persons or victims of domestic violence.

Scheduled for public hearing in the House Committee on Finance on Feb 26 at 8:00 a.m.

SB 5500– Sen. Alvarado
Asserts that a DCFY biennial report that includes a market rate survey also includes a current cost of quality child-care study and a cost of quality child-care study defined by the early educator design team.

APPROVED IN COMMITTEE: These are bills that have already been voted on and approved by their designated committee, some of which were approved just yesterday. These bills have been referred to the House or Senate Rules Committee, from which they are eligible to be pulled onto the floor calendar for a debate and vote. These include:

HB 2123– Rep. Fitzgibbon
Candidates, campaigns, sponsors of electioneering communication or political advertising must confirm the absence of foreign national influence through a certificate, when the value of the contribution totals more than $6,000.

(Approved by Senate Committee on State Government, Tribal Affairs, and Elections, referred to Rules)

HB 2367– Rep. Fitzgibbon
Eliminating limitations on imposing emissions requirements for coal facilities inconsistent with the greenhouse gas Emissions Performance Standard.

HB 2303– Rep.Thomas
Prohibiting employers from microchipping employees.

(Approved by Senate Committee on Labor and Commerce, referred to Rules.)

HB 2355– Rep. Thomas
Creates labor protections for domestic workers including minimum wage and overtime requirements.

(number corrected) HB 2495– Rep. Thomas
Exempts consultations between the Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council and federally recognized tributes from the Open Public Meetings Act during site certification. Tribal consultation must be offered within 90 days of receiving an application for site certification.

SB 5496– Sen. Alvarado
Limits excessive home buying by certain entities including those with interest in more than 100 single family residences, with some exceptions.

Executive action taken in the House Committee on Housing today at 4:00 p.m. (Passed by House Committee on Housing)

SB 5647– Sen. Alvarado
Value increased of personal property that can be sold by a water-sewer district without notice to $5,400. Value of retail property that may be sold privately by a water-sewer district increased to $7,500.

SB 5993– Sen. Alvarado
Lowering the interest rate for medical debt. Prohibits interest from being charged, and requires a refund for interest paid for medical debt in certain circumstances.

Executive action taken in the House Committee on Civil Rights and Judiciary Tuesday. (Approved by the House Committee on Civil Rights and Judiciary).

MISSED PREVIOUS DEADLINE: Our last report detailed bills that hadn’t yet been passed in their original house, but were still eligible to move forward. While some did advance and are listed above, others were subject to the Feb. 17 cutoff date, which was the last day to consider a bill in its house of origin. These include:

HB 2517– Rep. Fitzgibbon
Enables agreements with regional transit authority to establish development standards that vary from otherwise applicable regulations not involving compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, in order to accommodate transit facilities.

SB 5647– Sen. Alvarado
Expands the Real Estate excise tax exemption for self-help housing.

SB 6173– Sen. Alvarado
Creates an Apple Health Employer Assessment imposed on all employers with employees enrolled in Medicaid, going toward the State Health Care Affordability Act.

SB 6069– Sen. Alvarado
Requires cities and counties to allow permanent supportive housing, transitional housing, indoor emergency housing, and indoor emergency shelters in certain zones.

WHAT’S NEXT: The last day to consider bills in their opposite house is coming up on Mar. 6, with the exception of “budgets, matters necessary to implement budgets, matters that affect state revenue, initiatives to the legislature and alternatives, differences between the two houses, and business related to the interim or closing of the session,” according to the 2026 Session Cutoff Calendar available on leg.wa.gov.

(Added: Seattle Channel video)

By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson gave her first State of the City speech at the Langston Hughes Performing Arts Institute in the Central Area this past hour.

Here’s our summary and toplines, including two brief West Seattle mentions toward the end.

“You ready for this?” she began, warning it might be her longest speech ever.

Her trademark phrase “This is YOUR city” was heard shortly thereafter.

She said it’s an important time to look at history as we are in troubled times, while also acknowledging the confluence of important occasions – Black History Month, Lunar New Year, Ramadan, and overall “a season of reflections and new beginnings,”

She insisted she is not viewing the city through rose-colored glasses, but with hope. “You have to make the decision every single day to keep moving forward.” She said the double murder of teenagers in Rainier Beach was the most difficult thing that has happened so far in her term, and that the loss needs to lead to change, to protect people. “We have to do better for our kids. … Hopes are not enough …. My job is to take action.” She said an “intensive stabilization plan” for the affected commmunity is in the works, too. “But we can’t just react and stabilize … we have to get to the roots of the problem,” She said, without details, that a new gun-violence action plan will help with that, “tailored to the needs of our neighborhoods and our communities.”

Next, she moved to homelessness. “We simply do not have enough housing, shelter, and services for everyone who is living unhoused.” She said, “We’re doing some things right,” helping thousands each year. But if you look around the city, you will agree, she said, that our approach to homelessness has not been successful. “We cannot keep moving people from place too place and call it successful.” She said encampment removals will continue but she wants to minimize harm to people in encampments as well as “taking seriously” safety and access to public spaces. She brought up her quest for expanding emergency housing and shelter. “I know we have a big hill to climb,” but she vows to add 1,000 spaces this year “and we are well on our way.” (She did not mention specifics such as the Glassyard Commons RV lot/tiny-house village planned for West Seattle.)

Next topic – ensuring that Seattle is ready “to respond to threats from our federal government.” To be ready for any possible ICE surge here, the Office of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs has been bolstered. And a new webpage is available at seattle.gov/stand-together. She said organizing “the strongest possible community response” is vital, as observed by a staff member who went to Minneapolis to learn about their response when ICE arrived in force.

Regarding the controversy over city’s plan for more surveillance cameras, she said there are strong arguments on both sides – crime victims’ concerns, privacy advocates’ concerns – for leaving them up or not. For now, “my team will continue to dig in” to figure out what’s the right thing to do, with no particular deadline.

On to the affordability crisis, “you should not need a six-figure income to live here.” But she said the “economic squeeze has been going on so long, it’s hard to believe we can do anything about it.” She talked about past solutions such as the creation of Pike Place Market. “Affordability is not just a poor person’s issue, young person’s issue,” it reaches “high up the scale.”” She announced an Affordability Agenda with four key emphasis areas:

-affordable housing
-affordable child care
-affordable food
-affordable city to build a small business

She said more than 6,000 people already have answered her Renters’ Survey. “We have heard about people forced to move every year because the rent keeps going up, and more. She reminded that it’s open through Friday, and then she will work with the City Council. She said she’s hearing from property owners and managers too.

And builders – she says more housing must be built and she looks forward to work with many groups “to move forward bolder policy … we need to build a ton of housing” but added that she’s aware this won’t necessarily make housing more affordable “any time soon” so she is working on other ways to help with that.

On to social housing, which is advancing because of a City Council vote last week that will move $115 million into the Social Housing Developer’s operations. Social housing will “give us a new tool to expand our non-market housing,” as approved by voters.

Regarding child care, she acknowledged the much-publicized parental help she’s received, but “right now there are so many gaps for so many children, and our whole society pays the price.”” She said Seattle is seen as a national leader but “that’s a little unnerving as any parent will tell you there’s still so much to be done.” She talked about making it easier to build child-care facilities and building more family-size housing. Preschool and child care should be “treated as public goods, accessible to all” like K-12 education, she declared.

On to food, she talked about grocery-store closures though these stores “are essential community assets.” Programs like Fresh Bucks – which 17,000 participants use – help boost access to food. She said her administration is still exploring the idea of a “public grocery store” but has no specifics yet.

As for small businesses, she said she recently lunched with a group in the ID and heard a horror story about a two-year permit process. “I know some businesses never open” because of permit waits, not to mention high rents and other factors, She said taxes and minimum wage aren’t what she hears businesses complain the most about, but rather red tape as well as issues like public safety and homelessness. She wants small businesses to apply for currently available programs.

Directly addressing business leaders, bigger ones – she said “affordability is not government’s responsibility alone.” Her message to “Seattle’s employer community” was “we want you at the table” to discuss solutions, “Seattle has always been a city of builders,” building innovation and solutions and more. She wants their help in building “a world-class city that we can all be proud of.”

Mayor Wilson said she didn’t list potential price tags for what she mentioned because first, it’s time to reach consensus and “set the stage to achieve even more …. so let’s start from a place where we agree.”

She listed upcoming events and plans that she said would be steps toward becoming that world-class city that she is certain everyone wants this to be. This is where the West Seattle mentions came in. Reopening Hiawatha Community Center this Saturday is one step toward the city she wants to build – she’ll be there on Saturday – and she also mentioned the upcoming reopening of South Park Community Center., “Community centers are such an important part of” the city. She also name-checked Sound Transit’s Crosslake Connection, opening in March, and then briefly mentioned light rail extending to West Seattle and Ballard. Other transit, she said, must be restored to pre-pandemic levels. She also mentioned the World Cup games this summer, the newly opened waterfront park, an upcoming new exhibit at Woodland Park Zoo, a new Rainier Beach skatepark, the Garfield Superblock.

“I’m not naive …. I know there will be outrages of the week on social media … but I’ve never been more hopeful or excited about what we can accomplish.” She sees the hope around the city, “yes, we can do big things.” And she sees hope in “all the people who make city government run.”

Summarizing, she said, “everything we build” helps build hope, too. She wants her term to be judged on whether people “are excited to live here,” whether this is “a welcoming city” – and to get there, she wants to see people open up to recognize that “another world is possible.” In a year, she says, she hopes people will believe “this city is the best city in the world.”

Here’s the full text of the mayor’s speech.

By Macey Wurm
Reporting for West Seattle Blog

With this year’s Washington State legislative session scheduled to end March 12, here are some updates on the bills for which our 34th District legislators – State House Rep. Joe Fitzgibbon, State House Rep. Brianna Thomas, and State Senator Emily Alvarado – are the main sponsors. Longer summaries of these bills are in our previous coverage, and each bill number below links to the Legislature website page with full details (as well as ways to comment).

MIDWAY TO APPROVAL: Several bills primarily sponsored by the above representatives have passed in their original chamber, either House or Senate, and are in the process of working through the opposing chamber. These include:

HB 2215– Rep. Fitzgibbon
Obligation for compliance to the Climate Commitment Act for fuels supplied or sold in Washington.

Scheduled for public hearing on Feb.18 at 8:00 a.m.

HB 2367– Rep. Fitzgibbon
Eliminating limitations on imposing emissions requirements for coal facilities inconsistent with the greenhouse gas Emissions Performance Standard.

Scheduled for public hearing on Feb. 20 at 10:30 a.m.

HB 2123– Rep. Fitzgibbon
Eliminates state prohibitions on contributions by foreign nationals toward Washington State elections.

HB 2303– Rep. Thomas
Prohibiting employers from microchipping employees.

HB 2355– Rep. Thomas
Creates labor protections for domestic workers, including minimum wage requirement.

SB 5496– Sen. Alvarado
Limits excessive home buying by certain entities including those with interest in more than 25 single family residences, with some exceptions.

SB 6026– Sen. Alvarado
A city or county with a population of 30,000 may not exclude residential uses in areas zoned for mixed use or commercial development.

SB 6027– Sen. Alvarado
Minimum of 60 percent of Local Sales and Use Tax for Housing and Related Services used for constructing or acquiring affordable housing, behavioral health facilities, or for operational costs.

SB 5500– Sen. Alvarado
Child-care subsidy base rate must achieve the 85th percentile of market minimum, alters how the cost of quality child care rate model is used by the Department of CHildren, Youth, and Families.

Scheduled for public hearing on Feb. 18 at 4:00 p.m.

SB 5993– Sen. Alvarado
Prohibits interest charges or collecting owed interest on new or outstanding medical debt, and that medical debt may only be enforced six years after its date of entry.

Scheduled for public hearing on Feb. 18 at 8:00 a.m.

SB 5911– Sen. Alvarado
As of Jan. 1, 2027, the Department of Children, Youth, and Families may not apply funds paid to or on behalf of someone receiving Extended foster Care services as reimbursement.

Scheduled for public hearing on Feb, 18 at 1:30 p.m.

Below are others that have not advanced to the opposing chamber, but have passed committee, and are in the process to appear on the floor for a vote before moving forward:

HB 2251– Rep. Fitzgibbon
Repeals three of the Climate Commitment Act funding accounts and replaces them with the Climate Commitment Act Operating Account and the Climate Commitment Act Capital Account.

HB 2517– Rep. Fitzgibbon
Allows regional transit authorities to apply for permits before acquiring property or receiving notice of land use decisions.

HB 2496– Rep. Thomas
Requires the Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council to consult with federally recognized tribes during siting review and compliance monitoring. It also exempts these meetings from the Open Public Meetings Act, with some exceptions.

SB 5647– Sen. Alvarado
Expands the Real Estate excise Tax exemption for self-help housing.

SB 6173– Sen. Alvarado
Creates an Apple Health Employer Assessment imposed on all employers with employees enrolled in Medicaid, going toward the State Health Care Affordability account.

SB 6069– Sen. Alvarado
Encourages permanent supportive housing, transitional housing,and indoor emergency housing by allowing it in urban growth areas not zoned for industrial use.

NOT EXPECTED TO ADVANCE: Below are several bills unlikely to advance this session after missing deadlines on Feb. 4 and Feb.9. Feb. 4 was the policy committee cutoff, meaning, if a bill was not approved by its designated committee by that date, it is now unlikely to move forward with the legislative process this session. Feb. 9 served as the fiscal committee cutoff, a later cutoff reserved for bills referred to House fiscal committees and the Senate Ways and Means, and Transportation Committees. The bills that failed to make it out of committee for the deadlines include:

HB 2581– Rep. Fitzgibbon
Provides additional investment options for electric utilities under the alternative compliance segment of the greenhouse-neutral gas standard.

HB 2724– Rep. Fitzgibbon
Establishing a tax on millionaires to fund education, health care, and other essential government services.

HJR 4209– Rep. Fitzgibbon
Allowing the legislature to amend Washington State’s congressional districts before the next decennial census if another state does so outside a court order and before the next census.

HB 2182– Rep. Thomas
Removes requirements for the Washington State Department of Corrections to sell abortion medication and allows the department to obtain payment for medication.

HJR 4210– Rep. Thomas
Allows the legislature to determine the length of regular sessions by amending the Washington State constitution.

HB 1090– Sen. Alvarado
Requires that health plans provide a reimbursement of a 12-month supply of contraceptives.

SB 6067– Sen. Alvarado
Modifies workers’ compensation, specifically concerning benefits for total disability.

SB 6068– Sen. Alvarado
Allows workers employed by subcontractors to seek payments for unpaid wages and benefits from contractors.

SB 6028– Sen. Alvarado
Develops a revolving loan fund to give loans to organizations for mixed-income affordable housing development.

WHAT’S NEXT: An additional cutoff is coming up on Feb.17, which is the last day to consider bills in their house of origin. The bills that have yet to appear on the floor for a vote in their house of origin are subject to this cutoff date.

When we looked last month at bills that local legislators are sponsoring this year, one by 34th District State House Rep. Brianna Thomas of West Seattle turned a few heads: HB 2303, preventing employers from microchipping employees. Today the State House overwhelmingly passed Thomas’s bill, 87 yes, 6 no. From the news release we received tonight:

… “Microchips may seem like science fiction, but the technology is here,” said Thomas. “The concept is pretty simple. Don’t chip me, bro!”

If passed by the Senate and signed by the Governor, House Bill 2303 would make Washington the 14th state to pass legislation limiting or banning the use of microchips in work environments.

“It creates an opportunity for employers to track employees during work hours and at home. That is scary,” continued Thomas. “We recognize that the power dynamic between an employer and an employee makes true freedom of choice nearly impossible. This is a big step to help protect our employees from being microchipped by their employer.”

Next, the State Senate will consider the bill.