Published date: February 10, 2026

Week 5 Legislative Update

Deadlines Narrow the Field
Week 4 closed with two major cutoffs. The February 4 policy committee deadline and the February 9 fiscal committee deadline significantly reduced the number of active bills. Measures that failed to advance are now considered “dead” for the session. The Legislature now turns to floor action through February 17 — the House of Origin cutoff — when bills must pass out of their original chamber to remain alive.

Budget Pressures Take Center Stage
On February 16, the Economic and Revenue Forecast Council will release the updated revenue forecast, triggering the rollout of operating, capital, and transportation budget proposals. Lawmakers are grappling with a projected $2.3 billion operating shortfall, along with approximately $40 million in recent flood damage to transportation infrastructure — a key concern for public works agencies statewide.

Millionaires Tax Advances
The Senate advanced SB 6346, the proposed “millionaires tax,” which would apply to income over $1 million annually and is estimated to generate $1.5 billion per year. The bill drew significant public engagement and passed Senate Ways & Means along party lines on the fiscal cutoff deadline.

APWA Bill Tracking
Following the deadlines, the APWA tracking list now focuses on bills in Rules Committees or on floor calendars. Policy committees resume February 18, with hearings continuing only until the February 25 cutoff.

Contracts and Purchasing

 

Bill # Abbrev. Title Short Description Status Sponsor
SHB 2191 (SB 6068) Construction worker wages Concerning workers’ wages and benefits in the construction industry. H 2nd Reading Cortes
SHB 2420 Small works roster limits Increasing small works roster contract limits. H Rules R Zahn
HB 2566 Local government procurement Concerning local government procurement. H Rules R Zahn
E2SSB 5061 Public works wages Requiring certain wages in public works contracts to be at least the prevailing wage in effect when the work is performed. S 3rd Reading Conway
SSB 6302 Public works/finishing trade Concerning misclassification in the finishing trades on public works projects. S 2nd Reading Conway

Emergency management

 

Bill # Abbrev. Title Short Description Status Sponsor
SHB 2203 Interference with emergency Creating the offense of reckless interference with emergency operations. H Rules R Penner
SHB 2351 Emergency response Protecting emergency responders and emergency response operations in Washington. H Rules R Parshley
2SHB 2397 Fire services mobilization Requiring timely reimbursement of state agencies and local jurisdictions mobilized under the Washington state fire services mobilization plan. H APPDP2S Bronoske

Permitting

 

Bill # Abbrev. Title Short Description Status Sponsor
SHB 2718 Transportation projects Streamlining transportation projects. H TRDPS Richards

Transportation

 

Bill # Abbrev. Title Short Description Status Sponsor
SHB 1529 Cities/county road resources Increasing opportunities for cities to utilize county resources for road construction and maintenance. H Rules R Griffey
SHB 1823 Transp. improvement board Modifying transportation improvement board provisions. H Rules R Low
SHB 2095 Public way vulnerable users Protecting vulnerable users of public ways. H Rules R Reed
SHB 2134 Regional transp. plans Concerning regional transportation plans, of regional transportation planning organizations containing certain counties, providing for reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and vehicle miles traveled. H 2nd Reading Duerr
SHB 2172 Road jurisdiction transfer Concerning route jurisdiction transfer and abandonment. H TRDPS Bernbaum
HB 2722 (SSB 6262) Vehicle fees/maximum weight Increasing the maximum weight of certain vehicles subject to transportation benefit district vehicle fees. H TRDP Reed
SSB 6262 (HB 2722) Vehicle fees/maximum weight Increasing the maximum weight of certain vehicles subject to transportation benefit district vehicle fees. S Rules 2 Valdez

Uncategorized Bills

 

Bill # Abbrev. Title Short Description Status Sponsor
SHB 2107 (SSB 5869) Construction hazards notice Concerning notice requirements of identified hazards at construction worksites. H 2nd Reading Schmidt
SHB 2109 (SSB 6032) Vehicle loads Addressing vehicle loads on public highways. H 2nd Reading Dent
2SHB 2251 Climate commit. act accounts Concerning climate commitment act accounts. H TRDP2S Fitzgibbon
SHB 2257 (SSB 6113) Tax administration Concerning taxes administered by the department of revenue. H Rules R Berg
SHB 2381 Low-rise res. buildings Concerning performance-based building codes for low-rise residential buildings. H Rules R Duerr
SSB 5215 Vehicle debris escape Concerning debris escaping from vehicles on public highways. S Rules 3 Shewmake
2SSB 5690 Utility relocation Concerning utility relocation. S Rules 3 MacEwen
SSB 5869 (SHB 2107) Construction hazards notice Concerning notice requirements of identified hazards at construction worksites. S Rules 2 Saldana
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