County lobbyists brief council on early 2025 Olympia session; behavioral health, property-tax cap flagged

Snohomish County executive office staff and contracted lobbyists briefed the council on the opening weeks of the 2025 Washington Legislature during a Jan. 15 special report, highlighting potential budget pressure and several bills the county is tracking.

Annika Vaughn, senior government affairs analyst in the county executive’s office, said the county rolled out a new bill-tracking tool for staff and council use and that lobbyists Josh Wiese and Carrie Glover would review priority items from Olympia.

Carrie Glover, a lobbyist with JJ Public Affairs working on behavioral health issues, said the county’s top priority is protecting recent gains in community behavioral health and Medicaid provider funding as the Legislature contends with an anticipated budget shortfall. “We don’t wanna lose ground on that,” Glover said, emphasizing concerns about budget-driven reductions.

Glover identified House Bill 1218 as a focus for this week; the bill relates to competency evaluation and restoration services and would change responsibilities for persons referred for competency evaluation. She said the county had joined positions with King and Pierce counties, and she expressed concern the bill could impose new county responsibilities without accompanying funding.

Josh Wiese, who is handling other county legislative priorities, told council members the package of items to watch includes a newly introduced proposal to lift the 1% property-tax levy lid and bills related to agritourism and open-space taxation. He said Representative Paulette had introduced a bill to lift the 1% property-tax cap and that Senate Bill 5055 on agritourism would be heard soon; staff are monitoring both measures. “This is very much gonna be a moving target,” Wiese said, noting changes in membership in both houses and competing budget approaches from the outgoing governor’s proposal and the incoming governor.

The lobbyists also reported that Governor Inslee’s budget previously proposed increased funding for public defense and trial courts, which county staff characterized as a high watermark that might be reduced as the legislature grapples with revenue choices. On transportation and capital budgets, speakers said available capacity for projects appears constrained but unclear, and they flagged a paused list of Department of Transportation projects appearing in the governor’s budget proposal.

Council members had no substantive questions during the update. Staff said they will continue monitoring hearings and advising the council on bills of interest.