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Bellevue reviews 2025 state session outcomes and adopts 2025–26 federal agenda
Summary
City staff summarized legislative results in Olympia—including tax increment financing authority for the Grand Connection and limited capital grant support—and the council adopted an updated federal agenda and instructed staff to pursue earmarks and engagement with the delegation.
Bellevue city staff gave the City Council a session‑end review of the 2025 Washington state legislative session on May 13 and asked the council to adopt the city’s 2025–26 federal legislative agenda ahead of a planned June delegation trip to Washington, D.C. Council voted to adopt the federal agenda later in the meeting.
Intergovernmental staff summarized key state outcomes: despite a tight state budget environment the legislature provided targeted support for several Bellevue priorities. The session produced a package of housing‑and‑land‑use bills of statewide significance and included authority that Bellevue expects to use for financing the Grand Connection; staff reported a successful change to permit additional tax‑increment financing authority of $500 million of property value for Bellevue (an increase from a smaller amount in prior drafts) and noted the city received roughly $250,000 in the capital budget toward the Grand Connection. Staff also said the legislature funded work on the I‑405/Interstate‑167 corridor and other regional transportation priorities but that several Bellevue funding requests—digital permitting and some local projects—did not make the final budget and will return to the city’s interim advocacy.
Katie Halsey, the city’s intergovernmental relations director, reviewed session context: a 105‑day session with substantial fiscal pressure and many new legislators, producing roughly 423 bills enacted from more than 2,300 introduced. Bellevue monitored more than 360 bills, took positions on dozens and provided testimony and coordinated council member participation. Staff highlighted passage of multiple housing bills (including the statutory elements discussed in the city’s middle‑housing study session), producer responsibility and recycling changes, and a number of other policy shifts that will affect local governments.
On the federal side, staff presented an updated 2025–26 federal agenda that keeps prior priorities—transportation and mobility, essential and sustainable infrastructure, housing and safety‑net passthrough programs, and climate and resilience—but adds emphasis on utility investments and a narrower, actionable list of projects to pursue with the city’s congressional delegation and federal agencies. Staff said they had submitted two earmark requests and believed both had a strong chance of moving forward; staff also announced a new hire in the city’s federal relations team and said the standard Washington, D.C., trip and constituent‑office visits are scheduled in June.
Council members praised staff work and the thorough wrap‑up, asked staff to press for additional funds during the interim and encouraged coordination with regional partners on shared capital needs such as wastewater infrastructure. Several council members welcomed the new federal relations staff member and endorsed the adopted federal agenda as a tool for the city’s upcoming delegation trip. The council approved the federal agenda by voice vote; staff said they will proceed with advocacy, pursue grant and earmark opportunities and return for updates as federal and state processes evolve.
