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Council hears legislative session update; city pursuing $3 million for emergency water-source replacement
Summary
Staff summarized 2025 state legislative work, city priorities and active bills; the city requested $3 million in the capital budget for replacement of its sole water source and lobbyists reported a challenging state budget environment.
Senior Management Analyst Robbie Cunningham Adams briefed the council on the 2025 Washington legislative session, emphasizing the city’s priorities and the budget context.
Key points
- Session context: The legislature is in a 120-day “long session” that runs January–April and includes the state two-year budget. Staff said about 27 separate committee testimonies or written submissions have been filed by the city through March 18.
- City priorities: The city’s adopted 2025 legislative priorities include the capital ask for emergency replacement of the city’s sole water source (a $3 million capital request), public-safety funding, behavioral-health resources, affordable-housing support and infrastructure preservation.
- Water-source capital request: Representative Janice Zahn (recently appointed to the 41st district) and the city’s lobbyists are supporting the capital request. Councilmember Weinberg reported that, after outreach to the capital-budget chair, Representative Zahn secured a penciled-in $500,000 in a committee draft; staff cautioned the forecast remains uncertain until the April budget is adopted.
- Bills and positions: Staff said the city opposed House Bill 1380 (which would have limited city authority over homeless encampment management) and continued to track a narrowed public-safety funding bill (House Bill 2015) that would expand local options to levy sales tax for public-safety funding. Several housing-related bills remain in play; staff said they will continue to engage to shape outcomes.
- Next steps: Staff cautioned the state budget is strained and that final outcomes will not be known until the legislature completes work in April. Staff said they will return with final session impacts and any implementation requirements.
Ending
Council thanked staff for heavy legislative engagement and noted the city remains actively lobbying for the capital water-source request and monitoring public-safety and housing bills.
