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City’s federal earmark advances in House; state capital requests win funding as lobbyists outline fiscal outlook
Summary
City lobbyists reported that a federal earmark for Meeker Street improvements was included in the House T-HUD bill, while a separate earmark for a police designated-crisis responder program was not taken forward by the Senate. At the state level Puyallup received capital-budget awards for Meeker Street and a Fourth Street stormwater main.
City lobbyists and the city’s public-affairs officer briefed the council on July 22 about federal and state advocacy work, earmark requests and recent budget outcomes.
On the federal side, lobbyist Jen Covino told the council that two city earmark requests were submitted to Congress this year. Congresswoman Strickland advanced the Meeker Street improvement project to the House Transportation, Housing and Urban Development (T‑HUD) appropriations bill; the House bill included $850,000 for Meeker Street ADA and streetscape work. A second request, for a police designated crisis-responder program supported by the city and submitted via Senator Cantwell, was not selected by the Senate Appropriations Committee for further consideration.
At the state level the city scored two capital-budget awards. The state will provide $901,000 for the Meeker Street improvement project (festival-street/street‑scaping work) and $773,000 for Phase N‑1B of the Fourth Street Northwest stormwater main, which will reduce flooding risk downtown and support future development. City staff said final design and procurement are underway; Meeker construction is tentatively scheduled to begin in early 2027 and the stormwater work is targeted for 2026 construction.
Federal-lobbying discussion also covered recent national legislation. Covino summarized a large budget-reconciliation package signed into law in July (described in the briefing as the “1 big beautiful bill”), noting it made durable changes to low-income housing tax credits, extended the New Markets Tax Credit and preserved municipal bond tax-exempt status — changes lobbyists said could unlock new financing tools for local projects. She also flagged that some appropriations bills circulating in the House included provisions responding to a presidential executive order on DEI and cautioned cities to monitor legal developments and court challenges related to DEI conditions on federal grants.
State lobbyists Jim Hedrick and Luke Esser summarized the 2025 legislative session and budget outlook. They said the 2025–27 state operating budget is a bare-bones package that closed a prior $10 billion to $16 billion gap using $9 billion in new revenue and $6 billion in cuts. They highlighted a new local-option public-safety sales tax (0.1%) and a $100 million state competitive grant program for local law enforcement funded through the budget, both with eligibility conditions and limited-duration funding. The lobbyists also noted major housing bills (including parking-minimum preemption and transit-oriented development rules) and a 6‑cent state gas-tax increase to shore up the transportation budget.
