Renton staff outline gains and losses from 2025 Washington legislative session

Eric Perry, government affairs manager for the City of Renton, and David Foster, the city’s contract lobbyist in Olympia, briefed the Renton City Council on the outcomes of the 2025 Washington state legislative session and what those results mean for city projects and budgets.

"We are here to present a post session update on the 2025 state legislative session," Perry said, opening the presentation. The update summarized changes to legislative membership, the three state budgets, and legislation Renton staff tracked or supported.

The nut graf: The session produced a mix of targeted capital funding that protects existing projects and broader policy changes that will affect local planning. For Renton, officials highlighted capital allocations that preserve construction timelines, new local options for public safety funding, and statewide policy changes on housing, parking and transportation that reduce some local control.

Most immediately tangible for the city were capital wins and losses. Renton received the full $1.5 million requested for Legacy Square from legislators in the 11th District. City presenters also said state funding continues for ongoing construction on the I‑405 widening work near Renton and for State Route 167 corridor improvements; Perry described those as roughly "90 some million dollars" and "94,000,000 and some change," respectively, for current work. At the same time, city staff said the legislature removed $2 million that Renton had sought for a Practical Solutions study tied to the North Eighth Street direct access ramp — funding for preliminary cost‑saving design work rather than the main construction pot.

Public safety and local option funding: House Bill 2015

Perry and Foster flagged House Bill 2015 as a major policy…