Kent lobbyists brief council on 2025 legislative outcomes, including new 0.01 sales-tax option for public safety

Brianna Murray, the city’s contracted lobbyist from Gordon Thomas Honeywell, told the Kent City Council on June 3 that the 2025 Washington legislative session produced a mix of budget cuts, new revenue measures and new mandates that will affect Kent’s policy and budget choices.

"We are going to try and capture a hundred and 5 days of intense activity into 20 minutes," Murray said as she opened the presentation to council. The briefing covered the operating, capital and transportation budgets and named specific pieces of legislation with direct consequences for Kent.

Why it matters: The session left the state with a roughly $15 billion budget shortfall that the legislature addressed with about $6 billion in cuts, $4.3 billion in new revenue measures and $2.3 billion in reserves. For Kent, that dynamic both reduced the pool for local capital earmarks and produced a new limited local tool — a councilmanic 0.01 sales-tax for public safety — that the council said it may consider.

Most consequential for Kent, Murray said, was passage of House Bill 2015, which she said "provides cities and counties each with [a] 0.01 councilmanic sales tax authority to fund public safety and criminal justice purposes." Murray explained the authority is limited: jurisdictions must meet certain criteria and obtain certification from the Criminal Justice Training Commission before imposing the tax.

Murray and Amina Abdallah, who presented additional slides, also reviewed failed and carried bills. They said Representative Chris Stearns’s House Bill 1532 — a proposal to authorize a 0.03 councilmanic sales tax — advanced in committee but did not pass. A Senate companion, identified in the presentation as Senate Bill 5518, likewise stalled after a fiscal note raised state-level concerns. Murray noted the Legislature ultimately limited local authority to a 0.01 option amid a broader slate of tax votes.

On capital and transportation items, Murray said Kent’s request for roughly $9 million to add solar and battery storage to the new Administrative Services Building was narrowed in session and was not funded this cycle. She said Kent did secure $1.5 million to move State Route 167 from a master plan to an implementation plan to align it with the existing I-405 corridor work. Murray also noted grant allocations that did succeed: approximately $940,000 for the LP Uplands extension acquisition and $500,000 for the LP Uplands playfield and spray park, both in the capital budget.

The briefing touched on broader bills that will require local implementation, including a statewide rent-stabilization measure that caps annual rent increases at 10% or 7% plus inflation (whichever is lower), new limits on parking minimums for multifamily development, expanded administrative lot-split authority, and changes to Paid Family and Medical Leave eligibility and timelines. Murray also highlighted a recycling reform measure shifting more recycling costs to producers.

Mayor Dana Ralph expressed frustration after the presentation: "I would be a % missing an opportunity to say that, extremely disappointed in the legislature's unwillingness to help a city like Kent," she said. The mayor and lobbyists repeatedly thanked city staff for technical work that shaped amendments and implementation guidance on some bills.

Council next steps include staff work to model the new 0.01 public-safety sales-tax option and the grant-eligibility process tied to that authority, follow-up code changes needed to implement multiple new laws, and discussion of legislative priorities for the 2026 session. Murray said a comprehensive end-of-session report and monthly legislative updates will be provided to the council.

Closing note: The council was told revenue forecasts and possible federal changes (notably to Medicaid) could trigger supplemental budgeting or a special session, and city staff will continue to monitor implications for Kent’s revenues and service demands.