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Washington legislative session reshapes Spokane priorities: recycling overhaul, cuts to outdoor education and local trail funding
Summary
City staff briefed the board on state budget and legislative changes that affect Spokane, including passage of a state recycling 'REWRAP' law, cuts to climate education and outdoor education funding, shifts in trail project timelines and investments in clean transportation infrastructure.
City staff and board members reviewed highlights from the 2025 Washington legislative session and how enacted and proposed changes could affect Spokane projects and programs.
Presenters noted the state passed a major extended‑producer‑responsibility recycling law (commonly described in the meeting as the "REWRAP Act") that will require producers to register and pay into a statewide system; rulemaking will begin in 2026 with expected adoption in mid‑2028. Marlene (city staff, presenter) said the new law aims to standardize what counts as recycling across the state, expand curbside service access, and reimburse local collection utilities. "In 2024, it cost the city $1,500,000 to process recyclables after receiving the benefit of the commodities that were sold," Marlene said, explaining the city’s fiscal pressures on curbside recycling programs.
Budget changes at the state level include increased funding for clean transportation projects (the presenter cited a $226,000,000 allocation across biennia for medium‑ and heavy‑duty vehicle conversions) and funding for local trail projects such as Centennial River Trail renovation Phase 2 and a Fish Lake Trail connection. However, some local priorities lost momentum: the Children of the Sun Trail completion funding was moved into a future biennium, leaving its completion date uncertain; board members said that change raises environmental‑justice concerns for neighborhoods directly affected by freeway impacts.
The board heard that the state eliminated the Clime Time program (an OSPI proviso that had provided roughly $3,000,000 statewide for climate education in K‑12) and cut a $10,000,000 outdoor‑education appropriation. Presenters said those reductions could undermine recent gains in classroom climate and earth‑science education in Eastern Washington.
Other passed bills noted by staff included a strengthened clean‑fuel standard, a solar‑panel recycling law and reforms around transit‑oriented development and parking policy. Some measures failed, including proposals on road‑usage charging, embodied‑carbon in buildings, and certain environmental‑justice permitting reforms, but sponsors can revisit them in the next session.
The Climate Commitment Act (the state cap‑and‑invest program) was discussed as a complex multi‑budget source for projects across operating, capital and transportation budgets; presenters said its size is driven by allowance sales in carbon markets and that allocations and future renewals remain subject to policy choices. Several board members requested more technical briefings on the CCA and state budget mechanics.
Next steps: staff recommended the board track rulemaking for the REWRAP Act, watch for design and capital timelines on trail projects, and follow opportunities from clean‑transportation and parks funding streams as the state finalizes budget vetoes and supplemental actions through May.
