Ways & Means advances broad slate of bills, moving major education, juvenile justice, housing and environmental measures to rules

The Washington State Senate Ways & Means Committee met in executive session Jan. 27 and advanced a wide package of bills to the Rules Committee, approving substitute versions and several amendments on major measures affecting special education funding, school operating costs, juvenile rehabilitation, housing finance and producer responsibility for packaging.

The committee — chaired by Senator Lisa Robinson — voted to give “due pass” recommendations to a long list of bills after staff briefings and brief floor discussion. Several bills with substantial fiscal notes were amended before receiving recommendations; a few items were held or not acted on as announced at the meeting.

Why it matters: the packet includes multi‑hundred‑million dollar education funding changes, proposals that change juvenile corrections and review procedures, and local revenue options for housing and public safety that would shift how state and local governments collect and distribute hundreds of millions of dollars. Committee action sends these measures to the Rules Committee for possible floor consideration by the full Senate.

Most significant approvals and debate

Special education funding (Substitute Senate Bill 5,263): The committee adopted a proposed substitute that aligns excess cost multipliers, directs OSPI to use the higher of a district’s BEA rate or the statewide average when computing excess cost allocations, and raises the expenditure threshold for safety net awards. Staff estimated the underlying bill’s fiscal impact at about $1.1 billion in the 2025–27 biennium and $2.4 billion over four years; staff estimated the adopted substitute would reduce the four‑year fiscal impact by roughly $400–$500 million. An amendment (Sen. Gildan) to require a state auditor performance audit of special education was moved and defeated; the chair said committee members would try to address audit concerns via proviso language rather than adopting the amendment on the bill. Senator Hanson urged rejection of an MSOC‑related amendment on a separate bill because of concerns it would disrupt prior MSOC budgeting changes.

School materials, supplies and operating costs (Senate Bill 5,192): The committee approved a proposed substitute that reduces the per‑pupil MSOC increase compared with the underlying bill and adds reporting…