Spokane County staff flags GMA extension, public defense funding and short-line rail bills as priorities for 2025 session

Mike Burgess, a county staff member, told the Spokane County Board of Commissioners at a Jan. 28 briefing that several bills introduced in the 2025 Washington legislative session could affect county operations and budgets and that staff had added three as higher priorities on the county’s tracking list.

"We're pretty much almost exclusively in committee hearings right now," Burgess said, describing the early-session committee calendar and the difficulty bills with fiscal notes will face this year.

Burgess described three new items he planned to elevate to a higher priority: Senate bill 5558 (an extension tied to Growth Management Act timelines for some counties); a public defense funding bill (listed on staff materials as bill 5404); and a short-line rail tax incentive package (reported as bill 1058/1058 report on the list). He told commissioners he expected the GMA extension to receive at least a senate hearing and that he had labeled the county’s position on the item as support on his internal bill list.

Why it matters: Each bill could affect county planning or finances. The…