Shelley Helder and city legislative staff reviewed Lakewood’s draft 2026 state legislative agenda with council on Oct. 13, outlining the city’s top priorities and related challenges for the short legislative session.

Key priorities and requests:
- Community Partnership Program codification: staff asked council to press for passage of Senate Bill 5286 (introduced in 2025) to codify the Community Partnership Program at Western State and Eastern State hospitals. Helder said the bill passed the Washington State Senate unanimously in 2025 and was sent to the House Appropriations Committee but did not receive a hearing. She warned that the House traditionally resists statutory obligations that create ongoing appropriations. The city will continue to press the bill in 2026 and coordinate with the City of Medical Lake and that city’s legislative delegation.

- HBARN silos capital request: staff proposed a $200,000 supplemental capital request to preserve the HBARN silos; the total silo project cost was presented as $250,000 and the city would provide the remaining $50,000. Staff said the $200,000 request aligns with typical supplemental capital awards and is intended as a discrete, fundable component of the larger HBARN planning effort.

- Public defense funding: the city will support statewide efforts (also advanced by the Association of Washington Cities) to secure additional state funding for indigent defense. Staff noted Washington’s Supreme Court adopted lower caseload standards for public defenders, creating a multi‑million dollar gap in municipal indigent defense funding by full implementation.

- Parking reform implementation funds: in 2025 the legislature passed parking reform that requires cities to change local standards. Staff recommended requesting a state grant program or other funding to offset the cost of implementing those statutory changes — including potential technical studies to demonstrate safety concerns if a jurisdiction seeks an exemption. City staff characterized the supplemental budget outlook as constrained but recommended advancing the request as a priority.

Council comments: councilmembers asked staff to tighten packet language to avoid conflating HBARN silo work with a separate community center project, and staff agreed to revise the federal/state language to present the H Barn or a downtown multigenerational facility as separate eligible capital projects. Council also flagged security incidents at Eastern State Hospital in recent news and asked staff to gather data on facility impacts to local jurisdictions as the House debate resumes.

Next steps: staff will refine one‑pagers and fact sheets, coordinate with coalition partners (including Medical Lake and SSMCP where relevant), and schedule a December 2 meeting with legislators. No formal council action was taken Oct. 13.