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Tualatin council brainstorms 2026 state and federal legislative priorities; staff to return with draft
Summary
City officials discussed themes for a 2026 state and federal legislative agenda — transportation funding, housing, social services, economic stimulus, tourism lodging-tax flexibility and protecting municipal bond tax-exemption — and asked staff to prepare a draft agenda for later council review and adoption.
Deputy City Manager Megan George and policy analyst Cody Field led a council discussion on Tualatin’s 2026 legislative priorities on state and federal issues, asking councilors to confirm policy themes and identify new concerns to include in a draft agenda.
George reviewed the city’s 2025 themes: transportation, housing, social services, resiliency and emergency preparedness, environment, downtown revitalization, local control and unfunded mandates, and capital projects. She updated councilors on last year’s state funding requests: a $1.75 million seismic valves grant (the city has had a kickoff call with the Oregon Water Resources Department), a Veterans Plaza shade structure request, and a potential transportation project that was held back pending a transportation package.
On the state side, George said the legislature has not passed a transportation package and that the short session will be limited; Thorn Run (the city’s legislative consultant) advised avoiding specific project funding asks for the short session unless a request is time-sensitive. She noted the state revenue outlook worsened since May and that transient lodging tax (TLT) allocation changes and cuts to eviction prevention programs could reappear in the next session. "Because we're going into a short session, Thorn Run's advice is not to focus on specific funding asks," George said.
Councilors raised several priorities and concerns: protecting home rule and local control around housing mandates; the effect of ballot measures on local revenues; eviction-prevention funding and gaps in social services; emergency preparedness and FEMA funding cuts; and attracting and retaining businesses and jobs. Several councilors also asked staff to consider apprenticeships, small-business supports and leveraging federal economic-development programs.
On the federal side, Field reviewed the city’s 2025 federal priorities, including a $3 million request for a Saggart project of which Representative Salinas secured $250,000. Councilors expressed mixed views about accepting the smaller award. Field and George said accepting the $250,000 could federalize and delay the project and increase administrative costs; declining could preserve local control and faster delivery. "Accepting the money would likely federalize the project, which would ultimately make it more expensive and would extend the timeline of the project," Field said.
What happens next: George said staff will return with a draft state and federal legislative agenda for council review, with the goal of adoption between December and January so the city is prepared for the 2026 sessions. The council asked for ongoing Thorn Run updates and for staff to prepare a recommendation on the Representative Salinas award and whether to accept the $250,000.
Ending: Councilors identified housing, transportation, CDBG and local flexibility on lodging-tax allocations as high priorities and asked staff to bring back a draft agenda for adoption later in the year.
