Council discusses edits to 2026 legislative priorities to add renter relief and student basic needs

Pullman councilmembers reviewed a revised draft of the city's 2026 legislative priorities and agreed to two requested edits: to add language addressing renter burdens in the housing and affordability section and to expand the higher-education item to explicitly mention basic student needs, including food security for graduate and professional students.

Council member D'Elir (as recorded in the meeting) proposed adding wording to the housing priority to include renter relief: "increase resident home ownership, work to reduce housing construction costs, advance affordable housing options and alleviate high rent burden." Council members responded that including renters made sense because a majority of local constituents are renters.

On higher education, D'Elir proposed expanding the existing reference to the Washington College Grant to also address graduate and professional students and basic student needs. Proposed language would read, in part, "support accessibility and affordability of higher education by continuing to fund and expand tuition reduction programs (i.e., Washington College Grant) at a level necessary to make tuition and basic student needs like food security affordable." Council discussed coordinating these priorities with Washington State University student advocacy efforts.

Why it matters: The legislative priorities shape the city's advocacy with state legislators; adding renter and student basic-needs language signals council support for targeted state funding and policy attention.

Next steps: Staff will incorporate the agreed edits and return the priorities for formal approval at a future meeting.