Lynnwood officials say 2025 Washington legislative session delivered mixed results; Scriber Creek, Poplar Way and PFD funding secured

Lynnwood city lobbyists and staff told the City Council on May 5 that the 2025 Washington State legislative session produced both tangible wins and notable shortfalls for the city’s project and policy priorities.

Assistant City Administrator Julie Moore and lobbyists Amina Abdallah of Gordon Thomas Honeywell and Brianna Murray gave a roughly hour-long briefing summarizing the session, which they called “significant” because it began a new two‑year biennium and produced operating, capital and transportation budgets that will guide state spending through 2027.

The presentation said Lynnwood secured a $500,000 appropriation for Scriber Creek fish‑barrier removal in the final capital budget and preserved $10 million from the Connecting Washington program for the Poplar Way Bridge project, though an additional $5 million the city requested to cover cost increases was not awarded. The Lynnwood Public Facilities District received $1 million for convention‑center campus revitalization; the district had sought $4 million.

“These results reflect early engagement and persistent follow‑through,” Amina Abdallah said, summarizing the city’s advocacy work in Olympia and noting the mayor and city representatives met with key legislators during the session.

Brianna Murray and Abdallah told the council the state’s 2025–27 operating budget totals, as presented to the council, were in the tens of billions, and lawmakers adopted roughly $4.3 billion of new revenues to close a projected $15 billion shortfall. They said the capital budget was constrained, and that local community project allocations were smaller on average than in 2023. The presenters also noted the transportation budget relied in part on a 6¢ gas‑tax increase and that some loan‑repayment funds from the Public Works Assistance Account were swept to balance the state budget; the legislature backfilled $100 million of the roughly $288 million swept amount.

Council members pressed staff for detail on several items. Council member Mike Hurst asked why House Bill 1109 — legislation affecting public facilities districts — mattered to Lynnwood. Brianna Murray explained the law lengthened the period for state sales‑tax credit bonding (she described an increase from 40 to 55 years in final committee action), which she said improves bonding flexibility for Lynnwood’s Public Facilities District.

Council member Kit Marshall asked whether Lynnwood’s wastewater treatment plant was advanced in Olympia; Moore said the city did not submit a direct request for that project this year. Council member Ryan Decker and others pressed for more detail on the transportation funding picture and the Poplar Way request; staff acknowledged the city’s additional $5 million ask had been heard in early proposals but not included in the final negotiated transportation budget.

On housing and homelessness, the presenters highlighted passage of House Bill 1217 (rent‑increase limits reported as 7% plus CPI, or 10% annual cap in its final form) and approximately $600 million allocated to the Housing Trust Fund, with $27.5 million earmarked for manufactured‑home issues. They also noted supply‑focused bills, including Senate Bill 5184 (reported as limiting local parking requirements) and House Bill 1491 (transit‑oriented development and minimum floor‑area ratio requirements), saying the city will have implementation work ahead when it updates its comprehensive plan.

Staff recommended continuing close tracking of budget line vetoes by the governor and preparing for the 2026 short session, which will be a 60‑day session focused on supplemental budgets and carry‑over bills.

Ending the briefing, Moore and the lobbyists urged the council to consider thanking local legislators and to prepare staff capacity for implementation of awarded funds.

Council members asked for a written end‑of‑session report. Abdallah and Murray said a comprehensive written report would be prepared with bill‑level analysis and that staff would provide more granular data on youth‑advocacy and other bill categories the council requested.