Richland’s draft 2026 legislative priorities, presented by City Manager Joe Shishel on Oct. 28, ask the Legislature for several targeted actions and highlight areas where the city wants state clarification or support.

Shishel said the city will again pursue a targeted urban area amendment (previously narrowed after political debate) with sponsors working toward a compromise that appears to favor attaching the amendment to an existing SITA (State Implementation or allied bill) vehicle. The intent is to secure a statutory path for future site extensions tied to clean‑energy and other large projects.

A new priority flagged by staff is shrub‑steppe regulatory clarity. Shishel explained that the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife has produced a predictive statewide map identifying “priority habitat” including shrub‑steppe, and staff described the mapping as imprecise at parcel scale. That state mapping has led to mitigation requests with replacement ratios ranging from roughly 2:1 to 4:1, he said, increasing costs and complicating housing and commercial projects. Councilors said they support habitat protection but urged narrower, more actionable state criteria and suggested Richland could use city‑owned natural areas and conservation easements as mitigation banks.

Shishel also presented a draft request to protect sensitive Automated License Plate Reader (ALPR) data from routine public‑record release, so access could be limited to law‑enforcement or need‑to‑know circumstances. Council discussion raised competing policy goals: privacy and limiting dissemination of sensitive surveillance data versus maintaining public‑record transparency and preventing the privatization of public surveillance data. Councilmember Kurt Meyer warned that exemptions to public‑records access could allow private vendors that hold ALPR feeds to gain an exclusive commercial advantage; other councilors emphasized officer safety and crime investigation needs.

Other items on the draft list include support for audio and other targeted traffic‑enforcement tools to address street racing, additional funding for the state crime lab to reduce evidence backlogs, continued advocacy for energy and transmission projects (including support for nuclear power and transmission capacity), and selected capital project requests such as design funding for SR 4240 at Aaron Drive. Shishel said staff will coordinate with regional partners and the Tri‑Cities legislative council and asked councilors for direction on packaging and regional alignment.

Ending: Councilors asked staff to present a visually clear package that separates city‑specific asks from regional and state priorities, to prepare concise fact sheets for legislators, and to coordinate messaging with Tri‑Cities partners before the 2026 session.