Redmond council refines 2026 state legislative agenda, elevates $500,000 Hartman Park playground ask

Amy Tsai, Redmond's chief policy officer, presented the city's draft 2026 state legislative agenda at the study session on Oct. 14 and walked council through edits made since the Committee of the Whole on Sept. 9.

Amina Tiori, the external affairs advisor, opened with a short primer on the 2026 legislative session, noting it "will begin on January 12, 2026" and that the session is a short, 60'day year of the biennium in which most bills that did not pass in 2025 carry over.

Staff told council the front page of the agenda was rewritten to elevate community impacts in a tight budget environment: it adds language about pressures on the social'service safety net and protection of civil rights, clarifies priorities on SNAP and Medicaid eligibility, and highlights the city's interest in reproductive and gender'affirming care. Tsai said the city removed a prior 'drone' request and limited monetary asks for the short session to the $500,000 Hartman Park playground request while continuing to socialize the maintenance-and-operations center (MOC) needs.

Council members asked for refinements and received staff assurances on several points. Council member Stewart asked whether the regional ARCH housing coalition's agenda aligned with Redmond's; Tsai said ARCH's agenda "is consistent" and generally more detailed, and council gave a thumbs-up to add explicit, active support for ARCH priorities into the draft. Council member Nueva Camino urged language to emphasize Hartman Park as a regional amenity; staff offered wording changes and a one'pager to highlight the park's broader use. The council also agreed to change a front'page line from "gun safety" to "gun violence prevention."

Councillors pressed staff on technology policy language. Several members asked that the technology section explicitly name artificial intelligence in addition to autonomous vehicles; staff agreed to include both in the heading and supporting text. Council member Stewart and others emphasized the need for a statewide data governance standard and said Redmond is working to ensure vendor accountability where state policy is developed.

Tsai and staff cautioned that the coming short session will be constrained by lower-than-expected state revenue and will likely prioritize budget adjustments and carryover bills. Council members directed staff to fold in the planning and editorial edits discussed during the session and to finalize the one'pagers and front'page language before the formal packet for further consideration.

The session produced direction but no formal vote to adopt the agenda during the study session; council approved specific editorial changes (including adding ARCH support and naming AI explicitly) by thumbs-up.

Ending: Staff will incorporate the edits discussed and prepare final one'pagers and the revised draft for the Council packet; the city will use the short legislative session to prioritize outreach on the Hartman Park request and to press for state engagement on data governance and tenant protections.