Seattle staff outline 2026 state legislative agenda as short session looms; council asked about amendments, revenue and fentanyl statute

Mina Hashemi, director of the Seattle Office of Intergovernmental Relations, presented the city’s proposed two‑page state legislative agenda on Dec. 1 and urged council members to use OIR as the city’s “boots on the ground” in Olympia during the 60‑day 2026 session. The briefing outlined priorities across federal response, affordability, housing and homelessness, public safety, capital investments and transportation while warning of tight timing in a short session.

The nut graf: OIR and its state relations staff said they built the agenda by collecting departmental and council priorities over months and have been coordinating with the Association of Washington Cities and contract lobbyists. Anna Johnson, a state relations staffer, said the agenda was intentionally concise to preserve flexibility during a rapid session and to make it easier to stack the city’s top priorities for passage.

OIR highlighted several concrete requests it plans to press in Olympia. Under “federal response,” the agenda asks the state to restrict federal or out‑of‑state law‑enforcement officers from wearing face coverings while operating in Seattle and to add protections for immigrant workers, including notice of interactions with immigration officials and job/wage stability for detained workers. On…