Walla Walla meets with state lawmakers to map 2025 priorities as statewide budget pressure looms

The Walla Walla City Council met with state legislators and the city’s lobbyist on Dec. 16 to review the city’s 2025 legislative priorities, pressing officials for help on transportation funding, housing affordability and rural health‑care stability as the state prepares its budget.

Mara Motcholsky, the city’s state lobbyist, told the council the 2025 session convenes Jan. 13 and will be a long session focused on the state’s biennial budget. She said the November revenue forecast showed a substantial operating shortfall and that the governor had ordered agencies to pause nonessential hiring, contracts and travel while leaders consider options. “We’re here gathering again preparing for the 2025 legislative session beginning January 13th,” Motcholsky said.

Why it matters: Walla Walla’s legislative asks depend on how much the legislature can afford to fund in a tight budget year. Several of the city’s requests — matching funds for a federal transportation grant and capital money for a planned library remodel — hinge on the…