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Spokane County lays out 2026 legislative priorities, flags $15 million public-defense burden
Summary
Spokane County commissioners and state legislators met Dec. 10 to review the county—s 2026 legislative priorities, including public defense cost pressures, behavioral-health facility funding, transportation projects, TIF reform and broadband planning.
Spokane County officials met in a special session on Dec. 10 to present a list of 2026 legislative priorities they said will protect county services from mounting state-driven costs and advance several local capital projects.
Mike Burgess, the county—s state lobbyist, told legislators that state requirements are shifting costs to counties and cited a Spokane County estimate of about $15,000,000 in public-defense-related pressure the county faces if caseload and indigent-defense standards are fully implemented. "That $15,000,000 number is a Spokane County number," Burgess said while outlining operating-side concerns for county budgets.
The meeting grouped items into broadly countywide priorities (public defense, the Clean Building Act, BECA-related pressures) and more localized capital asks (sobering center…
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