Thurston County officials told commissioners Wednesday they will press early and persistent outreach to lawmakers as the 2026 short legislative session opens, stressing that the condensed schedule will leave little time to advance county priorities.

"It’s going to be the short session," consultant Deborah said, summarizing the 60-day supplemental session and its compressed deadlines. She said prefiling began Dec. 1 and about 374 bills were already in the system, and that the first cut-off date is Feb. 4, roughly 3½ weeks into the session.

Deborah told the board the Legislature faces an estimated $2.3 billion gap compared with the 2025 budget and the governor proposed roughly $800 million in agency cuts and drawing about $1,000,000,000 from the rainy day fund to close shortfalls. She said the governor is backing a proposed "millionaire’s tax" (9.9% on incomes $1,000,000+ in the transcript) tied to other tax changes and program expansions; proponents have proposed a delayed implementation date in 2029 and Republican opposition and legal challenges are likely.

On county priorities, staff and the consultant said the Regional Justice Center remains top-ranked; the county is seeking $5,000,000 in state capital funding and has secured letters of support from partners including the city of Olympia and other regional stakeholders. Commissioners and staff said they are scheduling meetings with capital budget chairs and prime sponsors to request hearings early in session.

Deborah also reviewed bills the county is tracking: proposals to change public defense standards and reimbursements (referred to in the meeting as Senate Bill 59 13 and 59 14), a House bill to allow counties to assess a cultural access tax if cities have adopted similar measures, and a proposed household excise tax of up to $2.50 per dwelling unit to support animal shelter funding. Staff cautioned the animal-services excise proposal will likely draw opposition from business groups and that implementation details remain to be defined.

Commissioners asked staff to refine a vetting process so the board can make timely decisions about which bills to support or oppose and to provide focused weekly reports on hearing schedules. Deborah said she would provide bill lists and can testify on the county’s behalf; commissioners agreed to a follow-up agenda item to set board direction on specific bills as the hearing calendar is released.

The board’s next procedural step is to consider a streamlined county process to triage bills and provide staff authority to act quickly on hearings and testimony during the fast-moving session.