County lobbyists brief Snohomish County Council on 2026 state budget, housing and behavioral-health outcomes

Snohomish County Council heard a state legislative update during its March 2026 general session from Anna Kavan, the county's senior government-affairs analyst, and the county's state lobbyists, who summarized key budget and policy outcomes from the just-concluded legislative session.

Josh Weese, one of the county's lobbyists, said the legislature adopted three budgets totaling about $79,400,000,000 and added roughly $1,600,000,000 to the spending plan. He told the council the supplemental budget included about $200,000,000 for housing and homelessness, $41,000,000 for flood preparedness and response, and shifts in Climate Commitment Act dollars into operating budgets that reduced new capital spending overall. Weese said Snohomish County’s $2,000,000 request for PFAS cleanup at the former Paine Field fire-training site did not make the final budget and will need a different…