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State delegation reports wins and setbacks from short legislative session; housing and revenue bills highlighted
Summary
State Rep. Christine Reeves and lobbyist Luke Esser briefed Federal Way council on the 60-day session: passage of a millionaire's tax, protected funding for core services, support for several city transportation and capital projects, and statewide housing bills (STEP housing, commercial-to-residential rules) that will require local code changes.
Federal Way's state delegation reported to the City Council on April 7 about outcomes from the short 60-day legislative session and items that will affect the city in 2026 and beyond.
Representative Christine Reeves, one of the 30th District legislators, said the session focused on preserving essential services amid budget pressures and passing several high-profile items, including a "millionaire's tax" that passed at the session's end. Reeves noted that she opposed the income-tax measure, saying she introduced multiple amendments to protect middle-class tax relief and ultimately "voted against the income tax" on principle.
Reeves briefed the council on three categories of local requests — policy, budget/provisos and partnership asks — and reported some direct wins: preserved funding for childcare grant eligibility, $86,000 in capital funds toward the city's emergency operations center and protection of previously appropriated transportation grants.
Lobbyist Luke Esser reviewed bills with direct local implications: House Bill 2266 (STEP housing) requires cities to allow emergency, transitional and supportive housing in zones that allow residential or hotel uses and sets implementation deadlines tied to comprehensive-plan updates; another bill expands allowance for residential uses in commercial and mixed-use zones for cities above 30,000 population and modifies ground-floor retail requirements (cities may exempt up to 40% of acreage from ground-floor retail mandates). Esser warned local planners that comp-plan and development-code updates will be needed to comply on the schedule provided.
Esser also summarized a privacy/surveillance law limiting automated license-plate readers (ALPRs): agencies can use ALPRs for felony and gross-misdemeanor investigations but retention periods and permitted uses are restricted (general retention 21 days; parking enforcement data retained 12 hours after final resolution). He said several local law-enforcement mobile ALPR units were temporarily taken offline because the technology could not guarantee compliance with new exclusion zones.
Councilmembers used Q&A time to press for data on childcare slots and home-based care and sought clarity on implementation timelines. The delegation urged the city to continue working with the state during the interim before the 2027 long session and to refine technical budget and policy asks.
Councilmembers said they will stay engaged in 2026 interim work and prepare for necessary local code and budget actions expected once bills are implemented.
