Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the State Legislation topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Bothell hears Olympia update: zoning bill SB 6026 and proposed 'millionaire's tax' flagged
Summary
City lobbyist Shelley Helder briefed council on the approaching end of the 60‑day legislative session, flagging Senate Bill 6026 (residential uses in commercial zones) and Senate Bill 6346 (a proposed 9.9% income tax on earnings over $1 million with sales tax exemptions) and noting potential impacts for Bothell.
Shelley Helder, the city’s state lobbyist, briefed Bothell City Council on March 3 as the Legislature neared the scheduled adjournment of the 60‑day session. Helder said the House and Senate had released competing budget proposals and were negotiating differences as the session entered its final days.
"Today is day 51 of the 60‑day legislative session," Helder said, and she urged council to expect intense floor debate in the final week.
Helder described two bills she said could affect Bothell. She said Senate Bill 6026, a governor‑requested housing bill, would require cities to allow residential uses in zones currently designated commercial or mixed‑use with some exceptions and a limit on required ground‑floor retail. "As the bill currently stands, it requires cities to allow for residential uses in areas zoned for commercial or mixed use," Helder said, adding that transit station areas and certain height‑incentive areas would be excluded from the 40% ground‑floor retail calculation.
On fiscal policy, Helder flagged Senate Bill 6346, commonly described as a millionaire’s tax. She said the bill would impose a 9.9% tax on income above $1 million, include a sales‑tax exemption for hygiene products and diapers, and allocate $150 million for public defense grants — about $15 million available to cities overall if the bill passes in its current form. "It is difficult to know what amount that would mean for the city of Bothell," Helder said, "but it is safe to say there would be a reduction in sales tax revenue collections starting in 2029."
Council members asked whether state associations were pursuing mitigation measures. Helder said the Association of Washington Cities was not taking a support‑or‑oppose position on the millionaire’s tax but was urging legislators to create a sales‑tax mitigation account to compensate cities for lost local revenue from hygiene and diaper exemptions.
Council Member Dodd and others supported participating in mitigation discussions; Council Member Britney Miles thanked Helder and described the hygiene tax exemption as an important policy goal but voiced concern about the resulting local revenue shortfall. The city manager and Helder said staff would follow up with legislators and AWC on mitigation language and opportunities for council input.
Helder also reported a correction to the governor’s transportation budget: $5 million tied to Bothell’s North Creek multimodal project that had been inadvertently removed was restored in both the House and Senate transportation proposals, preserving previously allocated funding for later biennia.
Helder concluded by offering to coordinate additional outreach to state lawmakers and to return with a session recap in April after adjournment.
