Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the State Legislation topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
City lobbyist: Oxbow Basin drainage study funded; many local transportation asks left out of 2026 supplemental budgets
Summary
Fife's contracted lobbyist Michael Transtu told the council the 2026 supplemental session produced mixed results: a $300,000 capital award for an Oxbow Basin drainage study but no new project funding in the supplemental transportation budget; he also summarized statewide tax and policy decisions that could affect the city.
Michael Transtu, the City of Fife’s contracted lobbyist in Olympia, briefed the council on April 28 about outcomes of the 2026 legislative session and supplemental budgets.
Transtu said the city secured $300,000 in the capital budget for an Oxbow Basin drainage study, which staff will coordinate with county and tribal partners. He said a request of roughly $2.5 million for construction of a local transportation project was not included in the supplemental transportation budget after the conference committee removed new projects; Transtu recommended pursuing the request again in the 2027 biennial transportation budget.
On the operating side, Transtu described the fiscal pressure lawmakers faced: the legislature began the session with an estimated $3.5 billion shortfall and the final supplemental operating package relied in part on a so‑called "millionaire's tax" and several one‑time fund transfers. He said the session included a diversion of funds from the Public Works Trust Fund (Transtu estimated about $375 million) that local jurisdictions found concerning.
Transtu reviewed bills of local interest that became law or advanced policy changes. He said House Bill 6002 (automatic license plate readers) was adopted and will likely need technical fixes in the 2027 session to address mobile use cases; Senate Bill 5947, a bill affecting sheriff responsibilities and Pierce County shares, also passed and may have local implications. On land use and housing, he said a commercial zoning bill passed while a proposed requirement to allow mobile dwelling units on all lots did not move forward.
Transtu also summarized a change to data center tax preferences: the session preserved the sales‑and‑use tax exemption for a new data center facility but repealed, effective July 1, the exemption for refurbishment/refresh of existing equipment. He estimated the fiscal impact of that repeal at about $69 million in the current biennium and $120 million in the next biennium and said it could affect future reinvestment decisions by data‑center operators.
Councilmembers asked Transtu to clarify bonding capacity for the Gateway project and whether the project’s funding was materially changed; Transtu said the Gateway project was held whole in the adopted transportation package, with some bonding authorized as part of a compromise. He also noted turnover in the 2027 legislature could be substantial and may reshape committee assignments and policy dynamics.
Transtu’s report will inform staff recommendations on which state priorities to re‑advance in the 2027 session.
