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Kent previews 2027 state legislative agenda as lobbyists flag $4.3 billion projected deficit
Summary
City staff and contract lobbyists on July 7 presented draft 2027 legislative priorities, warning of an approximately $4.3 billion state budget shortfall for the 2027-29 biennium and urging focus on capital and transportation requests, liability reform, public-defense funding, and public-records changes.
City staff and contract lobbyists reviewed a draft 2027 legislative agenda at the July 7 Kent City Council meeting, framing work the city will press during the next long legislative session and outlining major budget pressures facing local government.
Brianna Murray, the city's contract lobbyist, told the council the 2027 session will be a long session of 105 days and that the state Office of Financial Management projected roughly a $4.3 billion deficit for the 2027-29 biennium. Murray said those pressures are driven by inflationary cost increases, population growth and court decisions that raise state obligations. "At the end of June, the director of the Office of Financial Management sent a memo... indicating that the 2729 budget is going to be the most challenging budget in recent memory," Murray said.
City staff outlined draft local priorities they expect to advance with legislators and partners: fiscal sustainability (including concerns about the design and local impacts of the "millionaire's tax"), transportation funding and the 224th Corridor project, public-defense funding (noting higher costs following recent court standards), liability reform, public-disclosure law changes to reduce burdens from large digital records requests, and continuing support for law-enforcement funding programs that some cities have used.
Kyle (city staff) summarized local fiscal exposure: he said the city is already estimating approximately $20 million in yearly loss from streamlined sales-tax changes and warned the "millionaire's tax" as written could cost cities hundreds of millions in lost revenue. "We're estimating that at the current year at about $20,000,000 loss a year," Kyle said, urging caution in how state-level tax reforms are structured.
Council members discussed the priorities and largely endorsed the draft direction while urging realism about state fiscal constraints. Council Member Boyce said the city must be pragmatic about cuts and revenue pressures: "I support this here, but I just I don't see how... it doesn't add up," he said, calling for clear, consistent city messaging to Olympia. Council members asked staff to refine the draft priorities and return with a more complete legislative agenda for eventual council approval.
Next steps: staff will meet with department directors, refine the priorities and bring a completed legislative agenda back to council for review and approval ahead of the January session.
