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State Sen. Tawanna Nobles briefs University Place council on 2026 session priorities and local investments
Summary
Sen. Tawanna Nobles (28th District) gave a legislative recap, highlighting preserved higher‑education aid, a bill aligning passport‑to‑careers with Washington College Grant, investments in transportation and local capital projects benefiting University Place, and outreach plans for housing and small business messaging.
State Senator Tawanna Nobles (28th Legislative District) presented a session recap to the University Place City Council on July 20, outlining statewide fiscal constraints and the legislature’s priorities for protecting education and supporting working families.
Nobles said the 2026 session operated in a tight budget environment but that the legislature preserved constitutionally protected basic education funding and protected key higher‑education financial aid programs. She described a bill she sponsored (referred to in the transcript as Senate Bill 5963) that aligns the passport‑to‑careers program with Washington College Grant eligibility so students experiencing homelessness or foster care automatically qualify for state financial aid, reducing administrative barriers.
She highlighted district investments that benefit the 28th Legislative District and University Place specifically: about $241 million in regional transportation investments including safety improvements along SR‑7, safe‑routes‑to‑school and I‑5 corridor projects tied to JBLM and ferry/terminal investments that benefit islands in the region. She cited a $1,000,000 statewide investment in a birth doula hub and a $3,500,000 restoration for Treehouse’s graduation success programs supporting youth in foster care.
Nobles also described higher‑education preservation (efforts to protect state financial aid) and said she launched a FAFSA/WAFSA completion tour to boost student access to aid. She invited University Place staff and councilmembers to work with her office on local priorities and funding requests, noting she can sponsor local capital funding requests through the legislature and is open to proposing amendments where appropriate.
Quote: "Even in a constrained year, we did remain very focused on making sure that we kept Washington state moving forward and that we... were protecting services that we know families rely on here in Washington state," Nobles told the council.
The senator said she will continue outreach to small businesses about proposed tax relief measures tied to high‑earner proposals and offered to coordinate with city staff and local businesses to explain impacts if state law changes.
