Chamber reassesses state policy goals post-policy cutoff

Down in Olympia, the house of origin fiscal cutoff was last week, which means it is about time we review what bills are still alive, where they are in the process, and how the Chamber advocacy team is feeling about everything.

As a reminder, we publish weekly legislative updates courtesy of our lobbyist Lyset Cadena, so be sure to check those out on our website and in our "5 Things" newsletter.

HB 1004: Property Tax Exemption

This bill is in regard to increasing the personal property tax exemption. 

Specifically, the personal property tax exemption would be increased from $15,000 to $50,000, and the head of family restriction would be removed.

Status:

House Rules Review

Sponsor:

Rep. Mari Leavitt (D)

Position:

Support

SHB 1015: Energy Labeling/Residential

This bill is in regard to the energy labeling of residential buildings.

It authorizes cities and counties to require an owner of a specified residence type to obtain a home energy performance report prior to publicly advertising the home for sale, with conditions, and provides the required elements of a home energy performance report. It also directs the Department of Commerce to develop a standardized format for home energy performance reports.

Status:

House Rules Review

Sponsor:

Rep. Davina Duerr (D)

Position:

Oppose

SHB 1160: Local Gov. Design Review

This bill is in regard to the design review protocol among local governments.

It limits design review of a housing development permit application by cities and counties planning under the Growth Management Act (GMA) to administrative design review, with certain exceptions, and prohibits these cities and counties from requiring more than a single architectural drawing set of one design concept as a prerequisite to permit review.

Status:

House 2nd Read

Sponsor:

Rep. Amy Walen (D)

Position:

Oppose

HB 1319: Wealth Tax

This bill is in regard to enacting a wealth tax on the ownership of stocks, bonds, and other financial intangible property to fund government programs and services. 

It would create the Washington state wealth tax in the form of a one percent property tax on financial intangible assets, such as stocks and bonds, publicly traded options, and futures contracts in excess of $100,000,000.

Status:

House Finance Committee

Sponsor:

Rep. Chipalo Street (D)

Position:

Oppose

HB 1320: Business & Occupation Tax

This bill is in regard to modifying B&O tax rates to fund government programs and services. This particular issue is a bit dense, so we recommend you read the full bill text here to get a better sense of its contents. 

Status:

House Finance Committee

Sponsor:

Rep. Chipalo Street (D)

Position:

Oppose

SHB 1380: Public Property Regulations

This bill is in regard to “allowing objectively reasonable regulation of the utilization of public property.” It would requires that any city or town, code city, or county laws that regulate the acts of sitting, lying, sleeping, or keeping warm and dry outdoors on public property that is open to the public, and any enforcement of such laws, be “objectively reasonable as to time, place, and manner.”

It would also create a private cause of action for injunctive or declaratory relief to challenge the objective reasonableness of such a law.

Status:

House Rules Review

Sponsor:

Rep. Mia Gregerson (D)

Position:

Oppose

HB 1403: Condominium Construction

This bill is in regard to simplifying condominium construction statues. 

It would remove references to engineering and construction standards and adds a definition of "workmanlike manner" to the implied warranty provisions of the Washington Uniform Common Interest Ownership Act (WUCIOA), and would require arbitration of actions for construction defect claims or for a breach of express or implied warranty if the sole relief sought is a money judgment and no party asserts a claim in excess of $500,000.

Status:

House Rules Review

Sponsor:

Rep. Jamila Taylor (D)

Position:

Support

HB 1436 (SB 5285): Law Enforcement Officer Increase

This bill is in regard to incentivizing cities and counties to increase the employment of commissioned law enforcement officers.

It would allow county or city legislative authorities to impose a sales and use tax where all money received would be used solely for employing additional commissioned law enforcement officers.

Status:

House Finance Committee

Sponsor:

Rep. Hunter Abell (R)

Position:

Support

HB 1480: Affordable Housing REET

This bill is in regard to the imposition of a real estate excise tax for the purpose of developing affordable housing. 

It would allow the legislative authority of any county to impose an additional excise tax — subject to the will of the voters — on the purchase and sale of real property in the county at the rate of 0.5 percent of the selling price. The proceeds would then be used exclusively for the development of affordable housing including acquisition, building, rehabilitation, and maintenance and operation of housing for very low, low, and moderate-income persons, and those with special needs.

Status:

House Finance Committee

Sponsor:

Rep. Alex Ramel (D)

Position:

Oppose

3SHB 1491: Transit-Oriented Housing Development

This bill is in regard to promoting TOD housing developments, and would establish affordability requirements and authorize a 20-year property tax exemption for residential and mixed-use buildings constructed within a station area. 

It also would require the Department of Commerce to administer a grant program to assist cities in providing the infrastructure, planning, and staffing necessary to implement the transit-oriented development requirements.

Status:

Passed House

Sponsor:

Rep. Julia Reed (D)

Position:

Oppose

SHB 1576: Historic Landmarks & Cities

This bill is in regard to the requirements for a property to be named a historic landmark. 

Specifically, it would prohibit cities from designating a property as a historic landmark outside of a historic district if the property is less than 40 years old, or, if the designation would restrict the use of the property and the property is less than 100 years old, if the property owner has not given written consent to the designation.

Status:

House Rules Review

Sponsor:

Rep. Amy Walen (D)

Position:

Support

2SHB 1614 (SSB 5314): Capital Gains Tax

This bill is in regard to modifying the capital gains tax. 

Specifically, it would modify the tax under chapter 82.87 RCW and related statutes by “closing loopholes,” replacing the business and occupation tax credit with a capital gains tax credit, adding a nonclaim period, and adding a new requirement for brokers and barter exchanges, among other things. 

Status:

House Rules Review

Sponsor:

Rep. My-Linh Thai (D)

Position:

Oppose

HB 1882: State Tax on Lodging

This bill is in regard to imposing an additional, temporary state tax on lodging. Specifically, it would authorize a temporary state lodging tax of 2 percent from April 1, 2026 through September 30, 2026.

Status:

House Finance Committee

Sponsor:

Rep. Julio Cortes (D)

Position:

Oppose

HB 1980: Employer Shuttle BAT Lane Use

This bill is in regard to allowing the use of private employer shuttles in business access and transit-only lanes. 

Specifically, it would allow local authorities, with approval from public transportation providers, to authorize private employer transportation services to use business access and transit-only designated lanes in counties with a population greater than 2 million people, if the local authority has established a fee-for-use process for applying to do so and operational performance metrics of the lanes continue to be met.

Status:

Passed in House

Sponsor:

Rep. Janice Zahn (D)

Position:

Support

SSB 5041: Unemployment Insurance & Strikes

This bill is in regard to unemployment insurance benefits for striking or lockout workers. 

Specifically, it would allow individuals unemployed due to a labor strike to receive unemployment insurance (UI) benefits following a specified disqualification period and the waiting week, provided that the labor strike is not found to be prohibited by federal or state law in a final judgment. 

It also would remove the provision disqualifying an individual for UI benefits based on an employer-initiated lockout resulting from a strike against another employer in a multi-employer bargaining unit.

Status:

Second Reading

Sponsor:

Sen. Marcus Riccelli (D)

Position:

Oppose

2SSB 5060 (HB 1435): Law Enforcement Personnel

This bill is in regard to creating a law enforcement hiring grant program.

Specifically, this program would be within the Criminal Justice Training Commission for the purpose of assisting local and tribal law enforcement agencies in hiring new law enforcement officers. 

Status:

Second Reading

Sponsor:

Sen. Jeff Holy (R)

Position:

Support