2025 Legislative Update: Week 8
March 9, 2025
We have officially passed the halfway point in the 2025 legislative session. Both chambers were on the floor last week debating and voting on bills. The House was on the floor late into the night on some days and was also on the floor on Saturday. All bills must pass off the floor of the chamber in which they were originally introduced by 5pm on Wednesday, March 12th or they will be considered dead. This means House bills must pass off the House floor and Senate bills off the Senate floor. Bills that pass off the floor in their house of origin will then flip sides and go through the same process they’ve been through in their house of origin. Bills that don’t make the cutoff are considered dead unless deemed necessary to implement the budget (NTIB). Given it is the first year of the biennium, all bills that die will come back and be “alive” for consideration again next session.
During the lead up to every floor cutoff, there is speculation as to what will be the “5 o’clock bill.” This term refers to the rule that even though floor cutoff is at 5:00pm, if debate starts on a bill prior to 5pm, the debate can continue for as long as it takes. Sometimes the 5:00pm bill is one that is controversial, so having it be the 5 o’clock bill allows that bill to be considered and debated on without taking up precious floor time leading up to cutoff. Other times the 5 o’clock bill might be one to honor a particular member or a particular issue.
After Wednesday’s house of origin cutoff, hearings will resume as policy committees consider bills that have been sent over from the opposite house. Bills have until April 2nd to pass out of their opposite house policy committee.
Looking Ahead
This week will focus on floor action as bills are amended, debated, and ultimately voted on by the full chamber (House or Senate) ahead of the March 12th house of origin floor cutoff. On Thursday the focus will shift back to policy committee where bills will be considered that were sent over from the opposite chamber. Follow where we are in the process by consulting the 2025 Session Cutoff Calendar.
Click here to watch this week’s TVW Legislative Review. Episodes are posted every day during session and are just 10 minutes long, providing highlights of the day in Olympia.
Bill Status & Upcoming Events Report
Upcoming Events
Environment & Energy (House) – HHR B and Virtual JLOB – 3/13 @ 11:30am
- ESSB 5360 – Public Hearing – Concerning environmental crimes. (Remote Testimony Available).
Local Government (Senate) – SHR 3 and Virtual JACB – 3/13 @ 1:30pm
- ESHB 1135 – Public Hearing – Ensuring that local government planning complies with the growth management act. (Remote Testimony Available).
Ways & Means (Senate) – SHR 4 and Virtual JACB – 3/13 @ 4:00pm
- HB 1494 – Public Hearing – Concerning the property tax exemptions for new and rehabilitated multiple-unit dwellings in urban centers. (Remote Testimony Available).
- SB 5711 – Public Hearing – Defining the rental or lease of individual storage space at self-service storage facilities as a retail transaction for the imposition of business and occupation and sales and use taxes. (Remote Testimony Available).
Housing (Senate) – SHR 4 and Virtual JACB – 3/14 @ 10:30am
- E2SHB 1096 – Public Hearing – Increasing housing options through lot splitting. (Remote Testimony Available). (If measure is referred to committee.)
- SHB 1353 – Public Hearing – Establishing a self-certification program for accessory dwelling unit project permit applications. (Remote Testimony Available).
- 3SHB 1491 – Public Hearing – Promoting transit-oriented housing development. (Remote Testimony Available).
- HB 1757 – Public Hearing – Modifying regulations for existing buildings used for residential purposes. (Remote Testimony Available).
Labor & Workplace Standards (House) – HHR D and Virtual JLOB – 3/14 @ 10:30am
- SSB 5040 – Public Hearing – Expanding the definition of uniformed personnel to all law enforcement officers employed by a city, town, county, or governing body of a municipal airport operating under the provisions of chapter 14.08 RCW. (Remote Testimony Available).
- SSB 5501 – Public Hearing – Concerning employer requirements for driving. (Remote Testimony Available).
Local Government (House) – HHR E and Virtual JLOB – 3/14 @ 10:30am
- ESSB 5184 – Public Hearing – Concerning minimum parking requirements. (Remote Testimony Available).
| Bill # | Abbrev. Title | Short Description | Status | Sponsor |
| HB 1004 | Property tax exemption | Increasing the personal property tax exemption. | H Rules R | Leavitt |
| SHB 1015 | Energy labeling/residential | Concerning energy labeling of residential buildings. | H 2nd Reading | Duerr |
| HB 1040 | Rental income/property tax | Concerning rental income received by people eligible for certain property tax exemption programs. | H Rules R | Doglio |
| HB 1095 | Law enforcement funding | Incentivizing cities and counties to attract and retain commissioned law enforcement officers. | H Finance | Walen |
| E2SHB 1096 | Lot splitting | Increasing housing options through lot splitting. | H Passed 3rd | Barkis |
| ESHB 1135 | Local government planning | Ensuring that local government planning complies with the growth management act. | S Loc Gov | Duerr |
| SHB 1155 (SB 5437) | Noncompetition agreements | Prohibiting noncompetition agreements and clarifying nonsolicitation agreements. | H 2nd Reading | Berry |
| SHB 1160 | Local gov. design review | Concerning local government design review. | H 2nd Reading | Walen |
| HB 1165 | Property tax exemptions | Expanding access to the property tax exemption program for seniors, people retired due to disability, and veterans with disabilities. | H Finance | Shavers |
| 2SHB 1175 | Small businesses/residential | Allowing small business establishments in residential zones. | H 2nd Reading | Klicker |
| 2SHB 1183 | Building codes | Concerning building code and development regulation reform. | H Rules R | Duerr |
| 2SHB 1195 (SB 5497) | Housing & shelters | Concerning compliance with siting, development permit processes and standards, and requirements for permanent supportive housing, transitional housing, indoor emergency housing, or indoor emergency shelters. | H 2nd Reading | Peterson |
| HB 1197 (SB 5166) | Operating budget, supp. | Making 2023-2025 fiscal biennium second supplemental operating appropriations. | H Approps | Ormsby |
| HB 1198 (SB 5167) | Operating budget | Making 2025-2027 fiscal biennium operating appropriations. | H Approps | Ormsby |
| HB 1202 (SB 5194) | State gen. obligation bonds | Concerning state general obligation bonds and related accounts. | H Cap Budget | Tharinger |
| 2SHB 1213 (SB 5539) | Paid family & medical leave | Expanding protections for workers in the state paid family and medical leave program. | H 2nd Reading | Berry |
| HB 1214 (SSB 5768) | Working families’ tax credit | Expanding eligibility for the working families’ tax credit to everyone age 18 and older. | H Finance | Thai |
| 2SHB 1217 (SSB 5222) | Residential tenants | Improving housing stability for tenants subject to the residential landlord-tenant act and the manufactured/mobile home landlord-tenant act by limiting rent and fee increases, requiring notice of rent and fee increases, limiting fees and deposits, establishing a landlord resource center and associated services, authorizing tenant lease termination, creating parity between lease types, and providing for attorney general enforcement. | H 2nd Reading | Alvarado |
| HB 1224 | Working families’ tax credit | Modifying the working families’ tax credit by enhancing collection services and increasing participation rates through data-sharing agreements. | H Finance | Thai |
| HB 1226 (SB 5160) | Transportation budget, supp. | Making supplemental transportation appropriations for the 2023-2025 fiscal biennium. | H Transportation | Fey |
| HB 1227 (SB 5161) | Transportation budget | Making transportation appropriations for the 2025-2027 fiscal biennium. | H Transportation | Fey |
| HB 1284 | Investmnt income B&O deduct. | Eliminating the investment income business and occupation tax deduction for corporations and other business entities. | H Finance | Pollet |
| 2SHB 1303 (SB 5380) | Environmental justice | Increasing environmental justice by improving government decisions. | H Rules R | Mena |
| HB 1319 | Wealth tax | Enacting a wealth tax on the ownership of stocks, bonds, and other financial intangible property. | H Finance | Street |
| HB 1320 | Business & occupation tax | Modifying business and occupation tax rates to fund programs and services to benefit Washingtonians. | H Finance | Street |
| SHB 1332 | Transp. network companies | Concerning transportation network companies. | H 2nd Reading | Obras |
| HB 1334 | Property tax revenue growth | Modifying the annual regular property tax revenue growth limit. | H Finance | Pollet |
| SHB 1353 | ADU self-certification | Establishing a self-certification program for accessory dwelling unit project permit applications. | S Housing | Ramel |
| SHB 1380 | Public property regulations | Allowing objectively reasonable regulation of the utilization of public property. | H Rules R | Gregerson |
| ESHB 1385 | Background checks | Concerning fingerprint background check on applicants. | S Human Services | Taylor |
| HB 1403 | Condominium construction | Simplifying condominium construction statutes. | H 2nd Reading | Taylor |
| 2SHB 1409 | Clean fuels program | Concerning the clean fuels program. | H 2nd Reading | Fitzgibbon |
| HB 1435 (2SSB 5060) | Law enf. hiring grants | Creating a law enforcement hiring grant program. | H Approps | Abell |
| HB 1436 (SB 5285) | Law enf. officers/increase | Incentivizing cities and counties to increase employment of commissioned law enforcement officers. | H Finance | Abell |
| 2SHB 1443 (SSB 5332) | Mobile dwellings | Concerning mobile dwellings. | H Rules R | Gregerson |
| HB 1468 (SB 5441) | Accounts | Concerning accounts. | H Approps | Macri |
| HB 1471 (SB 5392) | BSA transfers | Concerning budget stabilization account transfers. | H Approps | Ormsby |
| SHB 1473 | Wildfire BSA appropriations | Making expenditures from the budget stabilization account for declared catastrophic events. | H Rules R | Gregerson |
| 3SHB 1491 | Transit-oriented housing dev | Promoting transit-oriented housing development. | S Housing | Reed |
| HB 1494 | Multiple-unit dwellings/tax | Concerning the property tax exemptions for new and rehabilitated multiple-unit dwellings in urban centers. | S Ways & Means | Ramel |
| SHB 1500 | CIC resale certificates | Concerning resale certificates for units in common interest communities. | H Rules R | Reed |
| HB 1501 | CIC unit owner inquiries | Concerning inquiries into association governance or operations by unit owners in common interest communities. | H Rules R | Reed |
| 2SHB 1516 | Insurance/affordable units | Conducting a study of insurance coverage options for permanently affordable homeownership units. | H 2nd Reading | Hill |
| SHB 1543 (SSB 5514) | Clean buildings standard | Increasing compliance pathways for the clean buildings performance standard. | S Environment, En | Doglio |
| SHB 1576 | Historic landmarks/cities | Concerning the designation of historic landmarks by cities. | H 2nd Reading | Walen |
| HB 1582 (SSB 5655) | Child care centers/buildings | Concerning child care centers operated in existing buildings. | H Rules R | Caldier |
| 2SHB 1614 (SSB 5314) | Capital gains tax | Modifying the capital gains tax. | H Rules R | Thai |
| ESHB 1622 (SSB 5422) | Collective bargaining/AI use | Allowing bargaining over matters related to the use of artificial intelligence. | H Passed 3rd | Parshley |
| HB 1687 | Social housing authorities | Concerning social housing public development authorities. | H Rules R | Reed |
| HB 1757 | Residential use/existing | Modifying regulations for existing buildings used for residential purposes. | S Housing | Walen |
| HB 1763 (SSB 5576) | Affordable housing funding | Providing state funding for essential affordable housing programs. | H Finance | Parshley |
| HB 1785 | Excessive executive comp. | Imposing a surcharge on publicly traded companies providing excessive executive compensation. | H Finance | Doglio |
| SHB 1791 | Local real estate excise tax | Increasing the flexibility of existing funding sources to fund public safety and other facilities by modifying the local real estate excise tax. | H Passed 3rd | Paul |
| HB 1805 | Children services/local tax | Creating a local sales and use tax to fund services for children and families that enhance well-being, promote mental health, and provide early interventions. | H Rules R | Tharinger |
| SHB 1811 | Crisis co-response | Enhancing crisis response services through co-response integration and support. | S Health & Long-T | Salahuddin |
| HB 1858 | Deed of trust assignment/fee | Eliminating the exemption for assignments or substitutions of previously recorded deeds of trust from the document recording fee and the covenant homeownership program assessment. | H 2nd Reading | Scott |
| SHB 1867 | Affordable housing REET | Allowing counties or cities to impose a real estate excise tax for the purpose of developing affordable housing, subject to the will of the voters. | H Rules R | Ramel |
| HB 1870 (SB 5709) | Public health clinics/tax | Concerning county property tax levies for public health clinic purposes. | H Rules R | Zahn |
| HB 1882 | State tax on lodging | Imposing an additional temporary state tax on lodging. | H Finance | Cortes |
| HB 1895 | Educational assist./B&O tax | Establishing a business and occupation tax credit for small business employers providing educational assistance to employees. | H Finance | Richards |
| SHB 1899 | Homelessness point-in-time | Concerning the homelessness point-in-time count. | S Housing | Zahn |
| HB 1907 (SB 5711) | Self-service storage/tax | Defining the rental or lease of individual storage space at self-service storage facilities as a retail transaction for the imposition of business and occupation and sales and use taxes. | H Finance | Peterson |
| HB 1913 | Public utility tax credit | Repealing the public utility tax credit for home energy assistance. | H Rules R | Berg |
| HB 1921 (SB 5726) | Transportation revenue | Establishing new sources of transportation revenue based on motor vehicle use of public roadways. | H Transportation | Fey |
| HB 1924 (SB 5673) | Manufacturing/sales tax | Providing a sales and use tax exemption for manufacturing facilities and green manufacturing facilities. | H Finance | Fey |
| HB 1934 | Employment investigation/PRA | Concerning the disclosure of information pertaining to complainants, accusers, and witnesses in an employment investigation. | S State Gov/Trib | Chase |
| SHB 1935 | Project permit definition | Concerning the definition of project permit and project permit application. | H 2nd Reading | Duerr |
| SHB 1967 | Design-build projects/bonds | Modifying bonding requirements in the design portion of design-build public works projects. | H Rules R | Zahn |
| 2SHB 1975 | Climate commitment act | Amending the climate commitment act by adjusting auction price containment mechanisms and ceiling prices, addressing the department of ecology’s authority to amend rules to facilitate linkage with other jurisdictions, and providing for market dynamic analysis. | H 2nd Reading | Fitzgibbon |
| HB 1983 | Timberland definition/REET | Amending the definition of timberland for purposes of determining the real estate excise tax for a governmental entity. | H Rules R | Tharinger |
| HB 1986 | Vehicles for rental/tax | Concerning the application of taxes to sales of motor vehicles for use in retail car rentals. | H Finance | Street |
| HB 1993 | Child care providers/B&O tax | Exempting child care providers from the business and occupation tax. | H Finance | Waters |
| SHB 1996 | Behavioral health diversion | Authorizing a qualified county to impose a tax for the funding of behavioral health diversion from the criminal justice system. | H Rules R | Farivar |
| HB 1998 (SB 5774) | Investment income/B&O tax | Clarifying the scope of the investment income business and occupation tax deduction. | H Finance | Walen |
| SHB 2015 | Public safety funding | Improving public safety funding by providing resources to local governments and state and local criminal justice agencies, and authorizing a local option tax. | H 2nd Reading | Entenman |
| HB 2019 | Estate tax | Making the estate tax more progressive. | H Finance | Street |
| HB 2023 | Investment income taxation | Establishing a work group to study the taxation of investment income under RCW 82.04.4281. | H Finance | Berg |
| HB 2024 (SSB 5770) | Primary residence/tax | Providing housing safety, security, and protection by creating the primary residence property tax exemption. | H Finance | Berg |
| HB 2025 (SSB 5771) | WFTC increase/tenants | Increasing the working families’ tax credit to reflect the economic impact of property taxes incorporated into rental amounts charged to residential tenants. | H Finance | Berg |
| HB 2027 | Housing/taxes | Increasing the supply of affordable and workforce housing. | H Finance | Berg |
| HJR 4204 (SJR 8203) | Principal residence/tax | Amending the Constitution to allow for a property tax exemption for a principal place of residence. | H Finance | Berg |
| SB 5036 | Statewide emissions data | Strengthening Washington’s leadership and accountability on climate policy by transitioning to annual reporting of statewide emissions data. | S 2nd Reading | Boehnke |
| SSB 5040 (HB 1045) | Uniformed personnel | Expanding the definition of uniformed personnel to all law enforcement officers employed by a city, town, or county. | H Labor & Workpla | Stanford |
| ESSB 5041 | Unemp ins/strikes & lockouts | Concerning unemployment insurance benefits for striking or lockout workers. | S Passed 3rd | Riccelli |
| 2SSB 5060 (HB 1435) | Law enforcement personnel | Creating a law enforcement hiring grant program. | S 2nd Reading | Holy |
| ESSB 5129 | Common interest communities | Concerning common interest communities. | H Civil R & Judi | Pedersen |
| 2SSB 5148 (HB 1235) | GMA housing element | Ensuring compliance with the housing element requirements of the growth management act. | S 2nd Reading | Bateman |
| SSB 5156 | Elevators/smaller apartments | Concerning elevator standards in smaller apartment buildings. | H Housing | Salomon |
| SB 5160 (HB 1226) | Transportation budget, supp. | Making supplemental transportation appropriations for the 2023-2025 fiscal biennium. | S Transportation | Liias |
| SB 5161 (HB 1227) | Transportation budget | Making transportation appropriations for the 2025-2027 fiscal biennium. | S Transportation | Liias |
| SB 5166 (HB 1197) | Operating budget, supp. | Making 2023-2025 fiscal biennium second supplemental operating appropriations. | S Ways & Means | Robinson |
| SB 5167 (HB 1198) | Operating budget | Making 2025-2027 fiscal biennium operating appropriations. | S Ways & Means | Robinson |
| ESSB 5184 (HB 1299) | Minimum parking requirements | Concerning minimum parking requirements. | H Local Govt | Bateman |
| SSB 5292 | Family & medical leave rates | Concerning paid family and medical leave rates. | H Labor & Workpla | Conway |
| ESB 5313 | Rental agreement provisions | Adding to the list of provisions prohibited from rental agreements. | H Housing | Pedersen |
| SSB 5314 (2SHB 1614) | Capital gains tax | Modifying the capital gains tax. | H Finance | Stanford |
| ESSB 5360 | Environmental crimes | Concerning environmental crimes. | H Env & Energy | Trudeau |
| SSB 5374 | Transportation/tribal rep. | Including tribal representation in certain transportation activities. | S Rules 2 | Kauffman |
| SB 5392 (HB 1471) | BSA transfers | Concerning budget stabilization account transfers. | S Ways & Means | Robinson |
| SSB 5469 | Rental housing market | Prohibiting algorithmic rent fixing and noncompete agreements in the rental housing market. | S 2nd Reading | Salomon |
| 2SSB 5496 (HB 1732) | Home buying by entities | Preserving homeownership options by limiting excessive home buying by certain entities. | S 2nd Reading | Alvarado |
| SSB 5501 | Employee driving requirement | Concerning employer requirements for driving. | H Labor & Workpla | Stanford |
| ESSB 5509 (SHB 1212) | Child care center siting | Concerning the siting of child care centers. | H Local Govt | Alvarado |
| SSB 5528 | Transp. electrification | Concerning the installation of transportation electrification infrastructure. | H Labor & Workpla | Liias |
| SB 5554 | Historic landmark desig. | Concerning historic landmark designations. | S 2nd Reading | Salomon |
| SSB 5558 | Growth management plans | Concerning growth management comprehensive plans. | H Local Govt | Goehner |
| ESB 5559 | UGA subdivision process | Streamlining the subdivision process inside urban growth areas. | H Local Govt | Lovelett |
| SSB 5576 (HB 1763) | Affordable housing funding | Providing state funding for essential affordable housing programs. | S 2nd Reading | Lovelett |
| SSB 5611 | Land use permitting workload | Streamlining and clarifying local governments’ land use permitting workloads. | S Rules 2 | Salomon |
| 2SSB 5613 | Residential development | Concerning the development of clear and objective standards, conditions, and procedures for residential development. | S 2nd Reading | Salomon |
| SSB 5614 | Impact fees | Concerning impact fees. | S 2nd Reading | Salomon |
| SB 5645 | Estate tax/extraordinary rev | Transferring extraordinary revenue collections from the estate tax to the developmental disabilities community services account. | S Ways & Means | Braun |
| SB 5647 | Affordable housing/REET | Providing a real estate excise tax exemption for the sale of qualified affordable housing. | S Rules 2 | Alvarado |
| SB 5649 (HB 1860) | Supply chain competitiveness | Creating a Washington state supply chain competitiveness infrastructure program. | S Rules 2 | Liias |
| SSB 5655 (HB 1582) | Child care centers/buildings | Concerning child care centers operated in existing buildings. | H EL & Human Svc | Krishnadasan |
| SB 5659 | Housing shortage/local share | Eliminating each local government’s proportional share of Washington’s housing shortage. | S 2nd Reading | Goehner |
| ESB 5662 | Utility connection charges | Concerning the waiver of municipal utility connection charges for certain properties. | H Housing | Riccelli |
| SSB 5690 | Utility relocation | Concerning utility relocation. | H Transportation | MacEwen |
| SB 5702 | Toll rate setting process | Streamlining the toll rate setting process at the transportation commission. | S 2nd Reading | Ramos |
| SB 5705 | Traffic infraction penalties | Improving traffic safety by modifying penalty amounts for certain traffic infractions. | S 2nd Reading | Liias |
| SB 5709 (HB 1870) | Public health clinics/tax | Concerning county property tax levies for public health clinic purposes. | S Ways & Means | Alvarado |
| SB 5711 (HB 1907) | Self-service storage/tax | Defining the rental or lease of individual storage space at self-service storage facilities as a retail transaction for the imposition of business and occupation and sales and use taxes. | S Ways & Means | Bateman |
| SSB 5719 | Local gov. hearing examiners | Concerning local government hearing examiners. | S 2nd Reading | Salomon |
| SB 5726 (HB 1921) | Transportation revenue | Establishing new sources of transportation revenue based on motor vehicle use of public roadways. | S Transportation | Ramos |
| ESB 5729 | Housing permitting | Encouraging construction of affordable housing by streamlining the permitting process. | H Local Govt | Gildon |
| SSB 5749 | Housing opportunity zones | Concerning housing development opportunity zones. | H Local Govt | Wilson |
| \SB 5762 | 988 line tax | Increasing the statewide 988 behavioral health crisis response and suicide prevention line tax. | S Ways & Means | Orwall |
| SB 5766 | Passive investment vehicles | Clarifying the business and occupation tax treatment of the investment income of passive investment vehicles managed by a person subject to business and occupation tax under RCW 82.04.290(1). | S Ways & Means | Liias |
| SSB 5768 (HB 1214) | Working families’ tax credit | Expanding eligibility for the working families’ tax credit to everyone age 18 and older. | S Rules 2 | Saldana |
| SSB 5770 (HB 2024) | Primary residence/tax | Providing housing safety, security, and protection by creating the primary residence property tax exemption. | S Rules 2 | Robinson |
| SSB 5771 (HB 2025) | WFTC increase/tenants | Increasing the working families’ tax credit to reflect the economic impact of property taxes incorporated into rental amounts charged to residential tenants. | S Rules 2 | Robinson |
| SSB 5773 | Transportation procurement | Concerning alternative procurement and delivery models for transportation projects. | S 2nd Reading | Liias |
| SB 5774 (HB 1998) | Investment income/B&O tax | Clarifying the scope of the investment income business and occupation tax deduction. | S Ways & Means | Torres |
| SB 5775 | Public safety/local tax | Expanding local taxing authority to fund public safety and community protection focused programs and services. | S 2nd Reading | Slatter |
| SJR 8201 | Investment/LTSS accounts | Amending the Constitution to allow the state to invest moneys from long-term services and supports accounts. | S 2nd Reading | Braun |
| SJR 8203 (HJR 4204) | Principal residence/tax | Amending the Constitution to allow for a property tax exemption for a principal place of residence. | S Rules 2 | Robinson |
