SOUTH SOUND CHAMBER OF COMMERCE LEGISLATIVE COALITION 2026 LEGISLATIVE REPORT – February 20, 2026

The Washington State Legislature has hit mid-point with February 17th being the date that all bills must have passed out of the House of Origin in order to be considered alive for the remainder of the session.  February 25th is the date bills need to be out of the opposite house policy committees, March 2nd is the date bills need to be out of the opposite house fiscal committees and March 6th is the date bills need to have passed the opposite house.  From March 7th to March 12th (the official end of session), bills will be reconciled, conference committees will issue reports and the Governor will start signing bills.

Overlaid in all of this of course is the supplemental budget.  Despite the revenue report showing over $800 million in new revenue this biennium and about $1.8 billion in additional revenue over the next 4 years, we still seem to have a budget deficit that majority legislators say can only be solved with new revenue.  Several tax bills are on the table, including taxes on insurance, local county B&O and utility taxes, changes to the real estate excise tax, increased tobacco taxes and a tax on sugary beverages.  A payroll tax of 5% on payrolls over $7 million and taxes on intangible assets are still out there as well. 

And this doesn’t even count the “Millionaire’s Income Tax” (ESSB 6346) which passed the Senate on Monday the 16th.  The new income tax doesn’t count for this budget because money would not be collected until 2029 for the 2028 tax year.  

In the meantime, businesses across the state are still dealing with increased gas taxes, sales tax on services, and a looming B&O increase that passed last year.  While the income tax bill repeals the sales tax on services, it does nothing to stop the increase in B&O taxes (except they do sunset the surcharge on businesses with $250 million in gross receipts a year early).

All bills that are necessary to implement the budget could come back to life – even if considered dead due to timelines.  We expect to see the budgets on Sunday February 22nd so will know then what additional bills are going to be worked on.

Below are bills still alive this session.  In addition, you can see what bills on the list have hearings next week.  If they don’t get a hearing next week, they are not likely to survive (unless they bring money into the budget or make cuts).

If you want to testify or simply register your opinion on a bill on the list, just click on the bill number and look for the button to sign in to testify, register your position or provide written comments.  Follow the instructions to take action.