2026 Legislative Update: Week 8

Opposite house fiscal cutoff was on Monday, March 2nd, which means any bill that did not pass out of the fiscal committee in the opposite house by that day is considered dead. Following fiscal cutoff, attention quickly shifted to floor action where both chambers were on the floor every day, Tuesday through Friday, some days going late into the night, in order to pass bills by opposite house floor cutoff on Friday, March 7th. The exception are bills deemed necessary to implement the budget, which are not subject to the cutoff calendar – 252 bills made it past opposite house floor cutoff.

Budget negotiations have also been happening in earnest behind the scenes over the past week. Negotiators have been working on the operating, capital, and transportation supplemental budgets. With less than one week left in session, budget writers and staff are in the final steps of ‘buttoning up’ the final, negotiated budgets. The budgets will be unveiled in the coming days in order for the final versions to be passed by both chambers before session adjourns on March 12^th.

In addition to the budgets, this final week of session will focus will on working through bills that were amended by the opposite house. When an amended bill is sent back to the house of origin, that chamber can choose to concur with those changes, dispute them, or seek resolution through a conference committee.

The House is expected to vote on the Millionaire’s Income Tax on Monday, which could lead to a very long day and possibly an overnight session. A new version of the proposal was released on Friday, and later that morning Governor Ferguson issued a statement announcing he supports and will sign the revised income tax because it directs a substantial share of new revenue back to Washington families and small businesses to make life more affordable.

Electeds & Elections:

As the 2026 Washington State Legislative Session nears its end, numerous lawmakers have announced they won’t run for reelection, indicating significant turnover for the next biennium. The departures span both veteran and relatively newer legislators, prompted by retirements, career changes, and bids for other offices. These announcements come as legislators race to finalize budgets and reconcile policy differences before the end of session on March 12^th. Currently, rumors are circulating for many additional vacancies, but the following members have formally announced:

House:

• 4th LD – Schmidt (R) running for Spokane County Commissioner
• 6th LD – Volz (R) elected Spokane Co. Treasurer
• 6th LD – Graham (R) not running
• 15th LD – Dufault (R) running for Senate
• 26th LD – Valdez (Caldier) (R) not running *swing district
• 29th LD – Mena (D) running for Senate (opens H State Gov Chairship)
• 32nd LD – Ryu (D) challenging Salomon (opens H TED&V Chairship)
• 49th LD – Wylie (D) running for Clark County Auditor

Senate:

• 8th LD – Boehnke (R) running for Congress
• 15th LD – Torres (R) running for 8th LD
• 29th LD – Conway (D) not running
• 37th LD – Saldaña (D) running for King County Council (opens S Labor & Commerce Chairship)
• 42nd LD – Shewmake (D) not running (opens S EE&T Chairship) *swing district

The departures will reshape committee leadership, caucus dynamics, and institutional knowledge in 2027, setting the stage for a period of recalibration in both chambers and for both parties.

Important Dates:

• March 12 – Sine Die