The Washington Roundtable, Association of Washington Business, Bellevue Chamber of Commerce, Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce, and Greater Spokane Inc. issued the following statement at the conclusion of the 2026 legislative session: Continue Reading
The Washington Roundtable, Association of Washington Business, Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce, Bellevue Chamber of Commerce, and Greater Spokane, Inc. today issued the following joint statement in response to the Washington state House of Representatives passing the first-ever income tax. Continue Reading
Washington’s income tax is likely to become law. But the math behind the proposal raises serious questions. The state’s budget challenges are driven by spending growth, not a lack of revenue—and the policy choices that follow will shape Washington’s economic future. Continue Reading
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. Continue Reading
The opposite house policy deadline passed this week, and lawmakers are now focused on the next big date: the opposite house fiscal deadline. Any bill that affects the budget must pass this step by Monday, March 2, or it will be considered dead for the rest of the session, unless it is labeled “neces Continue Reading
The Eastside Chambers road tripped over to Olympia earlier this month, meeting with a dozen state legislators and Lt. Governor Denny Heck in a jam-packed day of policy. Continue Reading
The Washington State Legislature wrapped up house of origin floor action this week, sending a wave of bills to the opposite chamber’s policy committees. Lawmakers now face a fast-moving timeline to review, debate, and advance bills. One of the sure signs that session is drawing to an end is... Continue Reading
On Tuesday, February 17, City of Bellevue housing staff briefed the Chamber’s Permitting, Land Use, Sustainability, and Housing (PLUSH) committee on the City’s draft Affordable Housing Strategy update and key takeaways from recent Council discussion. Continue Reading
It was a whirlwind weekend in the Washington State Legislature, as fiscal committees heard testimony and voted on bills ahead of the Monday, February 9 deadline for measures to advance out of those committees. That cutoff marked a critical juncture in the session, further winnowing down the... Continue Reading
The Washington State Legislature has now passed the first major cutoff of the session, the deadline by which bills must be voted out of their respective policy committees in their house of origin. Legislation that failed to advance by this point is generally considered stalled, while bills that... Continue Reading
The Bellevue Chamber’s Policy Council convened this week to take a formal position on the proposed state income tax legislation, SB 6346. Read for yourself below. Continue Reading
At the Chamber’s Transportation Committee meeting on February 5, Sound Transit previewed the March 28 launch of Link light rail’s cross-lake connection. Continue Reading
