WAWG State Legislative Report, week 4

By Diana Carlen
WAWG Lobbyist

The 2026 Legislative Session reached its first important deadline on Feb. 4, as policy committee cutoff occurred. Any bills that have not made it out of a policy committee are considered dead and no longer eligible to move forward this year. Legislation not subject to the deadline includes bills that have been passed to fiscal committees and bills that are considered necessary to implement the budget. It is important to note that bills are never truly dead because their content can be amended into other legislation or rare procedural moves to keep them alive.

The next deadline is Feb. 9, when all bills must make it out of their fiscal committees to remain alive. Fiscal committees have been working long hours and over the weekend to meet this deadline.

This past week, the long-anticipated “millionaires tax” or “income tax” proposal was officially introduced. SB 6346/HB 2724 would impose a 9.9% tax on income exceeding $1 million starting in 2028, with the first taxes due in 2029. It is estimated to bring in about $3.5 billion a year from an estimated 30,000 taxpayers, according to a legislative staff analysis. Even though the tax is imposed on individuals, it can still impact business owners structured as pass-through entities (LLCs, partnerships, and S corporations).

The Senate Ways & Means Committee held a public hearing on the income tax proposal on Feb. 6. Nearly 60,000 people signed up opposing the legislation. Even Gov. Ferguson who has voiced support for such a proposal, publicly stated that he could not support the proposal as introduced, noting that the tax-relief provisions in the bill do not go far enough.

As the income tax proposal does not take effect until 2028, it will not help the current budget shortfall. To balance the 2025-27 biennial budget, the Legislature will need to consider other options. Several revenue measures are under discussion, including increases to nicotine, beer, and wine taxes; elimination of certain tax exemptions; potential transfers from the Climate Commitment Account; spending reductions; and use of the state’s rainy-day fund.

It is anticipated that the supplemental operating budget proposals will be released on Feb. 22.

Notable Bill Action This Past Week:

  •  Fuel Emissions Compliance Thresholds (Second Substitute House Bill 2215), sponsored by Rep. Joe Fitzgibbon (D-West Seattle), lowers the threshold for fuel suppliers that began importing and selling fossil fuels after Jan. 1, 2023 (the date the state’s cap and trade law went into effect), to 500 metric tons, bringing additional gasoline, diesel, biodiesel, and propane suppliers into the cap-and-invest program and tightening greenhouse gas reporting and transparency requirements. Distributors operating before the Climate Commitment Act remain at the current threshold of 25,000 metric tons per year before being regulated under the CCA. An amendment to House Bill 2215 was adopted in the House Appropriations Committee to exempt emissions from the combustion, oxidation, or other end use of lubricants from Climate Commitment Act compliance obligations beginning Jan. 1, 2027. This was a priority for the agricultural community and will provide some relief to farmers when purchasing lubricants beginning in 2027.
  • Extending Collecting Bargaining Rights Not Covered by NLRB (SHB 6117) would extend collective bargaining rights for employees not covered by the national labor relations act, including agricultural employees, domestic workers, and some small businesses. The policy committee passed out a substitute version of the bill that states that the bill applies to employers, employees, trades, or industries that were already subject to federal labor law regulation, and only if the conditions listed in the bill are triggered (if federal law no longer preempts state regulation or the NLRB declines or loses jurisdiction). Agricultural groups want a clarifying amendment that this bill does not impact agriculture. The bill is currently scheduled for a vote in the Senate Ways & Means Committee on Feb. 8.
  • Extending Collective Bargaining Rights to Agricultural Workers (Substitute Senate Bill 6045) would apply collective bargaining rights just to farmworkers. The bill is scheduled for a vote in the Senate Ways & Means Committee on Feb. 9.
  • Hazardous Substance Tax Exemption Extension (Senate Bill 6244), sponsored by Sen. Nikki Torres (R-Pasco), extends the existing hazardous substance tax exemption for qualifying agricultural crop protection products that are temporarily warehoused but not otherwise used, manufactured, packaged, or sold in the state of Washington. The bill extends the scheduled sunset from 2028 to 2038. Senate Bill 6244 received a public hearing in the Senate Ways & Means Committee on Jan. 26. It is scheduled for executive action on Feb. 9.
  • Agricultural Regulatory Reform Task Force (House Bill 2619), sponsored by Rep. Tom Dent (R-Moses Lake), creates a temporary joint legislative task force to identify and recommend ways to streamline, eliminate, or modify existing regulations that contribute to stress for agricultural producers, particularly in land use, water, grazing, and pesticide oversight. The task force, composed of bipartisan legislators and key agency representatives, must report its findings and recommendations to the Legislature by Nov. 1, 2028, and expires June 30, 2029. House Bill 2619 received a public hearing in the House Agriculture & Natural Resources Committee on Jan. 30 and passed out of the same committee unanimously on Feb. 4.
  • EITE Treatment under CCA: (Senate Bill 6246), directs the Department of Ecology to provide recommendations to the Legislature regarding no-cost allowance allocations to Emissions-Intensive, Trade-Exposed (EITE) facilities (such as food processors) in the Cap-and-Invest Program between 2035-2050. The bill also includes new reporting and planning requirements for EITEs, including a requirement to develop plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and data documenting the facility is implementing best practices for energy efficiency. EITEs who do not submit reports jeopardize receiving no-cost allowances. The bill also subjects EITEs to potential fines of $10,000 per day for each violation. The bill passed out of the policy committee this past week and had a hearing in the Senate Ways & Means Committee on Feb. 6. EITEs oppose the bill as currently drafted, but are working with the sponsor on amendments to the bill. The bill is scheduled to be voted out of the Senate Ways & Means Committee on Feb. 9.
  • Data Center Energy Regulation (SHB 2515), sponsored by Rep. Beth Doglio (D‑Olympia), establishes a new regulatory framework for “emerging large energy use facilities” defined as very large data centers with at least 20 megawatts of maximum aggregate contract demand primarily engaged in data processing, hosting, and related services. The bill requires specialized utility tariffs or contracts designed to prevent cost shifts to other customers, long‑term service commitments with minimum annual charges and exit fees, full cost recovery for interconnection and service, curtailment during energy emergencies, treatment of marginal load through demand response or equivalent demand reductions, and exposure to real‑time wholesale prices. SHB 2515 received a public hearing in the House Appropriations Committee on Feb. 7.
  • Immigrant Worker Protection Act (SHB 2105), from Rep. Lillian Ortiz-Self (D – Mukilteo), is attorney general-request legislation. It would establish new requirements and restrictions for employers during federal employment eligibility audits to protect immigrant workers’ rights, including notice, nonretaliation, and prohibits voluntary disclosure of records without a warrant. The bill authorizes both the attorney general and private parties to concurrently enforce these protections through civil actions with escalating penalties. SHB 2105 passed out of the House Appropriations Committee on Feb. 7. Food NW continues to have concerns about the enforcement provisions in the legislation.

Notable Bills That Did Not Pass out of Committee by Deadline (i.e. DEAD bills):

  • Thirty‑Two Hour Workweek (House Bill 2611), sponsored by Rep. Shaun Scott (D-Seattle), would have reduced the state’s standard workweek from 40 hours to 32 hours for purposes of overtime entitlement and paid sick leave accrual. The bill would have taken effect Jan. 1, 2028. House Bill 2611 received a public hearing in the House Labor & Workplace Standards Committee on Jan. 27, but never was scheduled for a vote in the committee.
  • Rodenticide Use Moratorium (House Bill 2516), sponsored by Rep. Lisa Parshley (D-Olympia), would have temporarily prohibited the use of anticoagulant rodenticides and rodenticides containing bromethalin, except for narrowly defined emergency uses, and directs a comprehensive scientific study of their impacts, data gaps, and safer alternatives, with both the moratorium and study authority expiring in 2029. The moratorium on use would have run from Jan. 1, 2027, through Dec. 31, 2028, and the Washington State Academy of Sciences would have been required to complete and submit its study by Dec. 31, 2028. The House Agriculture & Natural Resources Committee held a public hearing on House Bill 2516 on Jan. 27, but the bill was never brought up for a vote in committee.
  • PFAS in Agricultural Inputs (House Bill 2279), sponsored by Rep. Lisa Parshley (D-Olympia), would have directed the Department of Agriculture to evaluate and create standards for the use of perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl (PFAS) substances in fertilizers and pesticides, and authorized refusal or cancellation of product registrations that do not meet those criteria. The bill phased in these new standards beginning in late 2026, with review of existing registrations starting in 2027. A hearing was held on HB 2279 in the House Agriculture & Natural Resources Committee on Jan. 20, but the bill was never brought up for a vote in the policy committee.
  • Paraquat Herbicide Ban (Senate Bill 6330), sponsored by Sen. Marko Liias (D-Lynnwood), would have prohibited the sale, distribution, use, application, or handling of any herbicide containing paraquat statewide beginning Jan. 1, 2027, while allowing the director administering the state pesticide program to permit tightly controlled research uses under strict safety and reporting protocols and to adopt implementing rules. The bill did receive a public hearing in the policy committee by the deadline.
  • Agricultural Resilience (House Bill 2616), sponsored by Rep. Kristine Reeves (D-Federal Way), would have created new funding tools, studies, and grant programs to bolster farm viability, food security, agricultural workforce development, market access, and non-burning crop removal, while permanently broadening certain climate, tax, and refrigerant exemptions for agricultural and food storage activities. This was a Washington Farm Bill brought by the chair of the House Agriculture & Natural Resources Committee. The bill contained many provisions proposed by the agricultural industry. Although it did not receive a hearing by the policy deadline, the bill is expected to have a hearing soon to start having discussions about the policies in the bill to boost agriculture viability.
  • Wildfire Fund For Utility-Caused Wildfires (House Bill 2275), sponsored by Rep. Kristine Reeves (D-Federal Way), would have established a wildfire fund to pay out damages for utility-caused wildfires. Electric utilities would have paid into the fund, but would have been allowed to pass on the cost to ratepayers provided that the utility provided a discounted rate to low-income customers. The state’s investor-owned utilities would have been required to provide funding for the fund while participation by consumer-owned utilities would have been optional. The bill was retroactive to cover claims as far back as 2021. Utilities and businesses opposed the bill over concerns how the legislation would impact utility rates for customers. This past week the prime sponsor announced that legislation would not be moving forward this session, but instead she would be hosting an informal, monthly interim workgroup to work on the issue in anticipation of reintroducing legislation during the 2027 legislative session.
  • Water pollution enforcement standard (Senate Bill 5896), sponsored by Sen. Shelly Short (R-Addy), would have narrowed the state’s water pollution law so that unlawful discharges are only those that actually cause pollution, rather than those that cause or tend to cause pollution. The bill never received a public hearing in a policy committee.
  • Agritourism Promotion (House Bill 2129), sponsored by Rep. Sam Low (R-Lake Stevens), broadens and protects agritourism as a permitted use on agricultural lands by limiting local zoning barriers, redefining rural character to explicitly include agritourism, and directing state agencies to align rules to support these activities. The bill positions agritourism as both an economic development tool and a land conservation strategy by encouraging innovative zoning that treats agritourism as compatible with long-term agricultural use. House Bill 2129 received a public hearing in the House Local Government Committee on Jan. 28, but was never brought up for a vote.
  • Conservation District Land Acquisition Limits (HB 2154), sponsored by Rep. Joe Schmick (R-Colfax), would have prohibited conservation districts from purchasing real property of 20 acres or more that is actively used for agricultural production and required them to inventory and publicly disclose large farm and agricultural parcels they already own. The bill also directed the Department of Agriculture to post these district inventories online to increase public transparency about conservation district land holdings. HB 2154 received a public hearing in the House Local Government Committee on Jan. 14, but was never brought for a vote in committee.
  • Eminent Domain Limits for Transmission Lines on Farmland (SB 6165), sponsored by Sen. Matt Boehnke (R-Kennewick), would have prohibited public and private electric utilities and other condemning authorities from condemning agricultural land for electrical transmission facilities by requiring them to first exhaust feasible public land and existing corridor alternatives, and to meet higher procedural and evidentiary burdens in siting and condemnation proceedings. The bill did not receive a hearing in the policy committee.
  • Agricultural Impact Assessments (Senate Bill 6104), sponsored by Sen. Ron Muzzall (R-Oak Harbor), would have required state agencies and local governments to evaluate and mitigate the economic and land-use impacts of proposed rules, legislation, and zoning changes on agriculture to support long-term farm viability. The bill directed preparation of agricultural impact statements and fiscal notes, established a mitigation sequence when actions significantly affect agricultural land or opportunity, and integrated these requirements into existing planning and rulemaking frameworks as part of the Food Economics, Availability, and Security Over Time Act. Senate Bill 6104 received a public hearing in the Senate Agriculture & Natural Resources Committee on Jan. 29, but was never brought up for a vote.
  • Forest Practices Board Stream Buffer Limits (SB 6187), sponsored by Sen. Curtis King (R-Yakima), would have rolled back the Forest Practices Board’s recently adopted nonfish-bearing stream buffer rules and barred their implementation, and then constrain future buffer rule changes to those developed through a consensus process that explicitly weighs economic and small forest landowner impacts. The bill also prohibited the board from adopting similar buffer modifications in the future unless alternative proposals, including any minority proposal, are analyzed and a consensus recommendation is reached. The bill did not receive a public hearing in the policy committee.