HomeMy WebLinkAboutReg 2025-12-15 Item 5N - Resolution - Legislative Agenda for 2026 WA State Legislative SessionCOUNCIL A GRNDA SYNOPSIS
Initials
Meeting Date
Prepared Iy
Mayor's review
Council review
12/08/25
BJM
12/15/25
BJM
ITEM INFORMATION
ITEM No.
5.N.
STAFF SPONSOR: BRANDON MILES
ORIGINAL AGENDA DATE: 12/08/25
AGENDA ITEM TITLE City of Tukwila 2026 Legislative Agenda
CATEGORY
Discussion
Mtg Date
/1
Motion
Mtg Date
12/15/25
El Resolution
Mtg Date
E Ordinance
Mtg Date
E Bid Award
Mtg Date
E Public Hearing
Mtg Date
❑ Other
Mtg Date
SPONSOR ❑ Council 11 Mayor ❑ Admin Svcs ❑ DCD ❑ Finance ❑ Fire ❑ P&R ❑ Police ❑ PW
SPONSOR'S
SUMMARY
Staff will review with the City Council the City of Tukwila 2026 Legislative Agenda. David
Foster, the City's State lobbyist, will present to the Council on December 15 a preview of
the upcoming session.
Update: 12/15/25: Staff made edits following the 12/8/25 Council meeting.
REVIEWED BY
Trans&Infrastructure Svcs
LTAC
DATE: N/A
Community Svcs/Safety [J Finance & Governance 11 Planning & Community Dev.
Arts Comm.
❑ Parks Comm.
❑ Planning Comm.
COMMITTEE CHAIR: N/A
RECOMMENDATIONS:
SPONSOR/ADMIN. N/A
COMM 1'1EE N/A
COST IMPACT / FUND SOURCE
EXPENDITURE REQUIRED
$N/A
AMOUNT BUDGETED
$N/A
APPROPRIATION REQUIRED
$N/A
Fund Source: N/A
Comments: N/A
MTG. DATE
RECORD OF COUNCIL ACTION
12/08/25
Provide Feedback and Forward to 12/15 Regular Consent Agenda
12/15/25
MTG. DATE
ATTACHMENTS
12/08/25
DRAFT City of Tukwila 2026 Legislative Agenda
12/15/25
Resolution & Attachment City of Tukwila 2026 Legislative Priorities
Tukwila School District 2026 Legislative Priorities
175
NOTE: Track changes denote changes made after the
December 8, 2025 Committee of the Whole
Meeting. See Attachment A.
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF TUKWILA,
WASHINGTON, ADOPTING A LEGISLATIVE AGENDA FOR USE
DURING THE 2026 WASHINGTON STATE LEGISLATIVE SESSION.
WHEREAS, the Washington State Legislature will convene for its regular session on
January 12, 2026, and the City Council agrees to pursue certain legislative issues; and
WHEREAS, a legislative agenda outlines the priority issues that elected officials may
discuss when speaking to members of the Washington State Legislature; and
WHEREAS, the City Council recognizes this agenda is not all encompassing, in that
certain additional items may arise during the legislative session that require support or
opposition;
NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF TUKWILA, WASHINGTON,
HEREBY RESOLVES AS FOLLOWS:
The Tukwila City Council has identified priorities for the 2026 Washington State Legislative
Session that provide a framework for advocacy on behalf of the community. The City of Tukwila
2026 Legislative Agenda is hereby incorporated by reference as Attachment A.
PASSED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF TUKWILA, WASHINGTON, at a
Regular Meeting thereof this day of , 2025.
ATTEST/AUTHENTICATED:
Andy Youn-Barnett, CMC, City Clerk Tosh Sharp, Council President
APPROVED AS TO FORM BY:
Filed with the City Clerk:
Passed by the City Council:
Resolution Number:
Office of the City Attorney
Attachment A: City of Tukwila 2026 Legislative Agenda
176
DRAFT
ATTACHMENT A
City of Tukwila 2026 Legislative Agenda
tt°. f t ct
• Honor funding commitments made in Move Ahead Washington, including shifting
$17 million of future funding from the 2029-2031 biennium back to the 2025-2027
biennium budget to replace the 42' Ave Bridge in the Allentown Neighborhood.
• Create stable, reliable infrastructure assistance funding for cities to assist in
repairing roads, bridges and other public infrastructure that support economic
development and community resiliency.
sin rvic
• Address the housing stability crisis by addressing all aspects of affordable
housing, including homeownership for moderate income households and below,
preservation of naturally occurring affordable housing, land acquisition to
secure permanent affordability, permanent supportive housing, infrastructure
around affordable housing developments, and workforce housing.
Fund additional investments in behavioral health, including in -patient and
out -patient facilities, as an alternative to jail and align State law with best
practices to allow individuals in crisis to receive necessary and life-saving
services.
• Adequately fund services to support asylum sockets, or_efugc s, and
Gir �nfi ru rrt residing, in Washington ton citiesi Support the Office of Refugee and
punmi ;ration Assistance (OR1 ) funtfing request for $25 million for the upcoming,
fiscal yrrori
licc
Support Mgt Con from Association of Washington Chiles Mitch rctrgi s t reiitec
exempt Cons_to costam Rock and AL PFRioot.. frown the E.ubbc Records Act (PRA),.
• Allow agencies to recover reasonable staff time and costs for fulfilling commercial
requests, especially when records are sought for resale or profit.
• Adjust the PRA's penalty structure, which currently incentivizes commercial abuse and
litigation, by reducing civil penalties and redirecting a portion of requestor awards
into a State fund dedicated to PRA training and compliance
v cin
it
• Ensure affordable, high -quality broadband internet access
177
5717 is available to all households and businesses to provide educational,
entrepreneurial, business and accessibility equity for all Washingtonians to
access the internet.
f• rc t
• Expand funding for co -responding mental health professionals to assist
individuals experiencing behavioral health challenges.
• Working with Association of Washington Cities and Association of
Washington Counties, work to modify and amend some of the
burdensome requirements required for compliance under HB2015.
v
f r
• Allow cities the authority and flexibility to address the fact that growth in
the cost of services continues to outstrip revenues.
• The state should amend the lawthat limits annual property tax growth to 1
percent and work with cities to authorize additional funding flexibility and
opportunities at the local level.
c t
Support the ukwii School Ms ict 2026 L giis ati e priorities.
Eruply fund the cost to school. dist. ists for c i ney e..to and u ofuu oe students,
p..0 by fnd Ibnasit° education toospp clnl .clu.acat on students,
• Implement needs -based funding for allocation of social emotional student
support resources and expand funding for learning opportunities for summer
school students.
• Increase funding for homeless students and secondary rnr�ltiir�L,r,a a i srr or
• Incorporate early learning for low-income students as a part of Basic Education.
• Continue to invest in workforce education and job training to ensure
Washingtonians have access to high®quality career and technical education
opportunities..
ris
• Ensure the definition of "tourist" in Washington State remains flexible to
allow jurisdictions and Lodging Tax Advisory Committees to distribute lodging
tax dollars in a manner that best serves each individual community.
178
s, ' c r Trit
n - ctivit
• Strongly support robust investments into outdoor recreation programs such as
the Washington Wildlife & Recreation Program (WWRP), Youth Athletic
Facilities (YAF), Aquatic Lands Enhancement Act (ALEA), the Land &Water
Conservation Fund (LWCF), and other related programs.
l
R
• Enact policies to prepare to combat climate change, including adequately
budgeting for its effects and providing tools to cities to prepare and address the
ramifications of flooding, pollution and other key factors.
VasI!mg tonrar is i ave access to i ng quatrly careci an tut it HULA t l:t$Uuc hit f
• Funding for cities to make green infrastructure investments to reduce
greenhouse gas emissions and improve City sustainability efforts.
Provide funding opportunities for cities toaddres, heat istlaa�ndswithin
urban environments,
179
Tukwila School District 2026 Legislative Priorities:
1. Equity (Student Need Based) in Funding for education to close the achievement and opportunity gaps:
a. Fund LAP based on student need. Washington funds about 10% more per student for students in poverty,
research says it should be 5 to 10 times that much. Reference the work of David Knight, UW professor
in College of Education. SB 5120 needs to pass. *
b. Student need -based funding for education support staff. The extra 0.5 FTE of counselors for high poverty
schools in the 21-23 budget bill (ESSB 5092) needs to be made permanent. SB 5852 for para educators and
HB 1664 (2022) for education support staff (counselors, nurses, social workers, psychologists, parent
involvement coordinators, etc.) funding needs to include increased funding for high poverty schools. *
c. Student Need based funding for class sizes. 11351 called for reduced class size for high poverty schools in K-
12. The legislature reduced class size for K-3 high poverty schools for one year and then put back the same
for all schools. *
d. Student Need based funding for Technology Support. The state provides technology support to districts at
$183 per student regardless of need. This is completely inadequate. In addition, the funding formula does
not include any equity consideration. *
e. Support for McKinney Vento and Refugee students. Change the school transportation funding formulas to
fully fund districts for costs associated with getting McKinney Vento students (experiencing homelessness) to
and from school when they cannot ride a district bus. Allocate money to districts based upon the number of
McKinney Vento and Refugee students in district to provide the extra support these students need. *
f. Equity analysis of all education bills (SB 5718 was introduced but not passed in the 2015 session by Senator
Jayapal with bipartisan sponsorships, SB5274 and HB 1264 (21-22) both need education added as an area for
equity analysis). *
g. Fund Early Learning for all low-income students (Continue to increase funding for students beyond the 130%
of the Federal Poverty Level as in SB 5437 from 2020). *
2. Fully fund costs of substitutes and PFML (Paid Family and Medical Leave)
3. Fully fund MSOC (Material Supplies and Operating Costs), including insurance and utilities. *
4. Fund support staff for CTE students at same level as prototypical model - Budget proviso (ESSB 5092, page 380)
that funds support staff (librarians, nurses, social workers, psychologists, counselors) for CTE students at a lower
level needs to be removed.
5. Fully fund basic education for special education students. *
6. Fully fund school transportation costs of getting all students to school, including McKinney Vento and Special
Education students. *
7. Support for diversified school boards. Allow permanent residents to qualify for school boards. *
8. Fund room and board for McKinney Vento students in college. (HB 1278 (2020), HB 1601(2022) moves in this
direction)
9. Realistically fund school construction costs *
10. Fully fund SEB *
11. Reduce percentage needed to approve bond issues (SB 5386 (2022)) to 50%*
* = Supported by WSDDA Legislative Position
Dave Larson
Tukwila School Board Director
Legislative Representative
larsond@tukwilaschools.org
11/13/2025
180
Capital Budget
1. Upgrades to the PAC (Performing Arts Center) at Foster High School
2. Build more Early Learning spaces
3. Safety upgrades on S 144th Street bridge across Interstate 5
11/13/2025
181