It’s a big moment we’ve been waiting for – take two minutes now to show your support for HB 2049 to revise the property tax cap from 1% to 3%.
This bill is different from a similar proposal being heard on March 31 on the Senate side. This new House property tax cap revision bill HB 2049 (also similar to another house proposal earlier this session, HB 1334) is scheduled for a hearing in the House Finance Committee on Thursday, April 3 at 8 am.
This city legislative priority allows for an increase to the annual property tax cap to better match population growth and inflation. It is noteworthy to point out that the bill’s subtitle called “Investing in the state's paramount duty to fund K-12 education and build strong and safe communities” can be confusing, however the bill does include the lift of the property tax from 1% to 3% for both state and local entities.
Sign-in as “pro” to show committee members your support
We need city officials to directly indicate your support on this bill by registering as “Pro” on the legislative record. Here’s how:
- Click this link
- Fill out the short form
- Select your position as “Pro” on the drop-down menu
- Click submit registration
- That’s it! You do not need to show up or testify
You can sign in any time one hour prior to the hearing (April 3 at 7 am). But don’t wait, show your support by signing in “Pro” as soon as possible.
Three ways to engage today:
- Sign-in support of the bill: As described above, simply fill out the quick form to add your name in support on the legislative record. If you need help navigating the Legislature’s system, watch this short video.
- Sign-in support & include written testimony: If you’d like to go a step further, you can instead sign-in and include a short note to the committee about what this would mean for your city.
- Contact your Representative: We expect this issue to heat up quickly, so now is the time to contact your Representatives and tell them why we need this critical change and how it would help your city serve your shared residents. This is particularly important if your Representative is one of the 15 who sits on the committee.
Three messages to share with your legislators:
It’s best to share your city’s local story, bolstered by facts and information that line up with what other local entities are saying. Here are a few talking points you can include in your own messages:
- The current cap doesn’t reflect real life: The 1% cap is arbitrary, in that it isn’t connected to any data, and it does not keep up with population growth and inflation. In the last decade, population in Washington has increased on average 1.5% per year, while inflation averages 3% per year. This has created a structural deficit that only worsens every single year.
- It’s optional: Lifting the property tax cap is not an automatic tax increase. It simply gives the option for an elected city council to make the decision to take it or not, based on local circumstances. Even now, not all jurisdictions take the current 1% increase each year. Providing the option gives the flexibility to local governments to balance their revenues to meet hyperlocal community needs.
- It’s modest: This proposal is a modest increase to meet basic, but critical needs. Going from a 1% revenue cap to 3% does not triple property taxes. In fact, raising a city’s revenue cap means that the increased cost for an average homeowner is generally less than $20 per year on average. This small and sensible increased cap would have a modest, but meaningful impact on local budgets. Some communities are in dire need of critical local funding, and this option could really help them.
Dates to remember
HB 2049 is scheduled for public hearing in the House Finance Committee on Thursday, April 3 at 8 am.
AWC legislative priority to lift the property tax cap gets a House bill
March 24, 2025
Nearly eleven weeks into session, a new bill has arrived to revise the property tax revenue cap via HB 2049.
The bill is cosponsored by Representatives Steve Bergquist (D-Seattle) and Gerry Pollet (D-Seattle) and would allow for an increase to the state and local annual property tax cap to better account for population growth and inflation. The bill has similar provisions as HB 1334 sponsored by Rep. Pollet, which was heard earlier this session. However, this new bill is the House Democrats’ preferred version.
We thank the cosponsors for bringing this bill forward that cities strongly support.
You can help by reaching out to your Representatives and letting them know you support this bill and describing how this revenue would help your city.
What the bill does
The route this bill takes differs from a proposal on the Senate side in that it also focuses property tax increases through the lens of funding the state’s school levy. Among other things, the bill defines state and local property tax policies to account for population changes, introduces inflation adjustments, and creates new education finance measures for schools and special education.
The bill specifically addresses the local property tax growth cap in section 4 of the bill by increasing the levy authority for state and local property taxes from 1% to one that instead accounts for population change and inflation, not to exceed 3% (also known as the limit factor).
Unlike the Senate version, which has no upper cap besides population and inflation (if a local government can legislatively attest to the public safety funding need), the House version’s limit factor is capped at 3% year-over-year.
Other key provisions of the bill:
- Redefines “inflation" geographically: This updates where inflation data comes from. The current method uses the implicit price deflator compiled by the federal Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) to measure inflation. This bill proposes switching to the annual percentage increase in the Bureau of Labor Statistic’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) as also commonly referred to as “inflation,” and would be even more specific to include the eight states and one territory in the western United States, called CPI-U Western.
- Clarifies population change data: Specifies population change as the annual percent increase in the last two years of a taxing district's population based on Office of Financial Management (OFM) official estimates each April 1.
- Establishes administrative duties: The Department of Revenue would notify County Assessors of its limit factors each September 1 and then Assessors would determine and notify taxing districts of its limit factors by October 1.
- Timeline: The bill would impact taxes levied in 2026 and after.
Background information & resources
City sign-on letter to legislators
See which city leaders signed on to AWC’s letter urging the Legislature to revise the arbitrary 1% property tax cap
Local published op-eds in support of lifting the cap
Coalition & resources
As one of our legislative priorities, AWC has been working on this issue for many years. Recently, in efforts to get out in front of persistent misinformation about what the property tax cap is and how it impacts cities and other property tax-reliant entities, we have been working with a broad coalition of supporters to share accurate information about this decidedly complex issue. View the materials below and share them with your legislators.
Three common myths and how to bust them
As with last year, as this issue gains legislative and media attention, it also picks up speed on a few pernicious myths. Make sure that when you’re talking to legislators, other city officials, and constituents, you bust any misconceptions that you may hear.
Here are some tips for common myth-busters to help you:
- No, it doesn’t raise property taxes exorbitantly: Going from a 1% revenue cap to 3% does not triple property taxes, as some might imply. As the bill is written, it changes the 101 percent revenue growth limit for state and local property taxes to 100 percent, plus population change and inflation, with a capped limit of 103 percent. 101% to 103% is not triple. Further, lifting a city’s revenue cap means that the increased cost for an average homeowner is generally less than $20 per year on average.
- No, it’s not an automatic tax increase: It simply gives the option for an elected city council to make the decision to take it or not, based on local circumstances. Even now, not all jurisdictions take the current 1% increase each year. For some communities, this potential change (to an arbitrary limit put in place a generation ago) to allow a local increase would be a lifeline to support critical services.
- No, it’s not undermining the voters: The voters elected city leaders to make local decisions on their behalf, and city elected officials are immediately responsive to the needs of their constituents. This local option empowers city elected leaders to make decisions close to home on behalf of their residents who delegated them such decision-making power in the first place.