The session was light on general government bills in 2025, as the state’s budget concerns dampened the desire to pass bills with significant fiscal impacts.
While no major elections bills impacting cities passed, there was a lot of activity on elections and voting in 2025, and some of these issues could return in 2026. Two bills, HB 1710 and HB 1750, would have amended the Voting Rights Act to create a new “preclearance” process for local governments and provide an expanded definition of voting rights abridgement and dilution claims. Both bills failed to advance, likely due to their fiscal impacts during a tight budget year. 2025 also saw the return of proposals granting cities the option to change to even year elections (HB 1339) and the option to adopt ranked choice voting (HB 1448).
A bill to help libraries made it all the way to the Governor’s signature. SB 5365 allows park and recreation districts to fund community centers that include space for a public library. The library would need to occupy less than 50% of the community center space and operate in accordance with state library laws. At a time when funding for libraries is scarce, this new revenue tool could allow more communities to bring libraries to their residents.
Bill # | Description | Status |
|---|
HB 1046 | Civil liability protection for helping vulnerable person or animal out of locked vehicle | Law; Effective July 27, 2025 |
SB 5365 | Allowing park and recreation districts to fund certain libraries | Law; Effective July 27, 2025 |
HB 1146 | Expanding voting access in jails | Did not pass |
HB 1339/
SB 5373 | Permits cities to move to even year elections | Did not pass |
HB 1448 | Optional ranked choice voting for local government offices | Did not pass |
HB 1449 | Legalizing home cultivation of cannabis | Did not pass |
HB 1658 | Allows for additional funding for local museums | Did not pass |
HB 1710 | WA Voting Rights Act preclearance | Did not pass |
HB 1750 | WA Voting Rights Act vote dilution claims | Did not pass |
SB 5547 | Increasing state shared revenues of collected cannabis tax | Did not pass |
SB 5758 | Reducing the amount of space required between cannabis businesses and other public buildings | Did not pass |