Welcome investments in transportation preservation & maintenance largely leave out locals

For those following Washington transportation policy, the 2026 legislative session was primarily marked by a welcome emphasis on the need for greater investment in preserving and maintaining the state’s transportation system.

But cities and towns did not share equally in that investment, which partly came at their expense. And while they enjoyed a handful of policy wins on traffic safety, efforts to increase sustainable revenue again came up short amid a tough budget climate.

The final 2025-27 transportation budget—set out in spending bill SB 6005 and resources bill HB 2711 and supported by bond bill SB 6225—is largely consistent with the budget lawmakers passed in 2025, increasing the total slightly. Importantly, it includes new bond authorization to provide capacity to add $1.53 billion in maintenance and preservation funding through the 2029-31 biennium.

However, those investments rely in part on a temporary diversion of nearly $169 million in legislative appropriations for local projects toward state preservation projects instead, based on anticipated local project underruns this year. Although that diversion would have been slightly larger but for a line-item veto by the Governor, AWC remains concerned that it could cause some city projects delays and cost increases.

Safety remained a focus, as seen in SB 6066 and SB 6110. The former allows jurisdictions to identify “crash prevention zones” utilizing automated traffic safety cameras and increases fines for speeding or use of a personal electronic device to improve safety on roadways with an elevated number of collisions causing serious injury or death.

The latter creates a workgroup to recommend a new statutory framework to address the proliferation of electric-powered motorcycles and other vehicles that appear similar to, but do not match the statutory definition of, electric bicycles. The workgroup is directed to provide an interim report by December 15.

Separately, lawmakers moved in HB 2192 to establish the State Traffic Safety Commission as a public health authority, directing it to identify risk factors that most commonly lead to motor vehicle collisions resulting in death or serious injury.

In lieu of identifying a sustainable revenue source, lawmakers added a budget proviso directing the Joint Transportation Committee (JTC) to review funding options but set no deadline. A bill that would have increased the maximum weight of vehicles on which a transportation benefit district can levy a vehicle license fee, SB 6262, passed the Senate but failed to secure a full House vote ahead of cutoff.

Lawmakers considered but did not pass a number of other bills advancing policies that could impact cities and that AWC anticipates may return in the 2027 legislative session.

HB 2172 and SB 6335, related to the state’s Transportation Commission, respectively would have updated the state’s process for transferring ownership of highway routes between a local jurisdiction and the state and reduced the commission’s role as a planning and policy development entity. AWC supported giving cities greater input in the ownership transfer process but opposed the second bill over concerns that it could limit city input in the development of statewide transportation planning and policy.

Overlapping with public works, HB 1529 would have relaxed some procurement requirements when cities employ county personnel for city road striping and paving work. It died following pushback from labor and business, despite AWC’s efforts to negotiate a compromise based on our overall support for increasing efficient use of taxpayer dollars.

Similarly, SB 6311, which would have set prescriptive new requirements for pedestrian passage through construction zones, died despite unanimous Senate support. AWC advanced amendments mitigating impacts and will work to ensure that any future iterations reflect that many cities already have similar policies and the financial and logistical implications—particularly on smaller jurisdictions—of a one-size-fits-all approach.  

The 2026 session marked a positive first step toward reversing a trend of inadequate preservation and maintenance funding, but lawmakers’ sole focus on the state’s portion of the transportation system was a missed opportunity. Given the tremendous need across the whole system and the ongoing decline in fuel tax revenues, pressing lawmakers to adopt a sustainable funding model that includes locals will remain a priority for cities.