OLYMPIA, WA – How best to spend, save and raise money will be a recurring theme when Washington lawmakers convene in Olympia next week for their annual “committee days.”
The state is facing a budget shortfall that’s poised to dominate the 2026 session, which begins Jan. 12.
Data centers, vaccine safety, bridges hit by trucks, and the states mounting legal payouts are other issues to be tackled in the three days of work sessions, which start Wednesday.
This year, both chambers will be in town at the same time. It will provide a sense of the pace and tenor of policy debates to come in next year’s 60-day session.
Wednesday, Dec. 3, is reserved for meetings of seven committees composed of House and Senate members. On Thursday and Friday, individual House and Senate committees will meet starting at 8 a.m. each day.
Data Centers will grab the spotlight at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday. That’s when the Joint Committee on Energy Supply, Energy Conservation, and Energy Resilience will hear recommendations of the data center work group established by an executive order from Gov. Bob Ferguson. A report from the work group is due to the governor by Dec. 1. Data centers consume large amounts of electricity, and more are coming online as artificial intelligence technology expands.
Also Wednesday, health insurance costs and vaccine safety will be on the agenda when the Joint Select Committee on Health Care and Behavioral Health Oversight meets at 3 p.m.
Thursday will be dominated by budget-related conversations.
This year, Democratic lawmakers pushed through billions in new and increased taxes, along with spending cuts, to bridge a projected gap around $16 billion over four years.
Concerns about one of the largest new business taxes that took effect Oct. 1 will be a hot topic in the House Finance Committee at 1:30 p.m. Thursday.
Senate Bill 5814 imposes new sales taxes on a number of services and is counted on to bring in $1.1 billion in the two-year budget that began July 1. Local governments will get a cut of the state sales tax proceeds. Rep. April Berg, D-Mill Creek, the committee chair, has said the law needs fine-tuning to make clearer who is required to collect and pay the taxes.
Operating and transportation expenses will be showcased in four different budget committees meeting at 4 p.m. Thursday.
The Senate Ways and Means Committee has a packed agenda with discussions on future tax collections, growing lawsuit payouts, and state pensions.
In the House Appropriations Committee, conversations are planned on the state’s budget outlook, plus updates on federal funding and Washington’s strained juvenile rehabilitation system.
Highway maintenance and preservation will be a focus of both the Senate and House transportation panels. The Senate Transportation Committee will devote its one-hour work session to the subject.
Meanwhile, members of the House Transportation Committee will get briefed on how the state Department of Transportation is dealing with bridges damaged by truck collisions. Also on the agenda is an update on the Washington State Ferries multi-billion-dollar electrification program.
For the full schedule, agendas and documents, visit the Legislature’s website. All meetings will be livestreamed on TVW.
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