2026 Legislative Session Updates

The 2026 Legislative Session continues and the City of Renton is closely tracking the following bills:

• HB 2724/SB 6346– Tax on Millionaires
  • The city is not taking a position on the underlying policy of a tax on millionaires or more generally, an income tax.
  • Instead, our nexus to the bill has been over a section of the bill that originally dedicated 5% of revenue raised from this tax to counties for public defense services.
    • Our position is that if the state passes this tax, and chooses to fund public defense with it, they should also include cities in the allocation.
    • HB 1592 – Public Defense Funding, was a pathway for language that funds cities to be included in the millionaire’s tax bill.
• HB 2489– Statewide standards for local government homelessness regulations
  • NOTE: This bill has died for this year. The bill’s sponsor, Representative Gregerson, will be picking up this idea during the next interim.
• SB 6002– Statewide regulations for Automatic License Plate Readers (ALPRs)
  • This bill is expected to pass.
    • Presently, it has been amended to include language helpful with Public Record Act (PRA) concerns over these types of records.
    • It has also been amended to expand the allowable retention period to 21 days, which is a big improvement over the three-day limit as originally proposed.
    • This bill still disallows these cameras for misdemeanor crimes and still is major concern for the city. We continue to advocate for amendments that expand eligible uses of ALPR systems.
  • This bill has passed out of the Senate and will be taken up by the House after 2/17.
• HB 2389/SB 6062– Juvenile Rehabilitation
  • While SB 6026 died on Monday, the House companion has political support to keep moving forward.
  • While the City supports the intent of the bill and prioritizes upstream investments, community placement, and rehabilitation, we do also have major concerns with the effects this bill will have on our community.
    • With this in mind, we have been focused on raising awareness to impacts and crafting amendments that minimize impacts on victims and community safety while still aligning with diversion alternatives to incarceration.
  • The House Sponsor, Rep. Cortes (D – Everett), and Co-Sponsor, Rep. Bergquist (D – Renton) have both been somewhat open to further amendment but not to the degree that would satisfy our concerns, so the city remains opposed to the bill at this time.
• HB 2480/SB 6026– Allowing for Unconditional Residential Development in Commercial Zones
  • This bill is a priority for Governor Ferguson and is expected to pass. We have been advocating for amendments to lessen the scope of the bill and retain local control.
• HB 2442– Real-estate Excise Tax (REET) Flexibility Enhancements
  • This is an omnibus REET enhancement bill that:
    • Includes language REET revenues to be used for nuisance abatement
    • Creates a new voter-approved REET for affordable housing
    • Establishes a new local option sales tax for services for children and families
    • Creates more flexibility for HB 1590 funds
    • Expands the timeframes for voter-approved levy lid lifts to up to 10 years
• HB 2374– Reclassification of Certain E-Bicycles for Regulatory Purposes
  • In response to the availability of more powerful and faster e-bikes on the market (and leading to situations where teens may be riding these at 25+ MPH without a license plate and/or drivers’ license), this bill would create a separate classification for e-motorcycles, defines them as motorcycles, and creates a work group to further examine the issue.
• HB 2420– Updates to the Small Works Roster Contract Threshold
  • This bill updates the cost threshold for use of a small works roster to award public works contracts up from $350,000 to $530,000 on January 1, 2027, with a further increase of $30,000 each year for four years, starting July 1, 2027.