NAIOPWA Legislative Session Report - Week 2

Krystelle Purkey and Riley Benge, State Lobbyists

Week two of the legislative session was a pivotal one for CREDAWA, marked by strong engagement with lawmakers, candid policy discussions, and a clear focus on the real-world impacts facing commercial and industrial development across Washington.

NAIOPWA Legislative Session Report - Week 1

Krystelle Purkey and Riley Benge, State Lobbyists

The first week of the Washington State legislative session set the tone for a fast-paced 60-day sprint, with sharp contrasts emerging in leadership messages. In his opening remarks, Governor Bob Ferguson emphasized stability and continuity, urging lawmakers to stay focused on protecting core services, addressing affordability, and navigating ongoing fiscal pressures while advancing long-term priorities.

NAIOPWA Legislative Session Lookback

Krystelle Purkey and Ehren Flygare, State Lobbyists

The 2025 Washington State legislative session was one of the most tumultuous and emotionally charged sessions in recent memory, marked by significant political tension, major fiscal challenges, and the deaths of two beloved legislators. From the opening days, the atmosphere was fraught with division. Deep ideological splits over how to address the state’s financial crisis created a highly charged environment where lawmakers frequently clashed not only along party lines but also within their own caucuses.

The 2023 legislative session drew to a close in April, marking the end of a session that has been billed by some as the ‘Year of Housing’ for Washington State. A remarkable 1,776 bills were introduced, and a staggering number of those bills pertained to housing, development, and commercial real estate.

The Washington State Legislature is down to the last two weeks in the 2022 legislative session, and several bills of interest for CRE continue to be amended and are moving forward, including SEPA reform, GMA vesting, and building codes.

It's an all-hands-on-deck race to the deadline in this short session! Legislators (and NAIOPWA's Government Affairs team) are working around the clock, every day of the week, to make amendments, address suggested amendments, and pass the bills! NAIOPWA's team focuses on bills and issues that will support a positive business environment for commercial real estate in Washington state. 

The 2022 session of the Washington State Legislature is reaching its midpoint.  On February 3, bills needed to pass out of policy committees.  On February 7, all bills must pass out of fiscal committees.  And all bills, unless needed to implement the budget, must pass out of the house of origin by February 15.

Week three is behind us, with this Thursday being the cut-off for all bills to pass out of their committees of origin; after that, the slate will focus on "live" bills of concern to the CRE community.

NAIOPWA has been involved with the state legislative process for more than four decades. It’s with this depth of experience that we report both that the 2021 session was one of the more challenging for our industry in recent years, and how we managed to come out with three significant wins this year.

Did you notice that we skipped a week of reporting? Greg Hanon was busily attending sessions, advocating for legislation that supports the CRE industry. One example: this week, an amendment was added to the proposed capital gains tax that exempts real estate. The session is scheduled to end on Sunday, April 26. Click here to continue reading this post (login required). 

The state legislative session heads into the home stretch this week, with just 33 days left in session, a Friday deadline for bill reporting and a draft budget expected from the senate this week. Click here to continue reading this post (login required).

On June 20, the South Sound Committee, in conjunction with several local, active companies, including Davis Property and Investment, joined in on the Big Invitational, a fundraiser golf/networking event held annually at Washington National Golf Club in Auburn and put on by Big Brothers Big Sisters of Puget Sound.