Happy March! Do you feel like February flew by in a blink? We do. This short 60-day session is in its final two weeks, and we’ve got a few bills left to pass. It’s been an incredible year for our Growing Together agenda, with a number of bills already on their way to the Governor’s desk for signature. This week is the last week for bills to be heard and passed on the full House and Senate Floors! Our final deadline for bills to pass through their “Opposite Chamber” (the chamber they didn’t start in) is this Friday, March 6th.

So settle in with us for the penultimate legislative update before lawmakers adjourn for 2026, there’s still plenty going on that needs our attention in this final week of Floor Action.

What’s still in play – Legislators need to hear from you!

STEP Housing (HB 2266)

Perhaps the bill with the toughest hill still to climb – HB 2266 will remove barriers to building more emergency shelters, transitional housing, and permanent supportive housing– all housing types that we desperately need more of, like, yesterday. It will streamline the statewide guidance, to make sure each county contributes their fair share towards meaningful solutions. We can’t let some jurisdictions shirk their responsibility to their residents, while other jurisdictions work hard to pick up the slack. This bill will be heard by the full Senate sometime this week, and we need them to know that our neighbors who need housing support cannot wait another year. 

Smaller Elevators (SB 5156)

It should not be difficult to find ADA-accessible housing. Full stop. But that’s not the reality in so many places in Washington and across the country. And while there are no silver bullet solutions, we have the data and we have the policy solutions – SB 5156 is one of them. 

Allowing for slightly smaller elevators in some cases opens up a whole new world of building or modifying existing buildings to get more middle housing, but most importantly, more accessible and affordable housing. 

This bill is headed to the full House floor this week, and we want to see it through! 

Rural Freight Rail and Sprawl (SB 5820)

There is currently a law on the books that allows for more sprawl in rural areas around designated freight rail stations. SB 5820 wants to repeal that law, to better protect our vulnerable farmlands. It may have a steep hill to climb in the House, so be sure you smash that action button below to email lawmakers today, asking them to pass this.

Allowing Rural ADU’s (HB 1345)

This bill has been moving along the legislative process consistently and without fanfare, and it’s now ready for a final vote on the Senate floor. This bill carefully establishes guidance and limitations for counties planning under the GMA to allow for detached accessory dwelling units, in some circumstances and in defined Urban Growth Areas. Futurewise has spent years supporting community efforts in rural areas to protect lands, limit sprawl, but also address very real housing shortages and affordability challenges. This bill is part of that important work.

Victory Lap! Three bills have PASSED 🎉

In the last week, we had three bills pass unanimously (!) out of the Senate. In this day and age of partisanship, this is not only a notable win, but also a testament to Futurewise’s commitment to smart policy solutions that have real community support. Here’s what is headed to Governor Ferguson’s desk for final signature:

•  Condo liability (HB 2304) and Scissor Stairs (HB 2228) – Both bills make it easier to build or modify middle housing in more places, helping to address our housing shortage and affordability crisis.
• LAMIRDs (HB 2269)- this is a highly technical bill related to LAMIRDs (Limited Areas of More Intensive Rural Development) – essentially, these are areas in rural counties where development is already concentrated. And if we can focus growth here, we can better prevent further sprawl across our remaining farmlands and open spaces. Futurewise has been watching this bill move through the process, and we consider this bill a win, because we fended off any bad amendments, and ensured a tailored final bill that will support the need for more housing and development in these areas, but without sacrificing important land protections.

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This is a critical week for our bills facing their final hurdle, so we may be back in your inbox this week with an urgent action alert – thank you for staying with us!

If you’re craving more in-person community, and a chance to celebrate our legislative wins together – we will have an in-person post-session celebration! All the details to come, but we’re already looking forward to celebrating the end of this whirlwind session together.