Legislators adjourned on Thursday afternoon, and the 2026 Legislative Session is a wrap! Truly remarkable, every single bill on our 2026 Growing Together agenda passed the Legislature. 🤯 Seven bills with our fingerprints on them are now on their way to Governor Ferguson’s desk. In a year dominated by a budget crisis, an also unbelievable win on the Millionaire’s Tax, and unending disruption from the Federal government, lawmakers locked in and so did we.

How did we get a 100% win rate this year? Futurewise plays the long game – we know that bills don’t typically pass on their first year. It takes dedicated advocacy from the public, smart engagement with policy writers, and being embedded in the communities we serve. That’s how we went from a proactive takedown of a bad rural ADU bill in 2024, to a much more balanced, thoughtful, passable version this year where we successfully fended off any bad amendments (HB 1345).

The proof of these successes is right here in this e-newsletter – we’ve got hundreds of people who are dedicated to supporting smart growth policies in our beautiful Evergreen state. It’s your attention and action that made this possible! Thank you! 

We can’t do our work without you – and we don’t want to celebrate without you either! 

Join us for an end-of-session happy hour celebration, an informal chance to hear about these wins, what that means for our communities, and get a look at the other work Futurewise has going on in the interim. We’re partnering with the Complete Communities Coalition (working on Seattle’s Comprehensive Plan) for this celebration. 

Wednesday, March 18th
6-7:30 pm
Hellbent Brewery in Lake City 

RSVP for the Post-Session Celebration!

In the spirit of growing together – will you share your thoughts with us? A quick survey to get to know – what types of advocacy is your favorite, what issues do you care about, what would you like to see more of from Futurewise? All of your feedback is valuable! 

So take a quick minute, fill out our Grow Together 2026 Survey, and help shape our priorities for the interim. 

Victory! The full agenda passed!

2026 Growing Together Agenda 

• STEP Housing (HB 2266) – HB 2266 will streamline statewide policy and remove barriers to building more emergency shelters, transitional housing, permanent supportive housing, and housing types that families and community members need more of, urgently. Check out this op-ed penned by Councilmembers in Spokane and Aberdeen on how this bill will impact local jurisdictions 
• Smaller Elevators (SB 5156) – 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. SB 5156 will make that possible for so much more new housing that will be built across the state.
• Scissor Stairs (HB 2228) – Scissor stairs are a design where two separate, interlocked stairwells can be co-located, and provide space saving solutions to modify existing buildings or build more middle housing in more places, while maintaining high safety standards for egress. 
• Condo Liability (HB 2304) – This bill supports building more condos by clarifying some prior insurance coverage issues, and streamlines it to be covered like other existing housing types. 
• Development Around Rural Freight Rail (SB 5820) – a bill to help protect rural areas from further sprawl. There is currently a law on the books from about ten years ago that allows for more development in rural areas around designated freight rail. SB 5820 repealed that law to better protect farmlands.
  
  

Balancing needs in rural areas 

This is where Futurewise’s attention to detail really comes in. There are two bills in our agenda this year that we “watched” rather than championed. Both bills are important for balancing competing needs in rural communities- we do need to be building more affordable housing, and ensure that folks aren’t pushed out of their communities because of affordability or development pressures. At the same time, we were founded as a watchdog group to protect our farmlands and open spaces from sprawl and unplanned development. Both of these bills strike that important balance this year, and were passed without additional harmful amendments. 

• LAMIRD Development (HB 2269) – LAMIRDs are a land use term meaning limited areas of more intensive rural development. HB 2269 will allow middle housing in LAMIRDs in rural counties, helping tackle the housing crisis while still mitigating sprawl. Wonky, technical, and important!
• Allowing rural ADU’s in some conditions (HB 1345) – After years of careful advocacy and deliberation, HB 1345 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.

 

Looking ahead– engaging with the Building Code Council

The Futurewise legislative team is most active during and leading up to session, but there’s always opportunities to engage outside of session as well. This year we’re turning our attention to the WA State Building Code Council, where they’re updating codes and regulations that will affect how easy it is to build middle housing like stacked flats. That means we have the opportunity to be sure that Washington is continuing to push for more diverse housing types for all families in our Evergreen State. 

This summer there will be an opportunity for the public to comment, so keep an eye out for emails to learn more about what the Council is, and how we can raise our voices to advocate for a thriving, connected future in all of our cities, towns, and in between!

 

It’s inspiring to work with people who care deeply about their home town and our beautiful Evergreen state. Thank you for everything you do. And I hope to celebrate with you in person next week!