Friends and neighbors,

The 2026 legislative session officially adjourned last Thursday in Olympia. During the 60-day session, we made important progress to move Spokane and the state forward.

It was another challenging budget year, but I’m proud the Legislature took a balanced approach while also making historic progress to fix our state’s upside-down tax code. We also took several key steps to address the affordability crisis while scrubbing the budget for savings and efficiencies.

Community investments

I worked with my 3rd district seatmates this session to ensure several important community projects received funding. These exciting investments will improve lives in Spokane, and I am excited to see the projects take shape in the coming months. Here are a few highlights:

Pictured above: Future Home of the American Indian Community Center

  • $2 million for the American Indian Community Center to help build a 25,000-square-foot facility and fully fund phase one of construction focusing on the facility’s core service components: an expanded food bank and space for family services and coordinated care.
  • $2 million for Terrain to continue to build community through art and creativity by acquiring two historic properties. This new space will allow the organization to continue to keep the arts alive in downtown Spokane and help more creative businesses thrive.
  • $2 million for Maddie’s Place to ensure this unique facility will be able to keep providing care for infants born to mothers struggling with addiction. I’m proud to now have secured $9.3 million for the facility since it opened in 2022 and I will continue to work on a long-term sustainable funding model for this vital organization.
  • $7 million to support the WSU Spokane campus Team Health building, which will provide simulation and clinical research spaces for medical, pharmacy, and nursing students.
  • $773,000 to support a new crisis and sobering center next to the Regional Stabilization Center for treatment of people struggling with addiction.
  • $180,000 for the Northeast Youth and Family Services Creativity Project in the Chief Gary Park Neighborhood. This community garden will help increase food security, multicultural engagement, and youth empowerment.
  • $258,000 to support affordable housing at the Richard Allen Apartments.

Tax relief, key investments & universal free school meals!

The passage of the Millionaires Tax this session represents a significant step to make our tax system fairer by asking the ultra-wealthy in our state to pay their fair share for the services we all rely on. In the simplest terms, the Millionaires Tax is a 9.9% tax on households earning over $1 million per year. If a household makes $1,000,500 each year, the tax will only apply to that $500. In this example, total taxes owed would be approximately $50. The tax will only impact about 20,000 households statewide and only 211 of the wealthiest households in the 3rd district. In addition to providing support for education, health care, higher education and human services, it will allow the state to:

  • Expand eligibility for the Working Families Tax Credit to 460,000 additional households.
  • Reduce or eliminate taxes for nearly 140,000 small businesses.
  • Making nearly everything in your shopping cart at the grocery store tax-free by exempting diapers, hygiene products, and over-the-counter medicines from sales tax. Most food has been tax-free for decades.
  • Invest significant funding into childcare and early learning.

For me, the most exciting part of the bill is a guarantee that every student in the state will be eligible for free school breakfast and lunch! I’ve been working to expand access to free school meals for more than a decade, and I worked with Gov. Bob Ferguson to make sure this important investment was included in the final version of the Millionaires Tax. We all know our kids need access to nutritious food to grow, learn, and be healthy.  We’ve made steady progress since passing three bills I authored (HB 2660 in 2020, HB 1878 in 2022, and HB 1238 in 2023) which meant more than 70% of students are eligible for free meals in school. Now we can finish the job!

Protecting sensitive voter information

Recent attempts by federal officials to access protected information in Washington state’s voter database are unnecessary and illegitimate intrusions on voters’ privacy. This year I sponsored Senate Bill 5892 to ensure that confidential information like drivers’ license numbers, social security numbers, and full birth dates are not disclosed by county election officials. I look forward to seeing the governor sign this important protection into law in the coming days! Watch my remarks on the bill from the Senate floor by clicking here.

Preventing utility rate increases

I worked hard this session to pass legislation to protect ratepayers by giving Spokane’s Waste-to-Energy appropriate time to comply with the Climate Commitment Act.. House Bill 2416 will ensure utility customers, especially low-income households, don’t face higher bills as the facility puts a plan in place to lower emissions. Without this legislation, the city would have faced increased fees of up to $8 million to comply with state environmental standards. I’m thankful for the collaboration between state and local leaders, local and statewide environmental stakeholders, and labor partners. I am especially grateful for my seatmate, Rep. Natasha Hill, and Mayor Lisa Brown, for getting this important legislation across the finish line. Read more about the bill in the Spokesman Review.

Creating more affordable housing

I’ve heard from many faith-based organizations in Spokane that are interested in using surplus land to build affordable housing. That’s why I worked to help pass House Bill 1859, which will increase service-based, community-oriented housing by requiring cities and counties to allow increased density for affordable housing developments on land owned or controlled by religious organizations.

Another exciting housing policy this year will start to turn surplus state property in Spokane’s East Central neighborhood into affordable housing. When construction began on I-90 in the late 1950s, hundreds of homes, mostly in the East Central neighborhood, were demolished to make way for the highway. Today, much of the land, still owned by the Department of Transportation, is unoccupied. This year’s transportation budget builds off of SB 5853 and clears the way for a community-based nonprofit to turn 4 acres of land into much-needed affordable housing.

Thanks for taking the time to read my newsletter. I look forward to being back in Spokane and connecting with you in person. Follow me on Facebook and Instagram for more updates and please don’t hesitate to reach out to me at Marcus.Riccelli@leg.wa.gov.

It is an honor to serve you!

Sen. Marcus Riccelli