Dear friends and neighbors,    

The 2026 legislative session begins Jan. 12 and will last 60 days. My team and I are already hard at work championing our communities’ top priorities. I’m grateful for the opportunity to continue to serve the 30th District and center your voice in Olympia.  

2025 legislative session recap:  

Despite facing a large deficit, we passed three budgets last session that increase investments in K-12 education, fund core services, and provide resources to our neighbors in the 30th Legislative District and communities statewide. Here are a few highlights: 

  • Education: We invested more than $1 billion in our public schools over the next four years to help close district budget shortfalls and ensure our young scholars have the tools needed to be successful.   
  • Housing: Several new laws will help expand affordable housing options. The capital budget includes a historic investment of $782 million to build desperately needed housing, and we passed policies to protect tenants from excessive rent hikes, with an annual rent cap of 7% plus inflation or 10%, whichever is less, and up to 5% for manufactured homes. Excessive rent increases are outpacing incomes, hitting seniors and people on fixed incomes the hardest. In addition, we passed legislation that supports transit-oriented development with affordability requirements and offsets, including a 20-year property tax exemption.   
  • Community Safety: We created additional safeguards for the purchase of firearms and invested an additional $100 million in law enforcement and other essential services. We also empowered local governments to hire and retain more mental health co-responders and support community outreach programs and other public safety efforts. 

In addition, I worked hard to ensure our state invested in the 30th. In total, our district is receiving over $4 million to help provide resources and services to our neighbors.    

  • $258,000 to fund the planning of an emergency shelter facility and programming for youth and young adults operated by Fusion in partnership with the Federal Way Calvary Lutheran Church. 
  • $1 million for a second round of restorations at the historical lodges at YMCA Camp Kilworth.   
  • Over $1 million for expanding education and human services at the El Centro de la Raza Mercado Project. 

My priorities: 

As chair of the Senate Human Services Committee and vice chair of the Early Learning & K-12 Education Committee, I’ve taken on complex problems youth face as they move through different systems and institutions in our state. I’ve been focused on supporting our state’s children, from expanding access to childcare and education to ensuring public safety by helping emerging adults leaving incarceration successfully reenter their communities.  

In 2026, I remain focused on increasing investments in our schools, lowering costs for working families, and keeping our communities safe.  

Funding our schools: 

As a former administrator and educator, I know firsthand how critical it is we invest in our schools and students. This past session, we increased funding for special education, boosted support for school operating costs, and provided additional resources for students in property-poor districts. 

K-12 education investments over four years: 

  • $750 million for special education services.
  • $213 million for materials, supplies, and operating costs.
  • $200 million for local effort assistance funding to help low-income school districts. 

In addition, we passed legislation to support the rights of students, teachers, and families to create a safe, healthy learning environment for all students. However, there is more we need to do to ensure students have the resources needed to succeed, and fully funding education is a top priority for me this upcoming session.  

Supporting working families: 

It’s critical we support working families statewide. Last session, we passed legislation that protects Washington consumers by prohibiting collection agencies from reporting medical debt to credit agencies, evens the playing field between management and its workforce in the instance of a strike, and prevents steep and unpredictable rent increases. We also preserved the core of the state’s early learning and childcare programs and removed barriers that often prevent low-income-earning families from accessing important early intervention services. 

During these challenging budgetary times, philanthropy has stepped in to help us meet the needs of families across our state. The Ballmer Group is partnering with us to expand access to our state-funded comprehensive preschool program, ECEAP, which provides key early learning opportunities for 10,000 preschoolers across Washington State over the next 10 years. I’m proud to sponsor the legislation this upcoming session to create the account to accept these philanthropic funds. 

Investments in childcare and early learning support working families, children of all ages, and our economy. The first five years of life are the most critical for brain development. That’s why it’s important we meet the needs of children early on in their lives. Early learning opportunities and childcare can help children who might interact with the child welfare or juvenile justice systems later on in life start off on the right footing. This legislative session, I will continue to focus on expanding access to early learning and childcare opportunities across our state.  

Keeping our communities safe: 

Last session we worked to address challenges in our juvenile justice system. I focused on legislation that provides diversion opportunities for youth who have not been incarcerated, as well as support for incarcerated youth with reentry to reduce recidivism. There is still more work to do, and we need to do everything we can to address overcrowding at juvenile rehabilitation facilities, specifically at Green Hill. I remain focused on finding policy solutions that reduce overcrowding by tackling the root cause of youth incarceration. By working to keep youth out of the justice system, we improve the safety and health of our communities. 

Standing with child care providers: 

It’s critical we root out any potential fraud in our state, protect taxpayers, and prevent criminal activity. However, the recent incidents where Somali child care providers have been targeted and harassed by individuals are unacceptable. For years Washington state has had robust standards for becoming a licensed child care and early learning provider. Licensed providers must follow state law to ensure children in their care are in safe and healthy environments. In addition, DCFY has systems in place to monitor potential misuse of child care funds. 

We need to prioritize what’s best for children, and showing up to child care facilities demanding to take photos of children is harassment and potentially dangerous.   

If you or someone you know is experiencing hate, please file a report with the Attorney General’s office by visiting https://www.atg.wa.gov/report-hate 

Non-Emergency Hate Crimes & Bias Incidents Hotline: 1-855-225-1010 

  • Trauma-informed operators from 9am to 5pm Pacific Time, Monday-Friday. 
  • Access to interpretation in over 240 languages. 

For information on how to file a report if you believe a child care facility is not meeting licensing standards, please visit https://dcyf.wa.gov/safety/child-care-complaints

I value our Somali child care community and the critical services they provide families across our region. 

Stay involved: 

Below you will find helpful resources that make it easy for you to be part of the legislative process, from start to finish. You can be involved this session by testifying in real time on a bill, submitting written testimony, and tracking all the policies being considered in Olympia. You can even sign up for free committee notifications on a particular bill of interest, so you know each time it moves forward.  

  • Watch broadcasts and archived videos of your democracy in action at TVW.org.   
  • Stay informed by calling the Legislative Hotline at 1.800.562.6000.    

Senate Page Program:  

Want to learn more about your state government? Apply to be a page!   

Pages are students ages 14-16 who serve for one week during the legislative session. During that week, they spend time in Page School learning about the legislative process while also distributing materials throughout the Capitol campus, assisting legislators, working on the Senate floor, and presenting the colors at the opening of each day’s legislative session. Pages receive pay during their week in Olympia. Scholarships are also available for pages from families with financial need, and housing is available with host families in Olympia.  

It’s a privilege to serve the 30th, and I look forward to continuing our work together this legislative session to address the challenges facing our community and state. 

Sincerely,  

Sen. Claire Wilson