Dear friends and neighbors,  

The 2026 legislative session officially came to an end on March 12. I spent the session working hard to deliver results for my neighbors and yours in the 30th Legislative District and across the state.  This session we worked to tackle the many challenges facing our state — from federal cuts to key services such as SNAP benefits and Medicaid to recovering from the flooding that impacted our community in December.  

While representing you in Olympia, I focused on securing investments in our district, expanding access to early learning opportunities, reducing the tax burden on working families, keeping children safe and secure, improving community safety, and protecting our Washington way of life. This session, I introduced 17 bills, six of which passed the Senate floor. However, only two made it across the finish line and were signed into law. Due to the nature of short 60-day legislative sessions and the historic 24-hour debate on the Millionaires Tax on the floor of the House of Representatives, the Legislature passed significantly fewer bills this year than in previous years. I intend to build off our momentum and continue to push for the policy proposals I introduced this past session, such as support for unhoused youth and juvenile justice reform.  

Investing in 30th Legislative District: 

I worked hard to ensure our state invested in the 30th. In total, our district is receiving over $9 million from the capital budget to help provide resources and services to our neighbors. This includes $7.5 million in flood recovery funding for the city of Pacific. December’s heavy rainfall and extreme flooding caused severe damage to the city of Pacific’s infrastructure, and our neighbors there are still recovering. I worked with the city to advocate for the funding needed to help them rebuild. This funding in the supplemental capital budget will be used to repair City Park, roads, waterlines, storm structures, and sewer lines. This project also includes funding for future flood mitigation.   

The capital budget includes additional investments in our community. Here are some more highlights! 

  • $309,000 for HealthPoint building modernization in Federal Way 
  • $258,000 for Steel Lake Affordable Housing 
  • $258,000 for Junior Achievement of Washington 
  • $258,000 for improvements to Algona’s water system. 
  • $250,000 for Federal Way Children’s Hospital Pediatric Outpatient Surgical Clinic 
  • $258,000 to expand the HealthPoint Federal Way dental chairs from four to 10, serving more patients. 

In addition, we passed a transportation budget that funds ORCA cards for Highline College students. The transportation budget also includes funding for the City Center Access project, which improves access from Federal Way’s City Center to and across I-5. 

I’m also excited to share that our district is beginning to see the results of our investments from previous sessions. This includes the rebuilding of the Redondo Pier, which is set to be completed in June. I will continue to push for the resources our community needs to thrive.  

Reforming our broken tax code and supporting working families: 

This session, we passed the historical Millionaires Tax, which sets us on a path to ask about 20,000 of the wealthiest households in our state to contribute more so we can increase funding for the services everyday people and working families rely on, such as public schools, health care, higher education, and other essential services. In the 30th Legislative District that translates to 80 households or .38% of the 20,000.    

The Millionaires Tax is a 9.9% tax on household income above $1 million per year (not your residence). In addition to providing support for basic services, it will allow the state to reduce taxes for families across Washington by: 

  • Eliminating sales tax on personal care products, baby and adult diapers, and most over-the-counter medicine. Since there is already no sales tax on groceries, that means just about everything in a family’s shopping cart will be tax-free. 
  • Exempting about 70% of all Washington businesses from the Business & Occupation tax. 
  • Setting aside 5% of annual tax proceeds for the Fair Start for Kids Act, which increases access to early learning programs and provides resources to support child care and early learning providers. 
  • Providing free school breakfast and lunch to all public school students. 
  • Expanding eligibility for the Working Families Tax Credit to 460,000 additional households, including young adults and seniors, helping lower-income families. 

 

Keeping our community safe and health:  

I have spoken with many members of our community who are concerned about the health and safety of their neighborhoods. This was a main focus of the Legislature last year, and last session, 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, support community outreach programs and other public safety efforts. This session, we faced significant budget challenges, but we were able to pass a budget that preserves our investments in public safety.  

Behavioral health was another focus of the Legislature this session. We passed House Bill 2429 (Washington Thriving) to create a coordinated system of statewide support for children, youth and emerging adults with behavioral health challenges. I was proud to sponsor the companion bill for this legislation because behavioral health often intersects with other challenges, such as child welfare involvement, homelessness and incarceration.  That’s why it’s so important we prioritize behavioral health in our state.  

In addition, I spent this session pushing for child welfare reforms, system supports, and ongoing resources to continue to focus on and address the rise in critical incidents due to the current high-potency synthetic opioid public health crisis impacting small children and their families. We passed a budget that directs resources for services that support the health and safety of families and children. This includes funding for Child Protective Services (CPS) staffing, plan of safe care, public health nurses, family resource centers, and more.    

I also spent this session working to address challenges facing our juvenile justice system in order to improve community safety. I pushed for policy solutions that prevent youth incarceration and help those exiting the juvenile justice system have a smooth reentry. We can create long-term change and improve public safety if we support young people and help keep them out of the justice system. I will continue to push for people-centered approaches that help us reform our juvenile justice system and improve community safety.  

Update on child care and early learning investments:  

This session was another difficult one for early learning. We were able to maintain the current level of participation in the Working Connections Child Care (WCCC) subsidy program for families, but we had to push out expanded eligibility, as well as increases in subsidy rates for providers. Additional reductions were made within the Fair Start for Kids Act.  

I’m pleased to share we passed Senate Bill 5872, which I sponsored and allows the state to create the Pre-K Promise Account. The $100 billion in funds in this account, made possible by the Ballmer Group, will be used to increase access to our comprehensive state-funded preschool program, the Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program (ECEAP), for up to 10,000 additional slots for children for the next 10 years.   

As mentioned above, the Millionaires Tax will also direct future investments towards Fair Starts for Kids, which will increase access to child care and support for families and providers. I will continue to advocate for reforms and investments in our child care and comprehensive early learning programs, because when we invest in children, we invest in the future of our state.  

Building more affordable housing:  

Every Washingtonian needs a home, but for too many, the opportunity to afford their mortgage or rent is out of reach. That’s why we’ve focused so much attention on increasing the supply of housing to drive down the costs for everyone. We must continue to cut red tape for builders, find new and creative ways to build housing, and champion ideas like rent stabilization to continue to make the cost of housing more affordable and predictable for all Washington families.   

This session, we passed a bill sponsored by Sen. Emily Alvarado that unlocks underutilized commercial land by rezoning many of these areas to residential and allowing local governments to determine where ground-floor retail requirements should apply. Senate Bill 6026 helps address the housing shortage by using land that is already urban, already served by infrastructure, and currently underused, while maintaining local flexibility to respond to market conditions. 

We also passed a capital budget that builds upon the record-setting investment into affordable housing and homelessness prevention in the 2025-27 budget, with an additional $200 million in housing and homelessness funding, including $123 million for the Housing Trust Fund, supporting affordable housing projects across Washington state. 

Protecting Washingtonians from federal overreach:  

Federal policies targeting our immigrant and refugee neighbors are making our communities less safe and eroding the public’s trust in law enforcement. The Legislature passed policies this session that ban law enforcement from wearing face coverings, protect our privacy, and prohibit individuals from using false law enforcement identification. Washington state will not be complicit in federal policies that weaponize law enforcement and criminalize immigrants and free speech. Below is a list of bills the legislature passed this session related to immigration and federal overreach.    

  • Senate Bill 5855 prohibits local, state, and federal law enforcement officers — including ICE agents — from wearing face coverings while interacting with the public. Masked interactions between the public and law enforcement erode accountability. It’s critical we ensure transparency, accountability, and improve public trust by requiring officers’ faces to be visible. 
  • House Bill 2105 requires employers to notify workers about federal I-9 form audits, protects against retaliation, limits federal access to employment records, and establishes enforcement mechanisms and penalties to ensure that workers’ rights are respected.   
  • House Bill 2165 prohibits individuals who are not law enforcement officers from making, providing, or possessing badges or other law enforcement insignias. It’s critical we ensure legitimate law enforcement officers are clearly identifiable. This legislation will help limit the sale, purchase, and possession of items with law enforcement insignias on them, with an exception for items used in works of art, commentary, satire, and parody.  
  • Senate Bill 5892 protects sensitive voter information by designating certain information (full birthdate, SSN, and driver’s license number) as confidential. An election officer or designee who discloses confidential voter information will be guilty of a class C felony.   

Stay in touch: 

As always, your thoughts and feedback are essential and help me better represent you in Olympia. Please reach out to our office if you have any questions or concerns. You can connect with our office by calling 360-786-7658 or emailing me at claire.wilson@leg.wa.gov.   

It’s a privilege to serve the 30th, and I look forward to continuing our work together. 

Sen. Claire Wilson