Legislators began to position the operating budget towards completion, albeit while moving NTIB legislation in the background, as the clock wound down towards the end of the regular session.
Here are some observations of the Washington State Legislature (WA Legislature) for Tuesday April 22nd, the 100th day of the 2025 regular session.
My top 3 takeaways:
- On Monday and after some delay, the House accepted the Senate request to form a conference committee to graft new ideas and resolve differences on the operating budgets.
- SB 5167 - Operating Budget and Supplemental Operating Budget
- On Thursday April 3rd—more than two weeks prior—senators voted to not concur with House changes to the operating budget bill and called for a conference committee to be formed, appointing leadership of the Washington State Senate Ways and Means Committee (WA Senate WM) to represent the chamber in deliberations.
- On April 1st, Governor Bob Ferguson had dashed cold water on the new sources of revenue proposed by both chambers, leading legislators to devise new approaches, introduce new bills, and advance legislation “necessary to implement budgets” (NTIB) through impromptu committee activity outside of the normal rules of order in the subsequent weeks.
- On Monday, representatives included the operating budget bill on their first order of consideration. Assistant Speaker Pro Tempore Joe Timmons formally received the message from the other chamber indicating senators had not concurred with the House changes to the legislation and had requested a conference committee be formed. He moved for the body to accept the request and appointed leaders from the Washington State House Appropriations Committee (WA House APP) to the conference committee.
- WA House APP Chair Timm Ormsby
- WA House APP Vice Chair Nicole Macri
- WA House APP Ranking Minority Member Travis Couture
- Subsequently, the conference committee would convene in the final week of the 2025 regular session before a formal release of the committee report containing revised bill language, likely on Thursday or Friday. Both chambers would be required to formally vote to accept the committee report without amendment before adjournment sine die.
- On Thursday April 3rd—more than two weeks prior—senators voted to not concur with House changes to the operating budget bill and called for a conference committee to be formed, appointing leadership of the Washington State Senate Ways and Means Committee (WA Senate WM) to represent the chamber in deliberations.
- SB 5167 - Operating Budget and Supplemental Operating Budget
- There were no introductions of cannabis-related legislation on Monday, and none staged for Tuesday.
- There were no introductions staged in the House for Tuesday April 22nd.
- The draft introduction report in the Senate for Tuesday April 22nd did not appear to include any cannabis-related legislation.
- On Tuesday, legislators planned to convene floor sessions in advance of adjournment sine die on Sunday April 27th, although all cannabis-related bills which could be moved under the regular rules of order had been acted upon.
- 10am: WA Senate - Session
- [ TVW - Morning, TVW - Afternoon, TVW - Evening ]
- At publication time, there were 22 bills on the Senate floor calendar including one cannabis-related item.
- HB 1551 - Social Equity Program Evaluation
- See the bill text, bill report, and fiscal note for more details.
- Presumed ineligible for consideration after the Opposite House Cutoff on Wednesday, the legislation remained calendared at publication time along with nine other House bills which were not acted upon.
- HB 1551 - Social Equity Program Evaluation
- 1pm: WA House - Session
- [ TVW - Afternoon, TVW - Evening, TVW - Late Evening ]
- At publication time, there were 39 bills on the House floor calendar but no cannabis-related legislation.
- 10am: WA Senate - Session