“The calm before the storm”

The Legislative Building Awaits the 2026 Session

(Photo Courtesy: Erica Hallock)

Trivia!

“By the Numbers – the 2026 Legislative Session”

• 60   Number of days of this “short” session
• 353   Number of bills “Pre-filed” before the Jan. 12th start of the 2026 legislative session
• 2   Number of times the word “ungulate” appears in bill titles of pre-filed bills (per AI, ungulate means hoofed mammal)
• 2303   HB 2303 – Title of the bill I found most intriguing “Prohibiting employers from microchipping employees” (I have so many questions!)
• 2.3   Amount – in billions of dollars – of the state’s budget deficit for the remainder of the 2025-27 biennium
• 1   Amount – again, in billions of dollars – of funding Governor Ferguson proposes to transfer from the Budget Stabilization Account to help address the budget gap
• 797   Amount – this time, in millions of dollars – of funding Governor Ferguson proposed in spending reductions in his budget proposal
• 0   Number of “Member Requests” for spending Sen. Ways and Means Chair June Robinson says she will accept from Senators given the budget crisis

What’s on Deck for Next Week

The 2026 legislative session officially kicks off at noon on Monday, Jan. 12th with “Opening Day.” Sorry, baseball fans, it’s not quite THAT opening day.

Little time is built in to catch up on interim activities as committee meetings kick off that same afternoon with the Senate Ways and Means and House Appropriations Committees holding public hearings on Governor Ferguson’s Supplemental Budget proposals right out of the gate. The Senate Ways and Means Committee will convene at 4:00 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 12th for public feedback on the Governor’s proposed Capital Budget (you can register here to provide oral or written testimony) and the House Appropriations Committee will also meet at 4:00 p.m. on Monday (with follow up scheduled for Wednesday at 4:00 p.m. if they go into overtime). The House Appropriations Committee will focus on the Operating Budget and you can register here to provide oral or written testimony.

Tuesday, the Senate and House of Representatives will gather in the House Chamber for a Joint Session to hear Governor Ferguson present his annual State of the State address at noon. You can catch the address live on TVW.org or later on TVW’s media archives.

Finally, on Thursday, Jan. 15th, the Senate Early Learning and K-12 Committee will hold a work session at 10:30 a.m. entitled “Washington’s child care monitoring and accountability systems.” Work sessions differ from public hearings in that presenters must be invited, and members of the public are not able to provide testimony or comments. We will cover this work session in next week’s Notes From Olympia.

Bills, Bills, Bills

With a short, 60-day session, the process moves quickly. So, it is no surprise that the schedule for week one is filled with bill hearings. Well over 300 bills were pre-filed before the start of the legislative session. Advocates are well aware that the first legislative cutoff is fast approaching on Feb. 4th.

As of this writing, there are a limited number of hearings scheduled on early learning bills for week one, but that does not mean early learning will not be a topic of conversation.

• HB 2219 (Ortiz-Self), Enhancing the Operational Efficiency of Child Care Providers. Scheduled for a hearing in the House Early Learning and Human Services Committee on Wednesday, Jan. 14th, this bill would require DCYF to waive the early learning program preservice requirement to complete a department-provided orientation for any individual who has previously completed the applicable orientation. It would also adjust maximum group size and staff-to-child ratios for child care centers to account for staff meal- and rest-breaks.

Friday, Jan. 16th is early learning day in the House Early Learning and Human Services Committee with the following bills scheduled for public hearing:

• HB 2099 (Leavitt), Expanding Access to ECEAP for Military Families. This bill would amend ECEAP eligibility requirements to allow children from military families with incomes above 36 percent of the State Median Income, but at or below the household income for Working Connections Child Care eligibility, to be eligible for ECEAP. Its companion is SB 5907 (Nobles) which has not yet been scheduled for a public hearing.
• HB 2317 (Eslick), Concerning Early Learning Licensing Program Requirements. This bill amends current state licensing statute to add to the definition of “agency” a part-day or school-day ECEAP program or Head Start program that is located in a public school building or on public school property.
• HB 2318 (Eslick), Adjusting the Early Achievers Quality Improvement Awards. This bill would change the qualifications for Early Achievers Quality Improvement Awards to specify that the awards would apply to programs with populations consisting of a total of at least five percent of enrolled children who are receiving a state subsidy, participating in the early childhood education and assistance program, or participating in the head start program. (Proposed additions are underscored).

Following is a summary of a couple of the other bills we will be watching and engaging with this session. As a reminder, each Thursday, Start Early Washington updates its bill tracker with the latest information on bills we are following. Note that we have only included pre-filed bills in this week’s tracker. Other bills from the biennium could still be addressed this session. If we have missed any bills of interest, please reach out and flag them for us!

• HB 2159 (Bergquist)/SB 5872 (Wilson, C.), Establishing the PreK Promise Account. Companion bills (meaning they are identical), these bills establish the account for the state to accept the gift from Ballmer Group to support expansions to the Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program (ECEAP).
• HB 2282 (Bernbaum), Supporting the Implementation of Transition to Kindergarten Programs. This bill would direct the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) to prioritize Transition to Kindergarten funding for programs that did not operate in either the 2024-25 or 2025-26 school years but submitted a notice to implement and administer a program to OSPI prior to June 1, 2025.

Tips for Visiting the Capitol Campus this Legislative Session

Navigating the Capitol Campus can be challenging during the legislative session. The Department of Enterprise Services released a handy-dandy tip sheet with information on everything from parking options to food options (which are limited) to even lactation rooms. If you are making your way to Olympia this year, bookmark this link!

Suggestions welcomed! Have an idea for an item you would like to see covered in an upcoming “Notes From Olympia?” Confused about an aspect of the legislative process? (You likely aren’t the only one!) Privy to a piece of history that would make for a juicy “trivia” topic? Send them our way!