Good morning parent leaders!
Today, February 2, is day 22 of the 2026 Regular Session. There are 38 days left in this session.
This session, lawmakers’ main job is to figure out how to balance the budget and make sure spending matches the money available.Washington is facing a budget shortfall, which means there isn’t enough money to fully fund schools and childcare, healthcare, housing, and other essential services. Many say that cuts alone won’t solve the problem, so they’re also looking at “progressive revenue”, taxes that ask wealthier people and big corporations to pay more, while keeping the burden lighter for working families.
What Is Progressive Revenue?
A progressive tax system asks:
Washington’s current tax system is mostly “regressive”, meaning lower-income families already pay a bigger share of their income through sales, property, and business taxes than wealthy residents.
A recent tax analysis from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, found that the poorest 20% of Washington families pay about 13.8% of their income in state and local taxes, while the wealthiest 1% pay about 4.1%. This shows that lower-income families pay a much larger share of their income in taxes than the richest households.
Why It’s Complicated
Washington doesn’t have a personal income tax, and the state constitution doesn’t allow an income tax that charges richer people a higher rate than everyone else. That means lawmakers can’t simply create a normal progressive income tax like most other states have. Changing this would require a constitutional amendment, which means getting a two-thirds vote in the legislature and approval from voters statewide.
What Options Are Lawmakers Considering?
Because a standard income tax isn’t allowed, lawmakers are exploring other ways to raise revenue from those most able to pay:
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Wealth taxes, like the governor’s proposed “millionaire’s tax”
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Capital gains taxes, which tax profits from selling investments like stocks, bonds, or property
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Corporate tax changes
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High-end property or estate tax reforms
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Closing tax loopholes
The goal is to raise funds without cutting essential services or putting more burden on working families. Critics worry that new taxes could raise costs, affect jobs, or create economic uncertainty, while supporters say they focus on wealthier individuals rather than working families.
The Bottom Line
Lawmakers must make tough choices to balance the budget, deciding what programs to fund, what to cut, and how to raise the money needed to keep services running.
What You Can Do
Learn and take action: Start with the Office of Financial Management (OFM) to understand why revenue isn’t keeping up with costs. Then, share your opinion with your legislators. They want to hear what’s important to you and your community as they shape Washington’s budget.
Bills of Interest
As the legislature continues its work, here are a few bills you may want to learn more about. All of them have public hearings this week. Public hearings are your chance to use your voice by signing in, submitting written testimony, and/or testifying virtually or in person. These opportunities are time-limited, so be sure to act quickly. Click on each bill number below to learn more and participate.
SB 6186 - Directing the department of social and health services to apply for a waiver from the United States department of agriculture restricting the use of supplemental nutrition assistance program benefits from being used to purchase unhealthy foods such as candy and sweetened beverages.
SB 6212 - creates a pilot program that gives monthly cash payments to families with children to help reduce child poverty and improve family well-being.
HB 2555 - Concerning medicaid coverage for traditional health care practices.
SB 5849 - Making financial education a graduation requirement in Washington state.
