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Dear Friends and Neighbors,
The 2026 legislative session adjourned on March 12. It was an intense, short 60-day session with some wins and losses. Once again, the majority party increased spending and passed legislation and policies that will negatively impact families, employers, and communities across Washington.
There were some positives that came out of Olympia. Our region will see some taxpayer dollars come back to it in the capital budget and we stopped several bad bills from becoming passed. I was also able to get my first bill signed into law. Unfortunately, the OD mapping bill died, surprisingly, in the final hours of the session.
This brief end-of-session review breaks down some of the positives and negatives. If you have any questions about the information in this update or the legislative session, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Town hall events
Rep. Gloria Mendoza and I are holding two town hall events at the end of April. Our colleagues in the 15th District, Reps. Chris Corry and Rep. Jeremie Dufault will be joining us for one of the events. With neighboring districts and many of the issues impacting our communities overlapping, we wanted to give folks in both districts and in the Yakima Valley region the opportunity to attend an event with the four of us. Details are below. We look forward to seeing you.
14th District
Rep. Deb Manjarrez and Rep. Gloria Mendoza
Tuesday, April 28 | 6 p.m. – 8 p.m.
Astria Toppenish Hospital
502 West 4th Avenue
Toppenish
14th and 15th Districts
Rep. Deb Manjarrez, Rep. Gloria Mendoza, Rep. Chris Corry, and Rep. Jeremie Dufault
Monday, April 27 | 6 p.m. – 8 p.m.
Excel Youth Center
1001 North 9th Street
Yakima
First bill signed, housing task force
I had my first bill signed into law this session. House Bill 2151 aligns Washington with national standards for factory-built housing and commercial structures. The change is intended to streamline regulations, reduce unnecessary costs, and support faster construction of housing and commercial buildings across the state.
With Washington in the middle of a serious housing affordability crisis, this will help ease the costs of factory-built or modular housing and help open the door for more innovative housing solutions.
I have also been appointed to the governor’s task force charged with developing recommendations to establish a Washington State Department of Housing, aimed at improving coordination and long-term housing policy across the state.
I look forward to working on our state’s affordable housing crisis.
Overdose mapping and community response
One of my priorities this session was to make progress in battling Washington’s drug crisis and devastating overdose epidemic. Communities need better tools to respond. Unfortunately, my overdose mapping legislation, House Bill 2168, died in the last hours of the session. I am disappointed as it passed the House and Senate, and the two chambers were working out the differences in the bill. However, concerns were brought up at the last minute in the House. Concerns that I believe were already addressed in the bill. I will continue to work on this issue as our communities need better tools to respond to the drug crisis.
The measure would have established a statewide overdose mapping system to identify where overdoses are occurring in real time, allowing emergency responders, public health officials, and local communities to better direct resources and save lives. Other states and entities are using this system.
Operating budget
After passing the largest tax increase in state history last year, the majority party increased spending and passed new taxes. I voted against the supplemental operating budget on the last day of session.
The supplemental operating budget will spend an additional $2.3 billion and assumes $2.7 billion in tax increases over the four-year outlook. This, after budget writers spent $6 billion more last year and increased taxes by more than $9 billion. The budget is now more than $80 billion and continues a pattern of unsustainable spending. (See chart below).
The operating budget assumes a new state income tax, raids LEOFF Plan 1 pension funds, and cuts $250 million from K-12 education by targeting rural schools and early learning programs. It also cuts Medicaid by $202 million after the $780 million cut last year. It is disappointing that despite our record spending, we are cutting education, Medicaid and programs that hurt our rural communities.
State income tax
As I mentioned, and you are probably aware, the majority party passed a new income tax. Senate Bill 6346 passed despite House Republicans offering 53 amendments during a nonstop, 24-hour floor debate. You can read the statement Rep. Gloria Mendoza and I issued after the debate on our “no” votes here.
The legislation only applies to high earners now, but I feel it is only a matter of time before the threshold is lowered to reach more people in the near future. The majority party rejected amendments that would have safeguarded lower-income earners from ever having to pay this tax. They also rejected amendments to let the people decide the issue. I believe this tax is unconstitutional, and it will be challenged.
Capital budget
I voted for the supplemental capital budget as it focuses on investments in public infrastructure, community facilities, and economic development projects that strengthen local communities and support long-term growth throughout the 14th District and the surrounding region. It includes $13.3 million for projects in our region, including:
- Glenwood school construction: $6 million
- Yakima Behavioral Health Hub: $1.55 million
- Finley School District HVAC: $1.5 million
- Pasco Regional Police Academy improvements: $1 million
- City of Granger facilities, community center, and library: $633,000
- Yakima Valley Farm Workers Clinic: $515,000
- Yakama Nation trust land transfer: $400,000
- Yakima County Med detox planning and design: $309,000
- Pasco Symbiosis Park North American Analysis: $258,000
- Yakima Valley Local Crime Lab relocation predesign: $258,000
- Sunnyside Property Acquisition: $257,000
- Mabton Police Department: $188,000
- Toppenish playground equipment: $155,000
- Central Washington Fair agricultural livestock barn improvements: $150,000
- Maryhill Museum repair: $129,000
- Wapato public safety building renovation: $103,000
- American Hop Museum: $84,000
- Columbia Grange 87 projects: $74,000
- Mabton school construction planning: $43,000
- Lyle playground: $26,000
- Benton Franklin Humane Society medical suite infrastructure improvements: $21,000
Initiatives
Lawmakers did not act on initiatives to protect girls’ sports (IL26-638) or strengthen parental rights (IL26-001). Since no legislative action was taken, both initiatives will advance to the November ballot, and Washington voters will decide if they pass or not.
Since the majority-party Democrats chose not to hold public hearings on the initiatives and not to allow them to come to the House and Senate floors for votes, Republicans in the House and Senate held listening sessions for both initiatives on February 3. If these two initiatives had come to the House floor, I would have voted for them.
Stay in touch
Thank you for allowing me to serve you. It is an honor to represent the 14th District. Although session is over, I work for you year-round. Please do not hesitate to contact me with your ideas, comments, questions, and concerns.
Sincerely,
Deb Manjarrez
