The Washington State Legislature is facing another multibillion-dollar budget shortfall for the upcoming 2026 legislative session, caused primarily by Trump Administration cuts to health and human services, and a tax revenue shortfall. We anticipate lawmakers trying to backfill some of the underfunded health and human services programs, meaning cuts in other areas like natural resources. There is a very real possibility that revenue from the Climate Commitment Act (CCA) will be reallocated towards programs that are on the chopping block.
While Sierra Club Washington State firmly believes in the need for new, progressive sources of revenue (such as a wealth tax), this short session, we will be watching state lawmakers’ reaction to the shortfall and how they protect and prioritize climate policies and investments. Opportunities for environmental progress may come from a variety of places, but they will only be feasible this session if the budget impact is very low.
Here are our top priorities for the 2026 legislative session:
Defend the CCA, MTCA and Core Environmental Funding
We will push back on attempts to siphon off crucial investments in clean energy, EV infrastructure, and support to marginalized communities for weatherization and climate adaptation. We will fight to protect investments in salmon recovery and efforts to protect our public lands, especially in light of the attacks from the Trump administration . We encourage options to boost state tax revenue including eliminating unnecessary tax breaks (e.g., tax incentives for data centers).
Invest in Forests & Progressive Lands Management
We want to give the Department of Natural Resources the ability to generate revenue from ecoservices, such as selling carbon credits – an essential step towards saving our legacy forests and supplementing income from State Trust Land. Additionally, we support continued investment in Trust Land Transfer (TLT) projects, which - through local groups and volunteer leaders - identifies and nominates state lands for transfer of management to different agencies and tribal nations.
Protect Our Climate, Water, and Electricity Rates from Data Centers
We must fight the unregulated expansion of data centers by ensuring they are powered by clean energy, protect low-income and residential ratepayers, report energy and water use transparently, and don't interfere with salmon protection.
Maintain Momentum for Saving Snake/Columbia River Salmon
We need to fund two studies in support of salmon recovery in the Columbia River Basin. First, we need to examine how to best replace the modest energy generated from the lower Snake River dams. Second, we must evaluate the benefits of a restored river and salmon runs. Both are critical steps towards the removal of the four Lower Snake River dams, restoring salmon populations, and positioning our economy for the future.
Other Key Priorities
While those are our top priorities, we are tracking several other opportunities this session. Here are some examples:
- Wolf Recovery. We will insist that wolves are protected from downlisting, giving them a chance to stay on a path toward successful recovery throughout Washington state.
- Energy Affordability. There are several bills that will help low-income Washingtonians keep utility services active, promote electrification of homes and businesses and lower electricity bills.
- Defeating Incentives for Nuclear Power. Nuclear power is extremely expensive, unsafe, and unreliable. The world’s richest companies shouldn’t receive vital tax dollars to support their boondoggles.
- Bottle Bill. We support a plan to offer $0.10 per bottle returned to incentivize recycling and reduce waste.
- Wildfire Funding. We support the DNR’s request to acquire $60 million for wildfire mitigation and community preparedness.
- Transmission & Siting Reform. We support efforts to make our electrical grid more resilient so Washington is able to site more clean energy projects.
- No Coal Act. Pushing the state’s pension fund out of investments in companies supporting coal infrastructure.
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