NAIOPWA Legislative Session Report - Week 15

Krystelle Purkey and Ehren Flygare, State Lobbyists

With just two days left of the 2025 regular legislative session, there is speculation that we may be headed into a special session if lawmakers are unable to agree on a budget by sine die.

Rent Caps Bill Gets Another Round of Changes in Conference Committee

Revenue Proposals: A Race to the Finish Line
The most current Democrat tax suite projects a revenue of approximately $12.2 billion over the four-year outlook.

Major tax bills still in play include an excise tax on zero-emissions vehicle credits, an expansion of the capital gains and estate taxes, a B&O tax on high-grossing businesses, sales tax on certain services, tax preference repeals, and a possible watered-down wealth tax poised to test the constitutionality of the policy. Governor Ferguson has signaled his opposition to the original wealth tax proposal that hoped to raised an estimated $2-4 billion over the next biennium.

NAIOPWA Legislative Session Report - Week 14

Krystelle Purkey and Ehren Flygare, State Lobbyists

The Opposite House floor cutoff on Wednesday came and went quietly, leaving many policy bills dead on the calendar—a disappointing outcome for advocates who had hoped for progress on their legislation and a win for legislators and lobbyists wishing for the demise of certain proposed policies. Despite the looming deadline, neither the House nor the Senate designated a “5 p.m. bill,” and both chambers adjourned their sessions promptly at or before 5 p.m. Meanwhile, members of the Senate Ways and Means Committee quickly transitioned to a 5:30 p.m. scheduled hearing focused on new revenue proposals, underscoring the ongoing discussions about the state's fiscal strategy even as a major legislative deadline passed.

Majority Democrats Propose New Revenue Measures

Democratic lawmakers are exploring several new tax proposals aimed at generating revenue for public services, education, and healthcare. But on Thursday afternoon, seventeen hours before the $12 billion tax package was set to be voted on in Senate Ways & Means, Governor Bob Ferguson voiced concerns in a press release, calling it "too risky." Ferguson did not however present any level of revenue policy he would sign, or specific programmatic cuts he would recommend.

NAIOPWA Legislative Session Report - Week 13

Krystelle Purkey and Ehren Flygare, State Lobbyists

With the passing of the Tuesday, April 8 deadline for bills to be voted out of fiscal committees, the legislative process now enters its next phase. Both the House and Senate will shift their focus to floor debates, caucus, and conference committee negotiations as they work through the last two weeks of the 2025 regular legislative session. The next deadline of consequence is the Opposite Floor Cutoff on April 16 by which bills must be voted out of the opposite chamber.

Although the broader legislature remains focused on voting on policy bills through April 16, budget negotiations are ongoing behind the scenes. Fiscal leaders are grappling with how to reconcile their funding priorities with concerns raised by Governor Ferguson last week, especially around proposed revenue measures. The central challenge is finding common ground between legislative goals and the governor’s push for reduced spending and less new revenue.

NAIOPWA Legislative Session Report - Week 12

Krystelle Purkey and Ehren Flygare, State Lobbyists

As the iconic campus cherry blossoms bloom and the deadline for bills to be voted out of fiscal committees approaches on Tuesday, April 8, the Washington State Legislature is entering the final stretch of the 2025 regular session. This marks a crucial phase in the legislative process, where lawmakers race against time to advance their proposals before critical cutoff dates.

Following the April 8 deadline, legislators will shift their focus to intense floor debates and caucus discussions, working long hours to negotiate and pass bills before the opposite house floor cutoff on Wednesday, April 16. As the session winds down, the stakes are high, with advocates, stakeholders, and policymakers pulling out the stops and closely watching the fate of key measures that may either advance or pause until the next session.

NAIOPWA Legislative Session Report - Week 11

Krystelle Purkey and Ehren Flygare, State Lobbyists

With just one month left of the 2025 regular legislative session, the deadline for bills to be voted out of policy committees is Wednesday, April 2. After this date, there is a very tight six-day turnaround for bills that have an impact on the state budget to be voted out of fiscal committees. This brief window of time means that lawmakers will have to act quickly to ensure that bills with fiscal implications, but are not NTIB, receive the necessary attention before they can move forward in the legislative process.

Speaker Emeritus Frank Chopp Passes Away
The legislative community was shocked this week by the news that former Representative, Speaker Emeritus Frank Chopp (D-43) died on Saturday at the age of 71.  Chopp was elected to the Legislature in 1994, a year when his Democratic Party suffered significant losses, dropping from a near supermajority in the House to a 62-36 minority.

In 1997, he became House Minority Leader and when the House was evenly split between Democrats and Republicans in 1999, he served as co-speaker alongside Republican Clyde Ballard of East Wenatchee.

NAIOPWA Legislative Session Report - Week 10

Krystelle Purkey and Ehren Flygare, State Lobbyists

This week, regular legislative activity primarily revolved around policy committee hearings, where lawmakers reviewed and debated bills that had recently advanced from the opposite chamber.

Some of these include high profile bills like Unemployment Insurance for Striking Workers (5041), Waste Management (5284), Firearm Restrictions in Sensitive Places (5098) and Rent Stabilization (1217). These hearings are part of the lead up to the April 2 deadline for bills to be passed out of policy committees.

NAIOPWA Legislative Session Report - Week 9

Krystelle Purkey and Ehren Flygare, State Lobbyists

Wednesday, March 12, marked the critical deadline for bills to advance out of their chambers of origin. With this milestone passed, legislative focus now shifts to the next phase: bills making their way across the rotunda to be considered by policy committees in the opposite chamber. 

Each floor cutoff day brings anticipation with one recurring question—what will be the “5 p.m. bill?” According to legislative rules, so long as the bill’s process begins before the 5 p.m. deadline, discussions can continue well into the evening. So sometimes, the bill was brought up the day prior or earlier in the day, only to be finished later, even brought up again at 4:59pm or later. This final bill of the day often carries symbolic weight. Sometimes, it's a contentious measure that sparks extended debate, stretching late into the night. Other times, it's a broadly supported, feel-good proposal—perhaps a resolution honoring a local hero, commemorating an historic event, or recognizing a cause that garners bipartisan backing. This year, we witnessed both types of bills.

NAIOPWA Legislative Session Report - Week 1

Krystelle Purkey and Ehren Flygare, State Lobbyists

The Washington State Legislature started off with a bang this session. On Day 1 the rent cap bill was up for a public hearing in the House of Representatives Housing Committee. Over 700 people signed in to testify on the bill. Ultimately, the House kept the hearing to less than an hour and wrapped before panels were completed. The House Bill, HB 1217, will be voted out of the House Housing Committee on Monday.

The Senate Bill, SB 5222, sponsored by Senator Trudeau, will be heard in the Senate Housing Committee on Wednesday, January 22, at 1:30 p.m. The second sponsor on the bill is now-Senator Mike Chapman, who voted against the bill on the House Floor last year.

To read the full legislative update using your NAIOPWA member profile, click here. 

Developer Rob Aigner Inducted into NAIOPWA Hall of Fame; Vulcan Real Estate Takes Home Developer of the Year Trophy

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact: Sarah Warnberg, [email protected]
 
BELLEVUE—Announced Friday evening at the Night of the Stars Gala, the Night of the Stars winners feature a premier slate of development projects and top brokers in the Puget Sound region.  Winners represented widespread innovation and excellence across office, retail, industrial, hospitality, and multifamily development.

Notable winning projects include a massive Microsoft modernization project, East Campus Modernization Project; dedicated practice facility for Seattle’s WNBA team, the Seattle Storm; and Holland Partner Group’s newest high-rise residential tower, The Ayer, among others.  Vulcan Real Estate was named the Developer of the Year for their expansive portfolio, market leadership in sustainability and diversity, and nimbleness in changing market conditions.  The full list of winners is below.

NAIOPWA Announces 2024 Night of the Stars Finalists & First Winners: Historic Renovation, Local Taproom, & Tenant-Focused Industrial Project Ushering Community Renaissance

 

People’s Choice Award with Daily Voting on the NAIOPWA website begins Wednesday, September 18

 

SEATTLE – Announced today at the “Women Who Build Seattle” breakfast panel, finalists for NAIOP Washington State’s 2024 Night of the Stars Awards showcased the premier commercial real estate developments that are revitalizing the Puget Sound region, from office and residential towers to well-positioned industrial and biotech campuses.  

This year, finalists include six candidates for Developer of the Year, representing a mix of industrial, multifamily, mixed use and office developers.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Media contact: Sarah Warnberg, [email protected]

NAIOPWA to Partner with Commercial Brokers Association on Industry Awards

Commercial real estate association now soliciting nominations for 2024 awards cycle recognizing leading brokers in Washington State.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact: Sarah Warnberg, [email protected]

The Seattle City Council recently rejected a proposal to move forward with a comprehensive plan amendment that would pave the way for Transportation Impact Fees in the City. As a commercial real estate association that advocates on behalf of our members, NAIOP Washington State opposed this effort to add unnecessary and harmful fees to the already costly development process. Though the City made the right decision, other municipalities continue to consider impact fees or fee increases, and the proposal could come forward again in Seattle in the future.

In 2023, NAIOP Washington State successfully defeated a bill during the legislative session that would have increased the real estate excise tax (REET). We anticipate similar legislation during the 2024 Washington State Legislative Session. During this session, REET may be rebranded as a “transfer tax.”  While we were previously successful in our efforts to stop a REET increase from moving forward, NAIOPWA’s Government Affairs team is actively engaged to defeat its passage once again.

With the start of the 2024 Washington State legislative session, bills overturning the current state pre-emption to rent control have been brought forward, as well as proposals which would implement state-wide rent control measures.  We strongly oppose any efforts to implement rent control, as well as efforts to overturn the state’s pre-emption.  It is important to take a sober look at why rent control is bad policy.

The latest results of the 2023 Seattle City Council election indicate a new phase for NAIOPWA’s local advocacy.  Through a substantial fundraising effort, we were able to support candidates in key races who offer a change in direction for many important issues our industry faces.

SEATTLE – NAIOP Washington State is proud to announce the SIOR Broker of the Year Finalists.  These finalists are recognized for their outstanding achievements in office, industrial and investment brokerage.  SIOR, the Society of Industrial and Office Realtors, is the leading global professional office and industrial real estate association.  The winners of the following SIOR Broker of the Year categories will be announced alongside this year's outstanding development projects at the 2023 Night of the Stars gala and awards ceremony at the Hyatt Regency Bellevue on Friday, November 3, 2023. 

Tom Parsons, prominent figure of the Puget Sound commercial real estate community, will be inducted into the NAIOP Washington State Hall of Fame on Nov. 3 at the annual Night of the Stars awards ceremony and gala. The honoree is well-known for his time at Holland Partner Group, where he served as Executive Managing Director. Parsons was responsible for all development operations and strategic planning, including site acquisition and project entitlement, design, and execution. He oversaw the development of over 5,000 apartment units while at the company.

The 2023 inductee previously held roles at Opus Northwest, Fisher Properties, and Bircher McDonald Frank before joining Holland. He has taken many leadership roles throughout his professional career, including serving as President of NAIOP Washington State in 2001. His professional affiliations include 20+ years as a member of NAIOPWA and extend to NMHC, ULI, DSA, and the Seattle Chamber of Commerce. In addition, Parsons has been a longtime volunteer with the Boys and Girls Clubs of King County on the organization's Champions Council. 

2023 NAIOPWA Night of the Stars Finalists & First Winners Announced | Annual People’s Choice Award with Daily Voting Runs Sept 20 – Oct 6

SEATTLE – Announced at NAIOP Washington State’s September Breakfast, the slate of competitors for the association’s annual Night of the Stars Awards once again showcases the best commercial real estate development projects across the state completed in the past year. With the announcement, People's Choice voting begins online and runs through Weds., Oct. 6. 

Vote for People's Choice!

 

The 2023 legislative session drew to a close in April, marking the end of a session that has been billed by some as the ‘Year of Housing’ for Washington State. A remarkable 1,776 bills were introduced, and a staggering number of those bills pertained to housing, development, and commercial real estate.

NAIOP Washington State, a nonpartisan organization committed to creating a favorable political and regulatory environment for the commercial real estate industry, engaged deeply with lawmakers to advise on these bills and advocate for our industry. Lawmakers engaged NAIOPWA’s Government Affairs Committee leadership before session, requesting input on proposed bills and assistance in authoring bills, and continued to engage with NAIOPWA throughout the legislative session.