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.

Democrats regained control of the chamber after winning a special election in Snohomish County in 2001, and Chopp was appointed speaker in 2002. He held the position until stepping down in 2019, stating that he wanted to “focus more energy on the issues that matter most and are priorities for the caucus.”

Chopp is generally regarded by members of both parties as a giant in Washington politics and is credited with leading the effort to create the Housing Trust Fund, Apple Health and Homes Program, and Apple Health for Kids.

Democrat Operating Budgets Released
Washington’s House and Senate Democrats released their operating budgets on Monday. Both budgets hinge on significant new tax revenues over the next four years—$17 billion in the Senate plan and $15 billion in the House plan.

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