As is often the case, this year’s legislative session in Olympia ended up being a mixed bag for families living on low incomes in Washington state.
On one hand, lawmakers passed a historic rent stabilization bill and avoided the worst potential cuts to services while working to overcome a $16 billion deficit. On the other hand, the legislature still made $5.9 billion in cuts to services that Washington residents rely on, halved Medicaid Dental reimbursement rates, and missed an opportunity to help address our state’s regressive tax structure by implementing a new wealth tax.
In the end, the legislature and governor disproportionately placed the burden of balancing the budget on families who are already struggling – but not to the extent that we feared.
To learn more about the good and bad of this legislative session, and what it says about our state, check out Statewide Poverty Action Network’s 2025-27 Final Budget Analysis.

Members of the Poverty Action team fighting for progressive revenue in Olympia.
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