Big changes are coming to the Washington State Senate in 2025, including the elevation of incoming Senator Jessica Bateman to a high profile post as head of the Housing Committee, a symbol of the continued salience of the issue.

The Urbanist sat down with State Rep. Jessica Bateman, who is running for the Washington State Senate pledging to bring the same urgency around housing issues that she has brought to the lower chamber.

Check out our top ten lawmakers who distinguished themselves for good and bad from the 2024 session of the Washington State Legislature.

The "Year of Housing 2.0" at the state legislature yielded less progress than expected. Our March 26 virtual event will conduct an autopsy.

The state's 60-day legislative session wrapped on March 7 with only a few housing bills headed to Governor Inslee's desk. Rent stabilization, transit-oriented development, lot-splitting, and a builder's remedy all failed to pass.

A bill pushed by Bothell Rep. Davina Duerr and approved by the Washington legislature this week would prioritize trees when retention policies come into conflict with local parking mandates.

A popular neighborhood cafe bill that sailed through the Washington House has run into problems in the Senate, mostly dealing with the question of local control. The Association of Washington Cities and the City of Bellevue have lobbied against the bill.

Last week, the Washington House passed HB 2160, which has the potential to open up significant areas around transit for new homes. Hurdles remain to win passage in the Senate, including objections to the bill's requirement that 10% of new units be affordable.