After 105 days, it’s over. The 2025 Washington legislative session concluded at the end of April. It was a challenging session. While mourning the loss of leaders like Frank Chopp and Senator Bill Ramos, legislators grappled with a $12 billion deficit in the operating budget over four years, and an $8 billion deficit in the transportation budget over six years. Despite this brutal budget outlook, we helped ensure minimal cuts to transit, walking, and biking programs — and even won new funding for some of our most important priorities.
As we reflect on this session, let’s look back at our top priorities identified in our 2025 Legislative Agenda. We are proud to highlight the impactful wins we secured for communities across Washington. And, we still have work to do. Our focus remains on making transportation more accessible, equitable, and safe across the state.
Defending Climate Commitment Act Funding
Washington’s Climate Commitment Act (CCA) is a landmark policy TCC helped pass, alongside the 2022 Move Ahead Washington package. Funded by a cap-and-trade system targeting major polluters, the CCA supports equitable, sustainable transportation—like safer walking and biking, improved transit, and free rides for 1.6 million youth. When a 2024 initiative threatened the CCA, we helped defeat it, with 62% of voters backing the legislation.
Unfortunately, the CCA has also become a shiny bucket of funding that some legislators are eager to tap for things like highway expansion projects. This year, we helped defeat HB 1324, which would have diverted CCA funds for highway purposes. Because of the Washington Constitution’s 18th Amendment, highway projects already have a dedicated pot of funding through the state’s gas tax and vehicle fees. This means the taxes and fees drivers pay to own a car and at the pump can only go to road construction and maintenance, and not things like public transit. That’s why Climate Commitment Act funding is so important. TCC will continue the fight to ensure that this voter-backed legislation is used as intended – to fund trails and transit, and not to backfill budgets for more highway expansion.
$100 Million for Our Megaproject for Safety Proposal
In 2023, more Washingtonians lost their lives to traffic violence than in any year since 1990. More people died walking and biking than in any year on record. This is especially true on state highways that run through our communities, like Aurora Avenue in Seattle, Division Street in Spokane, and Pacific Avenue in Tacoma. These are our busiest transit streets, and where many people must walk, bike, roll, and ride to get to healthcare, buy groceries, and see loved ones. We want legislators to tackle the traffic safety crisis head-on by putting Washingtonians to work fixing these dangerous roads. That’s why this year we advocated for a Megaproject for Safety to transform high-risk corridors into safer main streets.
Despite a particularly difficult budget year in Olympia, we won $100 million starting in the 2027–29 biennium to invest in safety improvements on these critical routes. While this is less than we initially requested, it lays an essential foundation for the future. The Megaproject for Safety went from a big idea at the beginning of session to being a budgeted line item at the end. It was funded despite an $8 billion transportation budget shortfall and so many competing priorities. While we’ll have more work ahead to shape this investment, keep it in the budget, and expand it over time, this win is worth celebrating.
$5 Million for Intercity Bus Expansion
Another top priorities was the Travel Washington Intercity Bus Program, which links small towns and rural areas to local bus networks and cities. A partnership between WSDOT and private bus operators, the program offers four routes across Washington and provides over 30,000 essential trips per year for rural communities in the state. It is a lifeline for many rural residents who need to travel but can’t drive, connecting them to vital services and opportunities like healthcare, employment, and loved ones.
We secured $5 million in the 2025–27 biennium to expand this vital program. While less than the $12 million per year we and WSDOT had requested for the program, this funding represents a step forward in ensuring that rural residents aren’t left behind in our transportation system. It will allow WSDOT to take the next steps to add new lines between communities like Ellensburg and the Tri-Cities or Spokane and Moses Lake, or to increase the frequency of service on existing lines between areas like SeaTac and Port Angeles and Ellensburg and Omak.
More Work to Do for a “Fix It First” Approach to Transportation Spending
We wanted to ensure that the state prioritized maintenance and preservation of existing infrastructure over costly highway expansion projects. Historically, the state’s transportation budget allocates around 10 percent to road preservation and maintenance and 5 percent to public transit, compared to more than 33 percent for highway improvements. The closure of the Carbon River bridge to Mt Rainier this spring showed the urgency. With the state facing a transportation budget deficit this year, we urged lawmakers to direct limited gas tax revenues, already restricted to roads and highways by the 18th Amendment, toward fully funding the upkeep of the roads and bridges we already have. Maintaining existing infrastructure not only saves taxpayer money over time but also creates thousands of jobs and supports safety and mobility as our population grows.
The outcomes this year are a mixed bag. Out of the $11.8 billion WSDOT budget for the 2025-2027 biennium, 36% of funds are allocated to highway improvements to expand capacity. However, all of this money is allocated to finish projects that are already planned or under construction. No new highway expansion projects were added to the budget. In the short term, there are no additional investments in maintenance and preservation, but starting in the 2027-2029 biennium there will be an additional $200 million. While this represents progress, it still falls short of what’s needed to keep Washington’s roads in a state of good repair.
A Transformative Road Usage Charge Advanced, but Fell Short
Washington legislators have known for years that they need to find a new sustainable funding source for transportation. One of the most promising solutions is a Road Usage Charge, a per-mile fee that drivers would pay, instead of paying for gallons of gas they purchase. This would help ensure that all drivers contribute fairly to funding Washington’s transportation system, regardless of vehicle type, fuel efficiency, or whether they drive an electric or gas-powered car. TCC supports a Road Usage Charge that will help secure new long-term funding for transportation in the face of declining gas tax revenue.
Representative Jake Fey introduced HB 1921 to establish a Road Usage Charge, creating dedicated funding for road maintenance and new revenue for transit, walking, and biking. The bill prioritized fixing existing infrastructure over highway expansion and included a 10% surcharge exclusively for non-highway uses. The bill’s commitment to fix existing infrastructure instead of building new highways was a huge win that could have eventually ended the era of highway expansion in Washington. Though it died in committee, the bill marked significant progress, and TCC will continue advocating for this equitable solution amid declining gas tax revenues.
Proposed Transit Safety Funding Fails to Advance
TCC believes both riders and operators deserve to feel safe and secure on public transit. We support reducing safety incidents while minimizing the use of punishment and police enforcement whenever possible. This year, we were encouraged to see a proposal in the Senate transportation budget that would have allocated $100 million in safety grants to transit agencies. These grants would have funded capital investments like better lighting and shelters at bus stops, and protective barriers for transit operators.
Unfortunately, the $100 million for transit safety was not included in the final budget. This was a missed opportunity to invest in infrastructure solutions to help both riders and drivers feel safe using transit. Still, the inclusion of the proposal in the House budget signals growing momentum for safety solutions in our built environment. TCC will continue advocating for community-based safety strategies that make transit more welcoming, accessible, and just for everyone who relies on it.
The Work Continues
While we made important gains this session, there’s still work to do. We will build on our wins and earn more funding for the Megaproject for Safety and intercity bus service. We will encourage our legislators to not dig the hole deeper on freeway expansions and commit to fixing our roadways first. And we will build momentum for a road usage charge to fund this work for the future. We’ll be back this fall outlining our priorities for the 2026 session – stay tuned!
