2026 Washington legislative session

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2026 Washington legislative session
General information
Scheduled session start:    Jan. 12, 2026 Scheduled session end:    March 12, 2026
Leadership
Senate President Denny Heck (D) House Speaker Laurie Jinkins (D) Majority Leader Senate: Jamie Pedersen (D) House: Joe Fitzgibbon (D) Minority Leader Senate: John Braun (R) House: Drew Stokesbary (R)
Elections
Next Election:    November 3, 2026 Last Election:    November 5, 2024
Previous legislative sessions
2025 • 2024 • 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018
Other 2026 legislative sessions
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In 2026, the Washington State Legislature is scheduled to convene on January 12, 2026, and adjourn on March 12, 2026.

The legislators serving in this session took office following the 2024 elections. Democrats won a 30-19 majority in the Senate and a 59-39 majority in the House. The party also controlled the governorship, creating a Democratic state government trifecta. At the start of the 2026 session, Washington was one of 23 state legislatures where neither party had a veto-proof supermajority in both chambers.

At the beginning of the 2026 legislative session:

Democrats held a majority in the Washington state House and state Senate.

Washington was one of 16 Democratic state government trifectas.

Washington's governor was Democrat Bob Ferguson.

Leadership in 2026

See also: Leadership positions in state legislatures

Washington State Senate

• Senate president: Denny Heck (D)
• Majority leader: Jamie Pedersen (D)
• Minority leader: John Braun (R)

Washington House of Representatives

• Speaker of the House: Laurie Jinkins (D)
• Majority leader: Joe Fitzgibbon (D)
• Minority leader: Drew Stokesbary (R)

Partisan control in 2026

See also: State government trifectas

Washington was one of 16 Democratic state government trifectas at the start of 2026 legislative sessions. A state government trifecta occurs when one political party holds the governor's office, a majority in the state Senate, and a majority in the state House. For more information about state government trifectas, click here.

Washington was also one of 23 state legislatures where neither party had a veto-proof supermajority in both chambers. Veto overrides occur when a legislature votes to reverse a veto issued by an executive such as a governor or the president. If one party has a majority in a state legislature that is large enough to override a gubernatorial veto without any votes from members of the minority party, it is called a veto-proof majority or, sometimes, a supermajority. To read more about veto-proof supermajorities in state legislatures, click here.

The following tables show the partisan breakdown of the Washington State Legislature in the 2026 legislative session.

Washington State Senate

Partisan composition, Washington State Senate

As of February 2026
Party	Members
Democratic	30
Republican	19
Other	0
Vacancies	0
Total	49

Washington House of Representatives

Partisan composition, Washington House of Representatives

As of February 2026
Party	Members
Democratic	59
Republican	39
Other	0
Vacancies	0
Total	98

Regular session

The list below shows up to 25 pieces of legislation in the 2026 legislative session that most recently passed both chambers of the legislature, were signed by the governor, or were approved by the legislature in a veto override. If no bills are displayed below, no legislation has met these criteria yet in 2026. This information is provided by BillTrack50.

Standing legislative committees

See also: Standing committee and List of committees in Washington state government

A standing committee of a state legislature is a committee that exists on a more-or-less permanent basis, from legislative session to session, that considers and refines legislative bills that fall under the committee's subject matter.

At the beginning of the 2026 legislative session, there were 39 standing committees in Washington's state government, including 13 joint legislative committees, 14 state Senate committees, and 12 state House committees.

Joint legislative committees

• Economic Development & International Relations Committee
• Joint Administrative Rules Review Committee
• Joint Employment Relations Committee
• Joint Energy Supply & Energy Conservation Committee
• Joint Higher Education Committee
• Joint Legislative Task Force on Water Resource Mitigation
• Joint Legislative Unanticipated Revenue Oversight Committee
• Joint Oregon-Washington Legislative Action Committee
• Joint Planning for Aging and Disability Issues Committee
• Joint Transportation Committee
• Joint Water Supply During Drought Committee
• Legislative Oral History Committee
• Pension Funding Council

Senate committees

• Agriculture, Water, Natural Resources & Parks Committee
• Business, Financial Services & Trade Committee
• Early Learning & K-12 Education Committee
• Environment, Energy & Technology Committee
• Health & Long Term Care Committee
• Higher Education & Workforce Development Committee
• Housing & Local Government Committee
• Human Services, Reentry & Rehabilitation Committee
• Labor, Commerce & Tribal Affairs Committee
• Law & Justice Committee
• Senate Rules Committee
• Senate Transportation Committee
• State Government, Tribal Relations & Elections Committee
• Ways & Means Committee

House committees

• Appropriations Committee
• Capital Budget Committee
• Civil Rights & Judiciary Committee
• Consumer Protection & Business Committee
• Education Committee
• Environment & Energy Committee
• Finance Committee
• House Local Government Committee
• House Rules Committee
• House Transportation Committee
• Housing Committee
• State Government & Tribal Relations Committee

Legislatively referred constitutional amendments

In every state but Delaware, voter approval is required to enact a constitutional amendment. In each state, the legislature has a process for referring constitutional amendments before voters. In 18 states, initiated constitutional amendments can be put on the ballot through a signature petition drive. There are also many other types of statewide measures.

The methods by which the Washington Constitution can be amended:

See also: Article XXIII of the Washington State Constitution and Laws governing ballot measures in Washington

The Washington Constitution provides two mechanisms for amending the state's constitution— a legislative process, and a state constitutional convention. Washington requires a simple majority vote (50% plus 1) for voters to approve constitutional amendments.

Legislature

See also: Legislatively referred constitutional amendment

According to Article XXIII, the state Legislature can refer constitutional amendments to the ballot for voters to decide. In Washington, a referred constitutional amendment requires a two-thirds (66.67%) vote in each chamber of the Washington State Legislature during one legislative session. That amounts to a minimum of 66 votes in the Washington House of Representatives and 33 votes in the Washington State Senate, assuming no vacancies. Amendments do not require the governor's signature to be referred to the ballot.

Convention

See also: Convention-referred constitutional amendment

According to Article XXIII of the Washington State Constitution, a two-thirds (66.67%) vote is required during one legislative session for the Washington State Legislature to place a constitutional convention question on the ballot. If a simple majority of voters approve the question, then the legislature needs to call for a convention during its next session.

Historical partisan control

The table below depicts the historical trifecta status of Washington.

Washington Party Control: 1992-2026
Twenty years of Democratic trifectas  •  No Republican trifectas
Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.

Year	92	93	94	95	96	97	98	99	00	01	02	03	04	05	06	07	08	09	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26
Governor	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D
Senate	R	D	D	D	D	R	R	D	D	D	D	R	R	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	R	R	R	R	R	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D
House	D	D	D	R	R	R	R	S	S	S	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D

Historical Senate control

Democrats won control of the Washington State Senate in 2018. In 2024, they won a 30-19 majority.

The table below shows the partisan history of the Washington Senate following every general election from 1992 to 2024. All data from 2006 or earlier comes from Michael Dubin's Party Affiliations in the State Legislatures (McFarland Press, 2007). Data after 2006 was compiled by Ballotpedia staff.

Washington State Senate election results: 1992-2024

Year	'92	'94	'96	'98	'00	'02	'04	'06	'08	'10	'12	'14	'16	'18	'20	'22	'24
Democrats	28	25	23	28	25	24	26	32	31	27	26	24	25	29	29	29	30
Republicans	21	24	26	21	24	25	23	17	18	22	23	25	24*	20	20	20	19

*A Democrat caucused with Republicans, giving the Republican Party a one-member majority.

Historical House control

Democrats won control of the Washington House of Representatives in 2002. In 2024, they won a 59-39 majority.

The table below shows the partisan history of the Washington House following every general election from 1992 to 2024. All data from 2006 or earlier comes from Michael Dubin's Party Affiliations in the State Legislatures (McFarland Press, 2007). Data after 2006 was compiled by Ballotpedia staff.

Washington House of Representatives election results: 1992-2024

Year	'92	'94	'96	'98	'00	'02	'04	'06	'08	'10	'12	'14	'16	'18	'20	'22	'24
Democrats	66	40	45	49	49	52	55	63	64	57	55	51	50	57	57	58	59
Republicans	32	58	53	49	49	46	43	35	34	41	43	47	48	41	41	40	39

Analysis

Adopted legislation, 2011-2024

See also: The State Legislative Decade - Washington

In 2024, Ballotpedia released analysis of bills enacted in each state in the preceding decade. The charts and table below detail legislation passed each year by party sponsorship.

See also

Elections	Washington State Government	State Legislatures	State Politics
Washington State Senate elections, 2026 Washington House of Representatives elections, 2026	Washington State Legislature Washington House of Representatives Washington State Senate Governor of Washington Washington Supreme Court	State legislative elections, 2026 State legislative special elections, 2026 State legislative elections, 2024 State legislative elections, 2022	State government trifectas State government triplexes Veto overrides in state legislatures State executives State courts Ballot measures

External links

• Search Google News for this topic
• Washington State Legislature homepage

Footnotes

State legislatures

Legislatures

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2026

State legislative elections (2026) • State legislative special elections (2026) • Primary dates and filing requirements • 2026 Session Dates

2025

State legislative elections (2025) • State legislative special elections (2025) • Primary dates and filing requirements • 2025 Session Dates

Historical elections

2024 • 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 • 2014 • 2013 • 2012 • 2011 • 2010 • 2009 • 2008 • 2007 • 2006 • 2005 • 2004 • 2003 • 2002 • 2001 • 2000

Features of state legislatures

How vacancies are filled in state legislatures • States with a full-time legislature • State legislatures with term limits • Comparison of state legislative salaries • When state legislators assume office after a general election • Population represented by state legislators • State constitutional articles governing state legislatures • State legislative sessions • Resign-to-run law • State legislature candidate requirements by state • Official names of state legislatures • State legislative chambers that use multi-member districts • Factors Affecting Competitiveness in State Legislative Elections

State senates

Length of terms of state senators • State senators • Partisan composition of state senates • State senators sorted by year first elected

State houses

Length of terms of state representatives • State representatives • Partisan composition of state houses • State representatives sorted by year first elected

Leadership positions

President of the Senate • President Pro Tempore • Senate Majority Leader • Senate Minority Leader • House Majority Leader • House Minority Leader • State Speaker of the House

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