John, 

The 2026 legislative session is around the corner, and let’s be real: There are many challenges ahead. The state budget remains in a shortfall, communities are struggling in many ways, and people are looking for leaders to give them hope.

As the Trump administration tries to roll back nearly 60 years of environmental progress, it is ever more important for all of us to come together to hold the line at the state and local level. It will take people power to protect clean air, clean water, clean energy, healthy ecosystems, and thriving communities. 

For more than 20 years, we’ve been working toward those goals through the Environmental Priorities Coalition (EPC), a group of more than 25 statewide environmental organizations. Clean energy, clean air, and clean water – these are basic needs, not luxuries. That’s why the EPC adopted 2026 priorities that make a real impact on people’s daily lives.

Photo: 2025 Environmental Lobby Day rally at the Capitol

The Washington Legislature starts its 2026 session on January 12 and will convene for 60 days. During this time, the EPC will work toward these four priorities:

Protecting Climate and Environmental Health Funding  

With the state budget shortfall, climate and environmental programs are at risk of deeper funding cuts and diversions. Climate and environmental funding make up a small portion of the overall state budget, yet the benefits affect everyone in the state through clean air and clean water, reduced energy bills, and well-paying jobs. We need to ensure that dedicated funding sources are used for their intended purposes. That means reducing dangerous climate and toxic pollution while also safeguarding communities from the impacts of cuts to environmental programs.  

Restore Wildfire Resilience Funding

In 2021, the state Legislature passed HB 1168, committing $125 million each biennium to meet the challenges of wildfire through 2029. These investments are working. They support firefighters’ ability to better manage fire. They have improved the health of nearly 90,000 acres of forests. They invest in community-led solutions for wildfire resilience. However, the 2025-2027 state biennial budget cut this funding commitment in half. This threatens to reverse hard won progress against the growing threat of catastrophic wildfire. It unfairly places the burden back on communities, leaving them to deal with the costs of inaction. 

To protect livelihoods and landscapes, the Legislature must restore full funding to the Wildfire Response, Forest Restoration, and Community Resilience Account.  

Data Centers, Environmental Protection, and Affordability  

Data center growth in Washington poses a rapidly growing challenge. These huge facilities have the potential to impact our climate and clean energy goals, energy affordability and reliability, the environment, and communities.  Yet, the right protections and incentives could hold data centers to a high standard, one that centers communities and the environment while also fostering innovative solutions. To address this challenge and this opportunity, the Legislature should  focus on a package of data center-focused policies that will protect and further our state’s climate and clean energy laws and goals; protect ratepayers from financial and reliability impacts; minimize impacts to communities and natural resources including air, water, and salmon; and maximize benefits to communities.  

Bottles and Cans Recycling Refund Act  

Beverage containers, a large component of our state’s waste, litter Washington’s freeways, our waterways, and our public spaces.  Only 30% of beverage containers are currently recycled in the state. The Recycling Refund Act will reduce litter and increase recycling rates in Washington by incentivizing recycling and pulling beverage containers into a clean recycling stream separated from other materials. Consumers would pay a 10-cent deposit on most beverage containers and be refunded that 10 cents when they bring containers to convenient drop-off locations to be recycled or reused.  

The 2026 priorities directly support communities on the front lines of climate change, reduce toxic pollution, deliver reliable access to affordable clean energy, and much more.

Your voice is critical to the success of these efforts. Join our Legislative Action Team to get timely updates and calls to action. 

Onward,

Darcy Nonemacher (she/her)
Government Affairs Director, Washington Conservation Action