Washington state’s 2026 legislative session has come to a close, bringing with it a number of significant policy and budget changes affecting the University of Washington (UW).
Session Overview
This year’s 60-day session was a supplemental one, meaning lawmakers made adjustments to the two-year biennial budget passed last year.
The session adjourned on time on March 12, 2026. Governor Ferguson signed the adjusted budget into law, without vetoing any provisions affecting the University. Here are the key takeaways from the final compromise budget:
Implements a $1.25 million reduction in administrative spending (roughly 1.5%)
This cut is notably smaller than last year’s $15.4 million reduction to the university’s overall spending. It is important to note that this cut targets the UW’s administrative budget, not its overall spending. While smaller in scale, this will exacerbate existing budget pressures the university is already facing. Importantly, the budget requires institutions to protect student-facing staff when making administrative cuts.
Shifts $85.6 million in funding from the capital budget to the operating budget
To help close the existing state budget deficit, the compromise budget adopts a creative strategy by shifting resources from the capital budget to the operating budget. The UW typically has separate funding streams for its operating and capital needs, and the money doesn’t often shift between them. In this case, $85.6 million in student building fees (a portion of tuition) will be moved into the operating budget, while capital costs will be backfilled with state bonds. Ultimately, this is a net-neutral shift for the University; total resources remain the same.
*Note: Washington state bonds are tax-exempt loans that the state takes out to pay for large projects.
Allocates $15 million in ongoing funding for the Center for Behavioral Health and Learning (CBHL)
CBHL is a facility run by UW Medicine that provides long-term behavioral health care, particularly for those battling serious mental health needs. The state has partnered with UW Medicine to build out this facility and has previously committed to providing full funding for the operation of beds. The investment of state funds will allow UW Medicine to meet its operational capacity at this facility, deliver effective behavioral health care, and train future providers. UW requested $18.34 million in ongoing funding to cover the operating costs of this facility, so this allocation partially meets that ask.
Funds the University's $47.5 million Power Plant Electrification and Campus Hot Water Loop project
Funded through Washington State’s Climate Commitment Account (CCA), this investment is critical to the university’s efforts to fully decarbonize the Seattle campus energy system. For more information on this project, check out the UW Sustainability website.
Bill Spotlights
Throughout the session, our team tracked over 300 bills with potential impacts across the UW community. Several notable bills were signed into law by Governor Ferguson, all of which can be found in our 2026 Bill Summary Report. A couple of them stood out for their impact to the UW and the broader community:
Senate Bill 6346: Millionaires’ Tax
This one made headlines. SB 6346 imposes a 9.9% tax on Washingtonians with income above $1 million, roughly 21,000 residents. It withstands anticipated legal challenges, the bill will take effect on January 1, 2028, and is projected to generate $3.7 billion in annual revenue. This money will fund a range of services, including, but not limited to, K-12 education, health care, higher education, and the Working Families Tax Credit. For the UW, this could mean additional state revenue directed toward higher education over time, though the specifics are currently unclear. The tax will also affect non-resident student athletes whose incomes exceed $1 million. To read the full bill, visit the Washington state legislative website.
Senate Bill 6002: Driver Privacy Act
The Driver Privacy Act establishes comprehensive regulation for automated license plate readers (ALPRs), a technology that scans license plates and compares them against databases to identify stolen vehicles or locate individuals with outstanding criminal charges. This law limits ALPR use to law enforcement, parking enforcement, and transportation agencies under specific conditions and prohibits using ALPR data for immigration enforcement, tracking individuals engaged in protected free speech, or monitoring sensitive locations, such as healthcare facilities. Additionally, ALPR data can no longer be used as the sole basis for initiating a traffic stop. Law enforcement, including UWPD, must have an independent legal justification.
UWPD’s current use of ALPR technology, primarily for parking enforcement, already aligns with the requirements outlined in the bill. While the operational impact on the UW is minimal, the bill broadly narrows how law enforcement agencies can use ALPR data, reinforcing privacy protections. To read the full bill, visit the Washington state legislative website.
Want more information?
For more detailed analysis, including our fiscal note summary and additional resources, please visit the UW PPSO Briefs Page.