SB 5804 Washington Senate · 2025-2026 Regular Session

Concerning fish habitat restoration.

SB 5804 creates a dedicated tax on light and power utility businesses (at 1.741% of gross income) to fund salmon and steelhead habitat restoration. The revenue must be deposited into a new "federal injunction salmon habitat restoration account" to address barriers like unpassable road culverts and dams, as required by a federal court ruling. This tax replaces a previous rate but is structured to not increase overall taxpayer burden. The funds specifically target projects identified to resolve the state's obligation under the *United States v. Washington* court injunction, which estimates repair costs exceed $5 billion.

Bill status in committee 1 of 4 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2026

Committee Review

Floor Vote

Governor

Introduced Jan 12, 2026 Last action Jan 12, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Bill → Substitute Bill · 6 edits

MODERATE

The bill was revised to change the funding mechanism from 'special tax obligation bonds' to 'special tax revenue bonds' to comply with state debt limits. The tax rate on light and power utilities was adjusted slightly, and the bill now includes a specific effective date of January 1, 2026, while removing previous contingent expiration dates.

Scope change

The bill's scope expanded to explicitly address the federal court injunction and include changes to the state tax structure to support the new funding mechanism.

FISCAL

Changed the bond type from 'special tax obligation bonds' to 'special tax revenue bonds' to ensure the debt is not counted against the state's general debt limit.

Adjusted the tax rate on light and power utility businesses from 2.011 percent to 2.01053 percent.

TIMELINE

Added a specific effective date of January 1, 2026, for the tax and bond provisions.

Removed the 15-year expiration limit on bond issuance authorization, replacing it with a clause that expires only after the full authorization is issued and dispersed.

REQUIREMENT

Modified the contingency clause to trigger expiration only if a state supreme court ruling requires bond debt to be included in the state's aggregate debt calculation.

TECHNICAL

Updated the bill title and sponsor attribution to reflect that it was referred to the Senate Ways & Means committee and to clarify the legislative intent regarding the federal court injunction.

Floor votes

How they voted

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Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Jan 12, 2026

Committee

Rules Committee relieved of further consideration. On motion, referred to Ways & Means.

upper

Jan 12, 2026

Introduced

By resolution, reintroduced and retained in present status.

upper

Apr 8, 2025

Upper · Passed

Minority; without recommendation.

upper

Apr 8, 2025

Upper · Passed

Minority; do not pass.

upper

Apr 8, 2025

Upper · Passed

Executive action taken in the Senate Committee on Ways & Means at 1:30 PM.

upper

Apr 3, 2025

Upper · Passed

Executive session scheduled, but no action was taken in the Senate Committee on Ways & Means at 1:30 PM.

upper

Apr 1, 2025

Upper · Passed

Public hearing in the Senate Committee on Ways & Means at 4:00 PM.

upper

1 primary · 6 co-sponsors