Washington’s 2026 Legislative Session Begins

Posted by Joe Adamack on January 16, 2026

With legislators officially gaveling in the 2026 legislative session, we’re already heavily engaged in conversations with policymakers on multiple issues impacting financial institutions, including:

• Combatting financial fraud and scams
• Data sharing
• Artificial intelligence regulations
• Interest on escrow accounts
• State lending capacities
• Interchange
• Financial education
• Sales taxes, assessment fund sweeps
• Foreclosure prevention
• And more…

This year’s session will be a short, 60-day session, in which lawmakers are generally supposed to update the budget and address any emerging issues or items left unfinished in the long session. However, with significant changes in revenue forecasts and policy changes at the federal government, lawmakers are diving into far more issues than a normal short session.

Looming over all of those issues is the remaining disconnect between desired spending and projected revenues, meaning protection of credit union powers and the state chartered tax status remains by far the top priority. While Washington’s credit unions have been working closely with key decisionmakers to share how your tax status allows you to make a transformative impact on your members and communities, we will continue to press that message with lawmakers until the final gavel falls to protect your ability to serve your members and communities under the state charter.

We are excited to welcome those of you who have registered for Credit Union Day at the Capitol on January 28. If you have any questions about issues that come up in the legislature or would like to learn how you can help advocate for credit unions, please reach out to Joe Adamack and be sure to follow our Advocacy On the Move blog for important updates.

Posted in Advocacy on the Move, Washington Advocacy.