City Council Legislative Priorities

The following are the Pasco City Council's 2025 Washington State Legislative Priorities (PDF) (City staff agenda report) and the City's 2025 Transportation Funding Priorities, as approved by the City Council in December 2024:

MLK COMMUNITY CENTER PHASE 2

The City of Pasco requests the State’s continued partnership to renovate the MLK Community Center in East Pasco. Phase 1 of the renovation focused on Northwest Building of the Community Center is nearing completion. To advance Phase 2, the City requests $900,000 to renovate the Southwest building of the MLK Community Center. Phase 2 will turn the Southwest building into a library and community room, and upgrade restrooms and building access to meet ADA requirements. The renovation of the Southwest building will bring the City closer to completing the entire campus, which serves as an essential space for a diverse neighborhood.

ROAD 80 NEIGHBORHOOD PARK

To improve recreational access for the community, Pasco has sought out opportunities to acquire properties for parks, particularly in those areas of the community underserved by parks. Only 3% of the City’s land is used for parks. The City of Pasco requests $500,000 to develop the Road 80 Neighborhood Park. The 3-acre neighborhood park is in a park desert. Developing the park will bring playgrounds, shelter, walking paths, and trees to what is currently a grass field. The additions will transform the space into a park that offers a variety of passive and active recreational opportunities for Pasco residents of all ages.

PASCO PROCESS WATER REUSE FACILITY

Pasco owns and operates an innovative Process Water Reuse Facility (PWRF) that utilizes wastewater from food processors to irrigate nearby farm circles. As more food processors choose to locate in Pasco, the City needs additional farm circles to irrigate. The City asks for the State’s partnership in acquiring or leasing nearby circles owned by the Department of Natural Resources and/or the private parties.

ROAD 76 OVERPASS

Pasco requests state funding to advance the Road 76 Overpass Project to create a multimodal connection across I-182, which currently divides neighborhoods from commercial areas and complicates local travel patterns. The overpass project will reduce travel distances and decrease daily vehicle miles by 6,300 by 2045. The City requests $5 million for the design and right-of-way acquisition, and $30 million for construction. This project is ranked as one of the region’s top transportation projects by the Benton Franklin Council of Governments (BFCOG) and Benton Franklin and Walla Walla Good Roads Transportation Association (BFWWGRTA).

US 12/A STREET TRAFFIC STUDY

Pasco requests state funding to perform a comprehensive analysis of State Route 12 from the intersections of "A" Street to Tank Farm/Sacajawea Park Road to develop practical solutions that will improve safety and economic vitality for the region. Given the recent increase in crashes and the expected rise in traffic volumes, including significant freight traffic, the analysis will aim to identify safety concerns, develop alternatives, perform stakeholder engagement, develop conceptual design and planning estimates. The City requests $3 million to complete the analysis. This project is ranked as one of the region’s top transportation projects by BFWWGRTA and as a project of significance for BFCOG. Project is also known as “SR 12 A Street Crossing Improvements” in some publications.

LEWIS STREET UNDERPASS DEMOLITION

Pasco requests State funding for the Lewis Street Underpass Demolition. The State invested in the development of the Lewis Street Overpass, which was completed in 2024. Due to cost overruns associated with the overpass, the City needs $3.3 million to complete demolition of the underpass and to honor its agreement with BNSF.

BROADMOOR BLVD/BIKE/PED PATH

Pasco requests State funding to construct a multimodal crossing over I-182 to create a critical connection for active transportation along the corridor which is surrounded by residences, schools and essential commercial businesses. The City requests $8 million for construction.

The City of Pasco Supports/Opposes

Quality of Life

Issue / Item	City's Position
Local Community Decision-Making	Pasco opposes any proposals that restrict, mandate, or otherwise interfere with the City’s ability to make local decisions that are informed by public processes and community engagement.
Housing Affordability	Pasco supports efforts to bring more affordable housing to the Pasco community including reduced barriers to constructing housing and grant funding through programs like the Housing Trust Fund.
Homelessness	Pasco supports additional tools to assist cities in addressing homelessness, including resources for the City’s resource navigator program. Additionally, the City asks that the Legislature continue to empower cities to address homeless encampments in a compassionate but effective manner.

Community Safety

Issue / Item	City's Position
Crime Reduction and Prevention	Pasco supports policies to reduce and prevent crime in the community, including efforts to reduce and prevent gang violence.
Law Enforcement Recruitment and Retention	Pasco supports increased funding for public safety efforts, including funding and policies to recruit, hire, train, and retain law enforcement officers, including but not limited to ongoing support for regional training academies.
Juvenile Interrogations	Pasco supports legislation clarifying that officers can interrogate juveniles.
Traffic Safety	Pasco supports legislation and grant funding to improve traffic safety through the implementation of traffic calming measures.
Fentanyl & Opioid Epidemic	Pasco supports prioritizing solutions to the fentanyl and opioid epidemic, including funding to first responders for Narcan.
Behavioral Health(Mental Health & Substance Use)	Pasco supports investments in the state’s behavioral health system, including crisis response, detox facilities, outpatient case management services, and more.
Public Defense	The City of Pasco is responsible for providing public defense services to indigent defendants of misdemeanor charges. The City supports state policies to assist in recruiting public defenders and allocating the necessary funding needed to meet public defense caseload standards under consideration by the Washington State Supreme Court.

Community Transportation Network

Issue / Item	City's Position
Tri-Cities Mobility	Pasco supports efforts to explore a third crossing over the Columbia River to improve regional mobility throughout the Tri-Cities.
Foster Wells Interchange	Pasco supports Franklin County’s request for the Foster Wells Interchange project, which aims to improve traffic flow and access to the growing area around the Foster Wells Road corridor.

Financial Sustainability

Issue / Item	City's Position
Grant Proposals	Pasco supports ongoing and increased funding to grant programs that benefit City projects, including but not limited to the Public Works Assistance Account, the Washington Wildlife and Recreation Program, Complete Streets, Safe Routes to Schools, and more.
State-Shared Revenues	Pasco supports preserving and enhancing state-shared revenue streams.
Unfunded Mandates	Pasco opposes any unfunded mandates that increase costs to cities without additional state funding provided.
Public Records Act	Pasco supports any proposals that reduce the impact of abusive public records requests and litigation.
Election of Judges	Pasco opposes legislation mandating that part-time municipal court judges be elected rather than appointed.
Insurance Costs	Recent legislation and subsequent court decisions have increased the legal liability of public entities, resulting in higher rates for liability coverage. The City’s liability rates increased by 27% from 2022 to 2023 and by another 17% from 2023 to 2024. The City supports efforts to protect against liability expansion and opposes new policies that would drive additional claims and increase litigation costs.
PFML/FMLA Coordination	Pasco supports efforts to align the administration of the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and state Paid Family Medical Leave (PFML) programs to run concurrently. Harmonizing these programs will help maintain their benefits without imposing excessive costs.

Economic Vitality

Issue / Item	City's Position
Water Rights	Pasco is a growing community with a finite water supply. The City supports legislative efforts to allow the City to increase water rights to meet the needs of the growing community. Additionally, Pasco recognizes that water conservation must be part of the solution in making the most with available water rights.
Economic Development Tools	Pasco supports economic development tools to spur development downtown and in key commercial corridors, including funding for an industrial symbiosis project at the Port of Pasco and retaining and enhancing tax increment financing.
DNR Property within the UGA	Pasco is opposed to DNR buying land within the City’s UGA and asks that DNR divest itself of the undeveloped agricultural land it currently owns within the UGA and keeping the associated water rights with said land, not moving them outside city limits.
Annexation	Pasco supports incentives that encourage annexation, including utilizing utility extensions, and mechanisms that facilitate the annexation of unincorporated islands.
Growth Management	Pasco opposes any proposals that create new planning obligations within the Growth Management Act that are not coupled with adequate funding.

The City supports AWC legislative agenda items that serve the best interests of Pasco.