Auburn City Council Study Session: 2027 Legislative Priorities & Rules of Procedure – November 9, 2026

The Auburn City Council held a study session on November 9, 2026, at 5:30 PM. The agenda included a presentation on the city’s 2027 legislative agenda priorities and council discussion on the rules of procedure. The WSDOT SR 167 Implementation Plan presentation was removed from the agenda. State legislators attended and participated in the legislative priorities discussion. The council also debated and voted on procedural matters regarding the review of council rules.

Discussion Items

• 2027 Legislative Agenda Priorities: Megan Udmay, government relations policy advisor, presented the city’s priority issues for the upcoming legislative session. Key priorities included:

  • East Valley Highway Widening Project: Funding request to improve a critical industrial corridor.
  • SR 167 Implementation Plan: Legislative adoption and funding of improvements to SR 167 and SR 18.
  • Tort Liability Reform: Seeking balanced reforms that preserve victims’ rights while improving transparency and proportionate responsibility.
  • LEOFF 1 Pension Surplus: Asking the state to protect pension funds and recognize local government obligations.
  • Issues to watch included parks and recreation investment, juvenile justice reform, land use and building code flexibility, paid family and medical leave (PFML) program improvements, and consumer protections against surveillance-based pricing.
  • State legislators Senator Claudia Kaufman, Representative Christine Reeves, and Representative Jamila Taylor provided feedback. They discussed transportation funding challenges, tort liability reform efforts, juvenile justice resource allocation, and the need for city-specific data on PFML impacts. Representative Reeves emphasized the importance of including all delegation members in transportation project requests.

• Council Rules of Procedure: Councilmember Rakes moved to suspend council rule 2.2C (which prohibits final action at a study session) to allow a vote on forming an ad hoc committee to review the council’s rules of procedure. After debate, the motion to suspend the rules passed. Councilmember Rakes then moved to create an ad hoc committee with herself and Councilmember Lott as members, with Deputy Mayor Taylor serving as ex-officio. Councilmember Amher offered an amendment to leave the committee open for any interested council members. Councilmember Baldwin moved to postpone the entire discussion to the November 16 city council meeting. That motion passed.

Key Outcomes

• Motion to suspend council rules (2.2C) passed, allowing final action on the ad hoc committee proposal.
• Motion to postpone discussion on council rules to November 16, 2026 passed. The postponed agenda will include the underlying motion to create an ad hoc committee and the amendment to open nominations.
• No final action was taken on forming the ad hoc committee or any rule changes; the matter will be continued at the next regular meeting.

Council Reports

• Councilmembers reported on community events, including the Veterans Day parade, the Auburn Food Bank Harvest Breakfast, the Sounder Garage construction progress, and the Green River College Foundation scholarship dinner.