HB 2186 Washington House · 2025-2026 Regular Session

Supporting the acquisition of federal funds to promote economic development.

HB 2186 creates a state program to help Washington communities access federal economic development funds by providing matching state dollars. It requires the Department of Commerce to develop scoring criteria prioritizing applications based on job creation, federal funding amount, and rural/districted area impact, while setting limits on matching funds (up to 100% for nonprofits and rural projects, 50% for utilities). The bill mandates reporting on jobs created and federal funds secured, and directs the department to expand a public website with federal grant opportunities by 2028. It directly affects local governments, nonprofits, economic development organizations, and tribes seeking federal grants for projects like housing, infrastructure, and workforce training.

Bill status in committee 1 of 4 stages cleared

Introduction

Dec 2025

Committee Review

Floor Vote

Governor

Introduced Dec 23, 2025 Last action Feb 9, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons

What changed between versions

Bill → Substitute Bill · 5 edits

MODERATE

The bill was renumbered and its procedural status updated to reflect it as a substitute bill. Substantively, the bill now requires the department to reserve matching funds immediately upon federal approval rather than just after application approval, and it mandates that the department establish specific administrative fees. The timeline for developing scoring criteria was set to June 30, 2027, and the criteria now explicitly require projects to align with prioritized federal funds identified in the previous section.

TIMELINE

The deadline for the department to develop scoring criteria for matching funds was set to June 30, 2027.

REQUIREMENT

The department must now establish a specific administrative fee, including the amount and collection method, rather than just being allowed to charge one.

The scoring criteria for awarding matching funds now explicitly require that projects be consistent with prioritized federal funds identified by the department.

The requirement for the department to develop a review process to ensure applications meet state economic development priorities was added before issuing a letter of support.

FISCAL

Matching funds must be fully reserved immediately upon federal approval of an application, changing from the previous requirement of reserving funds only after the applicant provided notice of withdrawal or denial.

Floor votes

How they voted

No floor votes recorded yet.

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Feb 9, 2026

Committee

Referred to Rules 2 Review.

lower

Feb 9, 2026

Lower · Passed

Executive action taken in the House Committee on Appropriations at 10:30 AM.

lower

Feb 7, 2026

Lower · Passed

Public hearing in the House Committee on Appropriations at 9:00 AM.

lower

Jan 27, 2026

Committee

Referred to Appropriations.

lower

Jan 23, 2026

Lower · Passed

Executive action taken in the House Committee on Technology, Economic Development, & Veterans at 10:30 AM.

lower

Jan 16, 2026

Lower · Passed

Public hearing in the House Committee on Technology, Economic Development, & Veterans at 10:30 AM.

lower

1 primary · 6 co-sponsors