HB 2499 Washington House · 2025-2026 Regular Session

Modernizing conservation district election procedures and requiring financial disclosures from district supervisors and candidates for district supervisor.

HB 2499 modernizes election procedures for conservation district supervisors in Washington by extending their terms from three to four years and requiring financial disclosures from both current supervisors and candidates. The bill amends state laws to adjust election timing, term assignments (such as awarding the top vote-getter a four-year term in initial elections), and voting rules, while mandating transparency through financial disclosures. This directly affects conservation districts and their supervisors, updating outdated election processes to increase accountability in local governance.

Bill status in committee 1 of 4 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2026

Committee Review

Floor Vote

Governor

Introduced Jan 15, 2026 Last action Feb 6, 2026

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What changed between versions

Bill → Substitute Bill · 5 edits

MODERATE

This bill modernizes conservation district election procedures and updates financial disclosure rules. It clarifies that conservation district supervisors must file annual financial reports, while candidates for these positions are exempt from reporting requirements. The bill also adjusts election timing to align with standard term expiration dates and expands the list of entities subject to executive ethics rules.

Scope change

The bill expands the scope of financial reporting requirements to include appointed conservation district supervisors and clarifies that candidates for conservation district supervisor positions are exempt from campaign finance reporting.

REQUIREMENT

Replaced the requirement for candidates to file financial statements with a requirement only for elected supervisors to file annual financial statements, while explicitly exempting candidates from this requirement.

Updated financial reporting thresholds to apply to conservation districts with fewer than 2,000 registered voters based on the most recent supervisor election rather than the most recent general election.

TIMELINE

Removed a special provision allowing elections in the second quarter for the year 2002, standardizing the election schedule to occur during the first quarter when terms expire.

DEFINITION

Clarified that conservation district supervisors are subject to annual personal financial affairs reporting under RCW 29B.55.010, while their elections are not considered general elections for campaign disclosure purposes.

ELIGIBILITY

Added conservation district supervisors to the list of entities and individuals subject to executive ethics board oversight.

Floor votes

How they voted

No floor votes recorded yet.

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Feb 6, 2026

Lower · Passed

Public hearing in the House Committee on Appropriations at 10:30 AM.

lower

Feb 4, 2026

Committee

Referred to Appropriations.

lower

Feb 3, 2026

Lower · Passed

Minority; do not pass.

lower

Feb 3, 2026

Lower · Passed

Executive action taken in the House Committee on State Government & Tribal Relations at 1:30 PM.

lower

Jan 27, 2026

Lower · Passed

Public hearing in the House Committee on State Government & Tribal Relations at 1:30 PM.

lower

1 primary · 7 co-sponsors