SB 5220 Washington Senate · 2025-2026 Regular Session

Modifying small works roster requirements for cities.

SB 5220 modifies Washington state law to change how first-class cities can use city employees for public construction projects instead of hiring contractors. It sets a 10% limit on the total public works budget that can be done by city employees (with penalties for exceeding it), and adds dollar caps: $300,000 for multi-trade projects and $151,000 for single-trade projects like street lighting. Cities must report their employee work usage to the state auditor annually and cannot split projects to avoid the limits. The bill also updates rules for the "small works roster" process, allowing cities to use pre-approved contractors for recurring work with fixed unit pricing.
Bill status in committee 1 of 4 stages cleared
Introduction
Jan 2026
Committee Review
Floor Vote
Governor
Introduced Jan 12, 2026 Last action Jan 12, 2026
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Full legislative history

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Total actions
3
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Committee
0
Jan 12, 2026
Introduced
By resolution, reintroduced and retained in present status.
upper
1 primary · 1 co-sponsor

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