SB 6097 Washington Senate · 2025-2026 Regular Session

Adding federally recognized Indian tribes to the list of entities that may participate in the conservation futures program.

SB 6097 amends Washington state law to explicitly allow federally recognized Indian tribes to join the Conservation Futures program, which helps protect farmland, forests, and open space through land conservation agreements. The bill updates existing statutes to include tribes as eligible participants alongside counties, cities, and nonprofits, ensuring they can acquire development rights to conserve land while respecting treaty rights. A new section also confirms the law won’t diminish tribal treaty rights. This change directly affects tribes seeking to participate in land conservation efforts under the program.

Issues: ✓ Environment

Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2026

Committee Review

Mar 2026

Senate Passage

Feb 2026

House Passage

Governor

Introduced Jan 13, 2026 Last action Mar 12, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Bill → Substitute Bill · 5 edits

MODERATE

The bill was updated from its original version to a substitute version, reflecting its progression through the legislative process. The primary substantive change is the addition of a new section explicitly stating that the bill's provisions cannot be used to diminish the treaty rights of federally recognized Indian tribes. Additionally, a technical amendment was made to clarify that the bill does not apply to specific existing tax exemption statutes.

Scope change

The bill's scope was expanded to include an explicit protection for Indian treaty rights and a clarification regarding its interaction with existing tax laws.

REQUIREMENT

Added a new section (Sec. 4) stating that the bill does not apply to RCW 82.32.805 and 82.32.808, clarifying its relationship with specific tax exemption statutes.

Added a new section (Sec. 3) mandating that the bill cannot be interpreted in a way that decreases, diminishes, or impairs the treaty rights of federally recognized Indian tribes.

TECHNICAL

Updated the bill header from 'SENATE BILL 6097' to 'SUBSTITUTE SENATE BILL 6097' and changed the bill number from S-3876.1 to S-4220.1 to reflect its current legislative status.

Updated the sponsor list to indicate the bill was originally sponsored by specific senators and is now being considered by the Senate Agriculture & Natural Resources committee.

Changed the reading date from 01/13/26 to 02/03/26 and updated the act description to include the new section regarding treaty rights.

Floor votes · Senate Feb 13, 2026

How they voted

34–16

Passed · 1 other

Total votes 51

Feb 13, 2026

D Democratic31

31 Yea

100% Yea

R Republican20

3 Yea 16 Nay 1

80% Nay

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Mar 2, 2026

Committee

Referred to Rules 2 Review.

lower

Mar 2, 2026

Lower · Passed

Minority; without recommendation.

lower

Mar 2, 2026

Lower · Passed

Minority; do not pass.

lower

Mar 2, 2026

Lower · Passed

FIN - Majority; do pass.

lower

Mar 2, 2026

Lower · Passed

Executive action taken in the House Committee on Finance at 8:00 AM.

lower

Feb 27, 2026

Lower · Passed

Public hearing in the House Committee on Finance at 8:00 AM.

lower

Feb 25, 2026

Committee

Referred to Finance.

lower

Feb 25, 2026

Lower · Passed

Minority; without recommendation.

lower

Feb 25, 2026

Lower · Passed

Minority; do not pass.

lower

Feb 25, 2026

Lower · Passed

AGNR - Majority; do pass.

lower

Feb 25, 2026

Lower · Passed

Executive action taken in the House Committee on Agriculture & Natural Resources at 9:00 AM.

lower

Feb 24, 2026

Lower · Passed

Public hearing in the House Committee on Agriculture & Natural Resources at 10:30 AM.

lower

Feb 13, 2026

Senate · Passed

Senate Vote: pass (34-16-1)

senate

Feb 2, 2026

Upper · Passed

Minority; without recommendation.

upper

Feb 2, 2026

Upper · Passed

Minority; do not pass.

upper

Feb 2, 2026

Upper · Passed

Executive action taken in the Senate Committee on Agriculture & Natural Resources at 1:30 PM.

upper

Jan 19, 2026

Upper · Passed

Public hearing in the Senate Committee on Agriculture & Natural Resources at 1:30 PM.

upper

1 primary · 10 co-sponsors