State Sen. Kauffman shares legislative highlights for Auburn, Kent, Covington
Published 11:30 am Friday, May 8, 2026
State Sen. Claudia Kauffman (D) dropped by the Auburn City Council regular meeting on May 4 to present to city leaders and her constituents what she and fellow lawmakers accomplished in the recent legislative session.
Kauffman represents the 47th Legislative District, includes Auburn, Covington and Kent. She said that amid all the wrangling and arguing that might have been expected in the teeth of a multimillion-dollar budget deficit, the Legislature passed more than 260 bills.
”You’ve got to work fast,” Kauffman said of the short 60-day session. “We did a lot of work in a very short amount of time.”
Here are some accomplishments of the session that Kauffman shared.
• Mindful of the devastating floods of late December 2025 and early January 2026, lawmakers secured more than $41 million for capital projects to help address water damage to streets and other infrastructure.
• Passed new rules requiring landlords to inform would-be renters whether they are in a flood zone or not, and how often they may expect flooding. While that had been a longstanding requirement of homeowners respecting prospective buyers, it had not been true for renters and would-be tenants of multi-family housing.
• Kauffman also worked to secure more than $2 million for the Signature Pointe Levee along the Green River in Kent.
• The newly-formed bipartisan Flood Caucus, which Kauffman helped create, was responsible for helping to pass much of the flood-related legislation.
• Lawmakers also approved a standard $7,500 property tax deduction for low-income, disabled and retired members of the military, and worked with the State Department of Commerce to create an Energy Efficiency Program to provide funds for low income residents to work on energy efficiency in their homes. It’s a policy, Kauffman noted, aimed at protecting the most vulnerable.
• As for transportation, lawmakers provided an additional $15 million in safety grants for cities interested in installing illuminated crosswalks, and fought to maintain the present work schedule for the Highway 18 project between Auburn and I-90, despite calls from fellow lawmakers to put it off another two years.
• Lawmakers also provide money to repair and update the aging Covington Aquatic Center.
Kauffman, chair of the Senate Senate Business Committee, said part of her vision was not to focus exclusively on the budget deficit, but also on how to grow and boost economic development and economic strength throughout the state.
“Part of that was working on a statewide strategic plan to support businesses big and small, including the local aerospace, engineering and manufacturing industry,” Kauffman said.
