This year marks a significant milestone for Washington state as we welcome Governor Bob Ferguson, the first new governor in twelve years. Since his inauguration, Governor Ferguson has demonstrated a pragmatic approach to governance, ushering in a new era in Washington State. Microsoft joins Washingtonians across the state in welcoming the Ferguson administration.
In line with our commitment to transparency, we are sharing our annual legislative agenda for this year.
The 2025 session is notable as it is a biennial budget year, where the legislature will negotiate, draft, and pass three distinct yet interconnected operating, capital, and transportation budgets over 105 days. These budgets will outline critical spending and revenue plans for the next 24 months. With a new federal administration, new governments worldwide, and our new state government, this biennial budget process carries significant weight.
Indeed, this is a pivotal moment for our state. The complexity of our state’s economic landscape, which includes industries like aerospace, technology, life sciences, agriculture, and space, has resulted in a growing population and unprecedented technological progress. Governor Ferguson and our legislators must be equally agile and responsive with thoughtful policies over the next few weeks of the 2025 legislative session.
As in previous years, Microsoft’s 2025 legislative agenda aligns closely with the priorities of Washingtonians. As a homegrown global company, we are attentive to global shifts and opportunities. Policymakers in Olympia must prioritize maintaining and expanding economic vitality, addressing the affordable housing crisis, supporting high-quality education, and enhancing public safety and quality of life for all Washingtonians.
People-centered outcomes with policies that increase housing supply
Washington and Oregon have the tightest housing markets in the United States, and Washington needs housing of all kinds. There is widespread agreement that the state needs to add one million new housing units over the next 20 years to meet residents’ needs and make housing more affordable.
In 2019, Microsoft announced a historic $750 million investment to support the creation and preservation of affordable housing. This initiative aimed to help low- and middle-income workers, such as nurses, teachers, and police officers, who are increasingly unable to afford housing near their workplaces. Our investment contributed to and preserved 12,000 units of housing for our neighbors in the Puget Sound region. However, we learned that funding alone is insufficient; we must increase land supply and incentivize housing development.
Microsoft supports policies that make it easier, faster, and less expensive to increase housing production. We need to unlock more land for housing, increase financing, and enable efficient government permitting, including the use of technology to speed up permit reviews. This includes reforms and incentives that enable more housing in areas with abundant employment and transportation options, leveraging public investments in transit to provide affordable living options for people across various income levels.
A novel idea being advanced this session is to promote residential uses in commercial zones, especially near frequent and reliable transit. The rise of online shopping has led to an increase in empty big-box stores and underutilized strip malls surrounded by empty parking lots. Policymakers should prioritize rezoning underutilized commercial spaces along existing transit hubs to create vibrant new communities. Freeing up larger tracts of underutilized land will help housing developers overcome the first hurdle to building multi-family apartments, townhomes, and condos.
The legislature must continue to take bold action on policy to ensure Washington State has housing for all during the 2025 legislative session.
Access to education for all Washingtonians
In April, Microsoft will celebrate 50 years in business. Since our founding, Washington state has shifted to a knowledge and innovation economy, and we are now participating in the shift to an AI economy. To meet the needs of this moment, we require an interactive and dynamic system of skilling and credentialing opportunities for all Washingtonians, enabling them to move both upward and across career paths to pursue job opportunities.
Washington businesses are creating excellent jobs, but many people lack the necessary skills or credentials to attain them. We need our state to prioritize policies that address the skills gap limiting employment options for too many individuals. As a leader in global technology, Washington is also a leader in future technologies like AI, clean energy, and quantum computing, which will create a new wave of meaningful family-wage jobs. Washingtonians must be prepared with the right skills to participate in the current and future economy.
Microsoft supports policies that enhance K-12 student achievement, foster career awareness in middle school, and encourage more students to pursue post-secondary credentials. We are excited about the work being done in these areas, including the advancement of policies that create seamless pathways into higher education through guaranteed enrollment and generous eligibility for the Washington College Grant program.
We also encourage the state to establish more apprenticeships in high-demand fields and expand higher education programs to produce enough qualified applicants to match available jobs. These are the policies that create a dynamic and inclusive system of opportunity.
Committing to our statewide transportation plan
Cascadia is at the forefront of the digital economy and looking to the future. Washington state serves as one of the world’s leading centers for the development of artificial intelligence technology. Advances in artificial intelligence are enhancing customer service interactions, transaction processing, and workflow efficiency across various sectors. Microsoft sees extraordinary opportunities for our state government to leverage local AI expertise to maximize public resources.
We see this as a unique opportunity to partner with Governor Ferguson and the legislature to advance Washington State using technology and innovation, increasing individual productivity capacity, and expanding access to government services for Washingtonians.
State budgets that are sustainable and prioritized
The most important policy bills the legislature will pass will be the budget bills, which reflect the state’s priorities for the next two years. Budgets are where Washington’s tax dollars are put to work. Over the years, Microsoft has supported targeted tax increases for important programs and services. We have supported and defended nearly every transportation package in recent history. We also provided millions in matching funds to help accelerate affordable housing and helped lead the business community in defending the Climate Commitment Act.
This year, legislators face a significant budget challenge—a deficit ranging from $10 to $16 billion. Importantly, Washington State is not in a recession, and this deficit is not due to an economic downturn that caused a decline in revenues. In fact, most revenues are still marginally increasing or flat. Simply put, our policymakers in Olympia have passed budgets that exceeded our means.
We believe this challenge presents an opportunity to reexamine recent spending and Washington State’s priorities of government. We join others in asking straightforward questions about the outcomes Washingtonians are gaining from past and current state investments. Ultimately, the state budget is the state’s most important investment opportunity for improving economic competitiveness and encouraging private sector job growth.
We stand ready
This year, we stand ready to work with Governor Ferguson and the Legislature to find solutions to these challenges.
The 2025 legislative session is a pivotal moment for our state. With the can-do spirit Washington has always been known for, we are optimistic that our legislature and Governor Ferguson will collaborate and find creative solutions to our most pressing challenges. Like many others across the state, we at Microsoft are eager to be partners.
Together, we can create a brighter, more equitable future for Washington State.
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