It’s an honor to serve the 5th Legislative District and represent the communities I’ve called home my entire life. As a first-term legislator, I came to Olympia focused on listening, learning, and delivering practical results for our communities. This session, I worked to address the issues I hear about most from constituents: managing growth, improving infrastructure, and helping families keep up with rising costs.
The 5th District continues to see rapid growth, bringing both opportunity and strain. Increased traffic, housing demand, and pressure on energy systems require thoughtful, coordinated solutions. I supported balanced state budgets that invest in the services people rely on while maintaining long-term sustainability.
In the operating budget, we prioritized funding for public education, behavioral health care, and programs that help families manage the rising cost of living. Even in a challenging budget environment, protecting these core services remained essential.
The transportation budget makes meaningful investments for our region—prioritizing the preservation and maintenance of existing roads and bridges, improving traffic safety, and making targeted upgrades to reduce congestion. This includes continued progress on the State Route 18 widening and safety project, a critical investment to reduce accidents and improve reliability along a corridor many in our community rely on every day. I also supported maintaining funding to keep this project on track, while continuing to advocate for strong, long-term investment in infrastructure across our state. As a member of the Transportation Committee, I worked to ensure the needs of fast-growing communities like ours were part of these decisions.
I also serve as Vice Chair of the Environment & Energy Committee and on the Local Government Committee, where I’ve focused on policies that help communities grow responsibly—balancing development with environmental stewardship and long-term planning.
This session, I was proud to sponsor several bills that are now law and will make a real difference for Washington families.
HB 2296 encourages utilities to invest in energy-saving upgrades for homes and rental buildings. It allows utilities to cover the upfront cost of high-efficiency improvements, like heat pumps, with customers repaying the cost gradually through their monthly utility bill. This “pay-as-you-save” approach makes upgrades more affordable, lowers overall energy use, and helps households save on their energy bills.
HB 2575 modernizes environmental reporting requirements by eliminating outdated mandates, reducing unnecessary paperwork, and helping state agencies operate more efficiently while maintaining strong environmental standards.
I’m grateful for the opportunity to represent the 5th District and to bring your voice to Olympia. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to my office—your input helps guide the work we do on your behalf!
State Representative Zach Hall
Read the 5th LD 2026 End-of-Session Newsletter
