Bills focused on psilocybin, medication abortion and taxing short-term rentals are among those that didn’t survive the latest key deadline in the state Legislature.

Monday was the cutoff for bills involving money to pass through fiscal committees, like Senate Ways and Means and House Appropriations. Those panels held lengthy meetings that stretched throughout the day to pass dozens of bills and keep them alive.

But with another budget shortfall hanging over the session, bills that cost much are having a hard time.

Just days earlier, the first deadline of the session killed many other bills. More will stall on Feb. 17, the date to pass legislation out of the chamber of the Legislature where it originated.

Further deadlines will follow before the session ends, scheduled for March 12.

Bills deemed “necessary to implement the budget,” like those that include new taxes or otherwise bring in revenue for the state, are immune from the deadlines. Lawmakers can be creative in attaching this label.

This latest deadline marks a shift for the Legislature, as lawmakers will now spend long days on the House and Senate floors passing bills instead of in committees where they’ve done much of their work so far this year.

Here’s a sampling of the bills that failed to leap the latest hurdle.

Short-term rentals

Airbnb has spent millions of dollars to fight a proposal to allow cities and counties to impose a sales tax up to 4% on short-term rentals. The proceeds would go toward affordable housing, in recognition of the pressure the rentals can put on local housing stock. Legislation similar to House Bill 2559 passed the Senate last year but stalled in the House.

The company will be happy, as the policy isn’t moving forward. Its lead sponsor, Rep. Lisa Parshley, D-Olympia, said there’s a slim chance the bill could be considered “necessary to implement the budget” but it’s likely dead.

Grocery prices

A new idea policymakers brought this year would have temporarily banned electronic pricing systems at retailers and prohibited surveillance or algorithmic surge pricing schemes.

House Bill 2481’s sponsor, Rep. Mary Fosse, D-Everett, said she hopes her proposal brings some awareness to these newer practices because consumers want “fair prices, especially when it comes to their essentials.”

She recognizes it can take years to get legislation like this into law and plans to bring the idea back in 2027.

Security for politicians

Senate Bill 5853 was a response to growing fears of violence against elected officials, after the killings last year of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk and Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman. The legislation would’ve created a statewide notification system to let public officials know of targeted threats to any elected leaders.

Sen. Jeff Wilson, R-Longview, the bill’s sponsor, bemoaned that the idea was deemed too expensive in a tight budget year. He said he’ll try again next year, and may turn the proposal into something akin to an Amber Alert.

“I don’t know how to put a price tag on a forewarning of an obvious danger,” Wilson said.

Legislation still standing in the House, meanwhile, would allow officials to use campaign and surplus funds for personal security.

Abortion

Another bill would have required the state’s higher education institutions to offer medication abortion at their student health centers. If they don’t have one, they would’ve needed to train staff to provide information and referral services.

Students pushed for Senate Bill 5826, but it wasn’t enough to get it through the Senate Ways and Means Committee.

“This is a tough budget year, and not every policy that deserves to move forward is able to do so,” sponsor Sen. T’wina Nobles, D-Fircrest, said in a statement. “While this bill did not survive fiscal cutoff, the need it was designed to address remains very real.”

Psilocybin

It has been the project of Sen. Jesse Salomon, D-Shoreline, to champion the therapeutic use of “magic” mushrooms. In 2023, the Legislature started a pilot program at the University of Washington to study the efficacy of psilocybin, the main psychedelic compound in mushrooms, in therapeutic settings.

This year, Salomon pitched a program housed in the state Department of Health to prescribe psilocybin for adults with qualifying conditions. Salomon was heartened that it passed a policy committee earlier in the session with bipartisan support.

“It’s a very positive signal, but now I have to wait another year to work it out,” Salomon said.

Next year, he plans to pitch an advisory group as a precursor to setting up the program in this year’s bill.

Kratom

Lawmakers have a few policy proposals to regulate kratom, a psychoactive supplement sold at convenience stores and smoke shops.

One of those measures died Monday. Senate Bill 6287 would’ve prohibited kratom’s sale to people under age 21. It also looked to set up safeguards around the supplement, like banning the sale of products containing more than 2% of a substance linked to opioid-like effects.

Housing aid

Sen. Claire Wilson, D-Auburn, has tried multiple times now to get a pilot program to provide rental assistance to young adults who agree to continue receiving foster services after they turn 18. Last year’s version of the legislation would’ve helped 200 people. This year, it was scaled down to 50. Wilson was willing to trim it to 25 to cut costs, but that still wasn’t enough, she said.

Maintaining current services is the priority for budget writers. Wilson called her bill’s failure a “huge disappointment.”

“Protection is the word of the session,” Wilson said.

Wilson is happy to see another bill focused on Extended Foster Care moving forward. Senate Bill 5911 would stop the state from garnishing benefits these young adults receive, like Supplemental Security Income, to pay for their care. This legislation awaits a vote from the full Senate.

Involuntary treatment

The state’s Involuntary Treatment Act allows people to be held for mental health or substance use treatment without their consent if they are found to be gravely disabled or present a threat of serious harm.

Senate Bill 6296 would’ve made various changes to involuntary treatment, including expanding who can petition for someone to be detained, increasing notification requirements when people with dismissed felony charges are released and lowering barriers to get people into assisted outpatient treatment, among other provisions.

Salomon, the bill’s sponsor, wasn’t sure why it wasn’t moving forward. He was frustrated because he feels without this legislation, he can’t assure the public that there is “a complete system” to deal with emergencies.