The 2026 WA State Legislative Session: A Recap.
Summary of the "short session," scheduled to end in mid-March. A former leader in the House, he is now partway through his first term in the Senate. Currently, he sits on the Ways & Means Committee and the Health & Long-term Care Committee, two very important committees to Spokane. His leadership skills have also been recognized, as he's been appointed to be the majority (D) floor leader. Still, Marcus acts very non-partisan and is widely respected.
Brief Speaker Bio
Born and raised in Spokane, Marcus Riccelli graduated from Gonzaga University with a Bachelor of Business Administration and from the University of Washington with a Master of Public Administration. From 2007 to 2010, Marcus served as U.S.Senator Maria Cantwell’s Eastern Washington Director; from 2010 to 2012 as Senior Policy Advisor to Washington State Senate Majority Leader Lisa Brown. He was elected to the statelegislature in 2012 (House) and 2024 to the Senate. Marcus worked with advocates and colleagues from both sides of the aisle to prime sponsor and pass legislation creating the WSU Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine. He also worked on the bipartisan transportation package that makes significant investments in the North Spokane Corridor, Central City Line, and U-District Bridge, which will expand employment opportunities in the Spokane region and reduce travel time by several million hours each year. He championed funding to expand oral health access to an additional 60,000 people, increasing dental visits by 150,000 annually. He also passed multiple bills expanding access to free school meals, benefiting 670,000 Washington students.