Washington Governor Orders Six-Month Pause on New Regulations, Launches Statewide Review

Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson has signed an executive order temporarily restricting new state agency rulemaking and directing a review of existing regulations. The initiative could affect future regulatory requirements for debt collectors, financial institutions and other businesses operating in the state.

Signed Nov. 4, Executive Order 26-06 establishes a six-month pause beginning Dec. 4, 2026, on initiating new rulemaking that would impose additional regulatory requirements. The order also requires agencies to identify outdated, duplicative or unnecessary regulations and recommend improvements.

What the Six-Month Regulatory Pause Means

The order applies to cabinet agencies and other executive agencies reporting to the governor. Other state regulatory entities are encouraged to conduct similar reviews.

Beginning Dec. 4, affected agencies cannot initiate new rulemaking imposing additional requirements unless an exception applies. Exceptions include compliance with state or federal law, responding to imminent public health or safety threats, maintaining federal funding, and circumstances approved by the Governor’s Office.

Importantly, the pause does not suspend existing regulations or stop rulemaking proceedings initiated before Dec. 4. Agencies also retain their existing enforcement responsibilities.

According to the Governor’s Office announcement, Ferguson intends to reduce administrative burdens while maintaining protections for consumers, workers and the environment.

Potential Impact on Debt Collection and Financial Services

Washington’s Department of Licensing oversees collection agency licensing and administers the state’s Collection Agency Act. The department’s regulatory framework includes Chapter 19.16 RCW and Chapter 308-29 WAC, governing collection agencies and related activities.

The executive order could affect the timing of future regulatory proposals involving these requirements, although it does not identify specific debt collection rules for revision.

The Department of Financial Institutions, which regulates several other financial services sectors, may also participate in the broader review.

For receivables management businesses, the distinction between a temporary rulemaking restriction and substantive regulatory relief is important. Existing licensing requirements, collection restrictions, consumer protections and applicable federal laws remain enforceable.

Washington’s existing licensing rules also cover debt buyers and certain out-of-state collection agencies contacting consumers in the state.

Agencies Directed to Identify Regulatory Changes

The Governor’s Office for Regulatory Innovation and Assistance will coordinate the review with the Office of Financial Management and the Governor’s Office.

Agencies must submit initial reports within eight months of the order’s effective date, identifying regulations that could be amended, repealed, or consolidated. Recommendations may also include proposed legislative changes.

The review will examine opportunities to simplify compliance, streamline licensing and permitting, eliminate duplicative requirements and modernize administrative processes.

Ferguson cited previous improvements in government processing times, including a reduction in Department of Licensing processing times from 46 to 25 days and a decrease in Department of Financial Institutions franchise application processing times from 17 to eight days.

What ARM Companies Should Watch

The rulemaking pause is scheduled to run from Dec. 4, 2026, through early June 2027. Agency recommendations are due in July 2027, with subsequent annual progress reports beginning in 2028.

For debt collectors, debt buyers and compliance professionals, the immediate consideration is whether planned Washington rulemaking will be delayed, exempted or allowed to proceed because it was already initiated.

The longer-term significance will depend on which regulations agencies recommend changing and whether those recommendations result in administrative or legislative action.

The executive order does not guarantee changes to debt collection regulations, but it establishes a formal process through which existing requirements may be reconsidered.