1406 will allow local jurisdictions to retain a portion of the state sales tax they already collect to invest in affordable homes. It received bipartisan support in the House and Senate policy committee, and a $69 million allocation in the House budget – but nothing in the Senate. Thank you to everyone who has already spoken up! Please share this action alert widely with advocates. We need a big push on this one! Done! You said something about good news? Yes! Despite severe budget difficulties, it’s clear that lawmakers are hearing your calls for increased investments in affordable housing and homelessness. In the past week, some exciting bills have passed opposite chamber floor votes, meaning they’re poised to be signed by the Governor soon. They still must pass through “concurrence,” where the House and Senate negotiate any differences or amendments they’ve picked up along the way. But they’re in good shape, thanks to your advocacy and lawmaker housing champions! 5600/Kuderer, eviction reform to prevent homelessness, passed the House on Friday evening after several hours of impassioned debate. This bill will extend the amount of time a tenant has to address late rent (from three to fourteen days) and give eviction court judges more discretion to consider tenant circumstances, such as job loss, hospitalization, or a lost paycheck. Finally, it will establish a mitigation fund to pay out any court judgements to landlords immediately, while giving tenants additional time to reimburse the fund. 1923/Fitzgibbon, addressing impediments to building affordable housing, passed the Senate on Saturday. This multi-faceted bill benefitted from the interest of many and unusual stakeholders, including affordable housing advocates, for-profit builders and realtors, land use advocates, and cities. 1923 will increase density while helping to prevent gentrification by making it easier to build affordable homes, control costs of building affordable housing, and even fund planning for new affordable housing. The cherry on top is a new $2.50 document recording fee that in 2024 will fund the operation and maintenance of permanent supportive housing and housing for households earning less than 50% of the AMI. In addition, two key bills passed this week without amendment, meaning they can skip concurrence and go directly to the Governor’s office for signing. - 1440/Robinson provides sixty days’ notice of rent increases to tenants, up from thirty.
- 1219/Walen provides flexibility to use Real Estate Excise Tax revenue for affordable homes.
Fantastic! So, what’s left? Remember those severe budget difficulties? Well, the House and Senate are still locked in negotiations on a final budget package, including revenue and expenditures. Because the House proposed significantly more in spending than the Senate, that’s not easy. Here’s what’s at stake for housing justice. - Housing Trust Fund received a $175 million allocation in the Senate’s Capital Budget, but just $150 million in the House. That’s a difference of hundreds of affordable homes.
- Housing & Essential Needs (HEN) received a $15 million bump in the Senate, but only $12.7 million in the House. Since HEN funding hasn’t increased in eight years despite soaring rents, every additional dollar is critical.
- As you know, 1406/Robinson was funded at $69 million in the House, but zero in the Senate. Again, please act today if you haven’t already!
- Both chambers are considering some form of an extraordinary profits tax and revenue reform to fix Washington’s upside-down tax code. Washingtonians with the smallest incomes currently pay 17% in taxes, while the wealthiest such as CEOs pay just 3%. Cleaning up the tax code will also bring in new resources the state can spend on affordable housing, homelessness, and on other needed investments.
The Housing Alliance will closely track budget negotiations over the next week to find every opportunity to push for adequate funding for affordable housing and homelessness. Look for more action alerts over the next two weeks – and thank you in advance for your advocacy! Got it. What else? Advocacy works. A huge and heartfelt THANK YOU to everyone who acted on last week’s action alert. An unprecedented 300+ of you responded in just the first 24 hours, flooding Olympia’s inboxes with pro-housing justice messages. As a result, all our priority bills were advanced several steps and passed well before the do-or-die cutoff date! It’s especially hard to pass legislation this year, with a near-record number of bills proposed and difficult budget negotiations. The housing justice agenda is succeeding is because of you and advocates like you. You are speaking up, and lawmakers are listening. Please keep it up! We need a strong push over these last two weeks of session to secure the budget investments needed. Housing Trust Fund in the news. Check out this Crosscut article talking about the current legislative session and explaining why advocates are asking for a greater investment in the Housing Trust Fund. Mark your calendar. The final advocates’ legislative update call will be Friday, April 26 from Noon to 1pm. Call in at 1-866-229-4555, access code 206-442-9455#. All advocates are welcome – please spread the news! |
