The Housing Trust Fund is a tried-and-true tool, responsible for building almost 50,000 affordable homes across Washington state, and in every county. Today, 78,000 Washingtonians live in homes built by the Housing Trust Fund, and two-thirds of them are struggling on less than $28,000 annually for a family of four. - The Senate boldly stepped up for affordable homes by allocating $175 million to the Housing Trust Fund (HTF), an historic level of biennium investment. Unfortunately, the House only included $150 million. That difference means hundreds more families living in safe, affordable homes – or struggling to survive the brutality of homelessness.
Every dollar spent on Housing Trust Fund is leveraged by five dollars from public and private sources. Less than full funding for HTF means literally leaving money on the table. In a state where rising rents are threatening to harm our communities, this makes no sense. It’s essential that the Senate holds strong to its $175 million allocation, and the House steps up to meet that bold commitment. HB 1406 will give jurisdictions a new, rare source of local funding to build affordable homes. It allows communities to keep a portion of the state sales tax they already collect, as long as they invest it in affordable homes for residents. For smaller communities, this may be one of the only sources of local funding to leverage state or federal dollars. - The House included $69 million for HB 1406 in their budget, but the Senate didn’t fund it at all. As budget negotiations intensify, this puts 1406 at risk of being zeroed out entirely. And without funding, the legislation will die. The Senate needs to hear, loud and clear, that you expect them to meet the House’s funding level – and the House needs your support to insist on that $69 million.
Last week, we asked you to contact your lawmakers to support full funding for HB 1406, and you responded in unprecedented numbers. Hundreds of your emails are flowing into Olympia’s inboxes – and it’s working. So far this session, lawmakers have heard your voices and passed eviction reform, increased the notice required before rent increases, and controlled costs for building affordable homes. Working together, we have come closer than ever to our goal of $600 million for homes this session. Thank you. As budget negotiations continue and the end of session draws near, funding for affordable homes is increasingly at risk. If we want to succeed, we must keep up this momentum. If you acted last week, it’s important to contact your lawmakers again and remind them how important this funding is. If you didn’t, now’s the perfect time. Tell your lawmakers it's time to fully fund affordable homes in Washington! This is it. We’re so close to declaring victory for an ambitious housing justice agenda that will mean the difference between homelessness and security for thousands of Washingtonians. With your voice and action, we can get there. ~rachael
Rachael Myers
Executive Director | 
