|
Dear Maureen,
Last week, the power of advocacy shined bright! Statewide Just Cause passed (HB 1236/Macri), statewide right to counsel passed (SB
5160/Kuderer) and then late Saturday night, HB 1220/Peterson passed which prohibits cities from barring shelter and permanent supportive housing and requiring they undo racist land use policies. Each of these bills faced significant obstacles, but strategic
and relentless statewide advocacy got them through. As a former case manager serving our unhoused neighbors, I know just how critical it is for our community to provide resources that uplift and support our vulnerable community members. Thank you for your
advocacy, we are the change!
There is more work to do and we hope that you will take action today. There are two weeks left of this session and HB 1277/Ormsby
(creating a new permanent fund source for eviction prevention and homelessness interventions) needs to get out of Senate Ways and Means and onto the Senate floor for a vote. And when SB 5160 passed, the House adopted a very bad amendment regarding the current
statewide eviction moratorium. See more below and please take action today!
|
|
|
Tell the Senate to not accept the House amendments to SB 5160 and tell the House to “recede” from their position!
The House passed SB 5160/Kuderer on Thursday – which is a victory. This bill contains critical eviction protections including statewide
right to counsel for low-income renters and other key protections to ensure that the hundreds of thousands of tenants who have been behind in rent during the moratorium don’t lose their homes.
But, the House also accepted an amendment that potentially impacts the statewide eviction moratorium, currently scheduled to expire
at the end of June. The amendment by Representative Caldier restates that the end of the current moratorium is June 30, 2021 and also creates an entitlement for landlords to receive rental assistance. It does not prevent the Governor from actually extending the
moratorium, but it sends a message that he should not extend it. Why does this matter? Because our goal has been to build sufficient protections needed to prevent a surge in evictions and homelessness, but it is unlikely that those protections will be in place
by the end of the current moratorium:
-
It will take at least until July 31, 2021 to implement the new statewide right to counsel program, the centerpiece of SB 5160. If
the moratorium ends prior to tenants having access to legal assistance, many people will needlessly lose their homes.
-
Rental assistance is coming but more time is needed to get it to the hundreds of thousands of tenants who have fallen behind in
rent. The over $1 billion in rental assistance needed will not be expended by the end of June. Tenants will needlessly lose their homes.
-
Lastly, the eviction moratorium has prevented the spread of COVID-19. Research shows that lifting eviction moratoriums leads to
increased cases and deaths from coronavirus. With only 21% of our state vaccinated and a possible surge, an extension of the eviction moratorium may be needed to literally protect the lives of Washington’s renter households.
The Housing Alliance has been pushing for the moratorium to be extended through AT LEAST July 31, and we will continue to
do so. We are very disappointed that lawmakers in the House accepted this amendment on SB 5160 and we ask you to join with us to tell lawmakers that they need reject this harmful amendment.
|
|
|
Thank you so much for your advocacy!
With Gratitude
~Duaa-Rahemaah
Duaa-Rahemaah Williams - she/they pronouns
Statewide Organizer
|
|
