As the final home stretch comes into view, the number of conversations on housing has focused on a few key bills.
On Monday, March 25, the Senate Housing Stability and Affordability Committee heard HB 1406, our priority bill to create a new sales tax revenue sharing between the state and local governments to invest in locally prioritized housing efforts. The committee promptly passed the bill and moved it to Senate Ways & Means, where it will be heard on April 3. Please contact any Senators you have on the Senate Ways & Means Committee and express your support for this proposal, which will not raise taxes for consumers but will dedicate significant money to local governments to tackle our housing challenges. If you need any information or assistance on this, contact Carl or Shannon.
Please contact any Senators you have on the Senate Ways & Means Committee and express your support for this proposal.
On the policy front, two bills we have been working on all year also got hearings this week. SB 5812 started out as an incredibly broad and detailed bill dealing with city policies around accessory dwelling units (ADUs). After working through the legislative process, the bill was significantly improved for cities when it left the Senate (see our previous article for details). On March 27, the House Local Government Committee heard the bill, and heard from a chorus of advocates asking them to make the bill worse for cities by reinserting some of the mandates that the Senate saw fit to take out of the bill. If you have members on the Local Government Committee, please let them know that you appreciate the approach that the Senate took with the bill, and ask them to maintain that approach.
If you have members on the Local Government Committee, please let them know that you appreciate the approach that the Senate took with the bill, and ask them to maintain that approach.
The second major housing policy bill currently advancing is HB 1923. Like the ADU bill, this bill was significantly improved for cities through amendments as it passed the House. What was originally direction to take specific actions turned into a bill that incentivized cities to take actions by clarifying that cities would not be faced with lengthy SEPA appeals for making tough decisions locally. After the hearing on March 27, it became clear that—similar to the ADU bill—there are a number of parties and legislators who are still interested in moving back to a more mandatory approach with this bill. We continue to work to try to thread the needle to ensure that this bill both helps make tangible gains in housing production and affordability around the state, while providing as much flexibility and local decision-making as we can get. The bill is scheduled for executive action in committee on April 1. Please let your Senators know how important it is for local decision-making to be retained in this bill, and that each city’s housing challenges are unique.
Please let your Senators know how important it is for local decision-making to be retained in this bill.
On both of the housing policy bills, the outcome and direction are still up in the air as of this writing. We expect that these bills and the concepts within them will continue to be discussed throughout the remainder of session.
Dates to remember
HB 1406 will be heard in Senate Ways & Means on Wednesday, April 3 at 1:30 pm.
SB 5812 is scheduled for a vote in House Local Government Committee on Tuesday, April 2 at 10 am.
HB 1923 is scheduled for a vote in the Senate Housing Stability & Affordability Committee on Monday, April 1 at 1:30 pm.