After advancing quickly through the committee process, HB 2266 received several helpful floor amendments as it was adopted by the Senate. The bill now goes back to the House for concurrence, which is expected.

The changes to the bill made on the floor of the Senate are as follows:

• For emergency shelter and housing, added a requirement that the facility sponsor certify a staffing plan to provide services and resources comparable to customary practices for similar types of housing and clarified that identified points of contact must have decision-making authority;
• To the list of objective development regulations that cities can apply to STEP housing, added density limits, height restrictions, dimensional standards, and floor area ratio; and
• Under the contracting requirements in changes to RCW 36.130.020 in Section 5 of the bill, adds long-term land leases to the legal consideration that would trigger additional authority to require operating agreements for STEP housing.

Cities have until June 10, 2028, or by their next comprehensive plan update, whichever comes first, to adopt the changes made by HB 2266.

STEP housing bill quickly advances after passing the Senate

February 20, 2026

After passing the Senate with floor amendments, HB 2266 was scheduled quickly and has already received a public hearing in the Senate Housing Committee and is scheduled for a committee vote. As a reminder, the bill requires cities to allow STEP housing (shelters, transitional, emergency, and permanent supportive housing) in zones allowing residential or hotel uses, depending on the STEP housing type.

The changes to the bill made on the floor of the House are as follows:

• Requires the sponsor or managing entity of STEP housing to certify that it has conducted more than one community meeting, rather than just one;
• Allows a city, upon receipt of a permit application for an emergency shelter/housing located within 500 feet of a school or another shelter, to enter good-faith negotiations with the sponsor to establish additional and reasonable requirements pertaining to health and safety protocols. If agreement is not reached within 90 days, the city can deny the permit. Shelters that serve certain populations are exempted from the good-faith requirement;
• Clarifies that the restrictions on STEP housing are limited to requirements imposed on other lodging or residential development within the same zone;
• Removes the provisions relating to STEP housing in existing buildings; and
• Exempts existing STEP housing from the provisions of the act.

Concerningly, HB 2266 makes changes to RCW 36.130.020 to set requirements for how a city can contract with a STEP housing sponsor to establish additional and reasonable operational requirements pertaining to health and safety protocols. The bill specifies that legal consideration from the city for the contract must include either land donation to be used for the STEP housing or a significant contribution from the general fund for capital or operating expenses, to be mutually determined by both parties. Breach occurs if the city unilaterally withdraws or modifies the consideration, which makes the operational requirements in the contract inapplicable to the STEP housing.

Protecting health and safety is a core function of local government, and this last provision seems to limit a city’s ability to exercise that constitutionally derived authority and, instead, requires the city to bargain for it within a contract context. Please let us know if you are reading this language differently.

Date to remember

HB 2266 is scheduled for a committee vote in the Senate Housing Committee on Wednesday, February 25, at 10:30 am.

Amended STEP housing bill advances, concerns remain

February 6, 2026

The STEP housing companion bills continue to advance, with the Senate version on second reading in the Rules Committee, well ahead of the cutoff, and the House version scheduled for a committee vote on Monday, February 9, poised to meet the fiscal committee deadline.

SB 6069 and HB 2266 were amended in their respective policy committees and continue to mirror each other. The substitute versions made the following changes:

• Transitional housing and permanent supportive housing must be allowed in zones that allow residential uses and hotels.
• Indoor emergency shelters and indoor emergency housing must be allowed in zones where hotels are allowed.
• The capacity allowed must meet the projected needs allocation for STEP housing.
• Jurisdictions cannot require more restrictive development regulations and environmental review than apply to other lodgings and residences.
• Only administrative design review is allowed.
• For shelters and emergency housing, cities can require the project sponsor to certify that:
  • Public notification was made;
  • A community meeting was held;
  • A listed point of contact was provided; and
  • Documentation was provided for operational policies, but the content is decided by the project sponsor, not the city.

We appreciate the amendments made to the bill and continue to advocate for the need to strike a balance on city authority to require sufficient assurance on operating agreements and the need for more of these facilities to be built. While shelters would be allowed in areas where hotels are allowed, experience has shown that the needs of these facilities are not the same as those of the local Best Western—even when it was the local Best Western that housed the homeless during the pandemic.

Date to remember

HB 2266 is scheduled for a committee vote in the House Appropriations Committee on Monday, February 9, at 10:30 am.

STEP housing bill returns

January 16, 2026

Returning in concept, HB 2266/SB 6069 from Rep. Strom Peterson (D–Edmonds) and Sen. Emily Alvarado (D–Seattle) is the latest iteration of HB 1195 from 2025, which died on the House floor.

This year, the proposal focuses more on requirements or restrictions on how cities permit STEP housing types (permanent supportive, transitional, and indoor emergency housing and shelters) and does not include the dispute resolution components from previous years.

Key provisions:

• A county or city planning under RCW 36.70A.040 must allow STEP housing in any zones within an urban growth area that are not zoned for industrial use.
• A county or city may not require through development regulations, ordinances, or legal agreements any standards, conditions, or requirements for STEP housing that are more restrictive than those required for other types of residential development within the same zone, but may apply any objective development regulations that are required for residential development including, but not limited to, setback, lot coverage, stormwater, clearing, and tree canopy and retention requirements.
• New provision: The bill removes the ability to require operating agreements as a condition of permitting.

We are hearing concerns, especially about the following two provisions:

1. Allowing emergency shelters in all residential zones, especially those without services or transit access; and
2. Removing the ability to require operating agreements as a condition of permitting for emergency shelter facilities.

Please share your city’s updated perspective on this bill and any ideas you have on how to make it workable.

Date to remember

HB 2266 is scheduled for public hearing in the House Housing Committee on Tuesday, January 20, at 4 pm.

SB 6069 is scheduled for public hearing in the Senate Housing Committee on Friday, January 23, at 10:30 am.