HB 1797, the local option housing bill, as well as HB 1570, the document recording fee increase bill, were heard in House Finance and House Appropriations respectively. HB 1570 came out of committee on Friday while HB 1797 is being considered “Necessary to Implement the Budget” (NTIB). NTIB bills are not subject to the normal cutoff deadlines meaning this bill likely will not move out of committee until next week.
In the Senate, SB 5254 was heard in Senate Ways & Means Committee. The bill includes a whole host of elements including:
- An extension of the document recording fee sunset date;
- New buildable lands reporting requirements (including some Eastern Washington counties for the first time);
- Authority to use real estate excise tax revenues for affordable housing;
- Extension of the authority for transit-oriented planned actions; and
- Limitations on the authority of Puget Sound Regional Council to establish growth maximums for cities.
The timeline for executive action is less clear on this bill.