 Your weekly legislative session update from Olympia! Legislative Session Update, Week 8 Powerful advocacy is the theme of the week in Olympia. While it's tempting to rest on the extraordinary impact of Housing & Homelessness Advocacy Day last week, it's actually more critical than ever to make sure the stories and voices of housing justice are heard, strong and clear. Lawmakers, aides, and advocates alike told us that the personal stories shared last week were effective in cutting through the budget noise and getting legislators to focus on the affordable housing agenda. We'll need to keep up the pressure to ensure success. If you were in Olympia last Thursday, you couldn't miss the six hundred and more advocates in their red scarves. Sen. Joe Nguyen stopped by the Rally For Homes! on the steps of the legislative building to thank advocates for raising their voices, while Resident Action Project members Mr. B and Lisa Striedinger led the crowd in enthusiastic chants. Drummers from Chief Seattle Club started off the Rally, while Frenette Blackbear reminded the group, "The people are the lawmakers of this land." Last Friday was an important date, when bills with a financial impact needed to be voted out of their fiscal committee. An exception is bills considered "Necessary to Implement the Budget," or NTIB. This is the case for one of our lead priorities – the progressive Real Estate Excise Tax (REET) bill (HB 1921/Frame). It would lower the tax rate for lower-valued properties and raise it for higher-valued properties, creating a net increase for the state, making the tax more progressive, and creating an ongoing revenue source for the Housing Trust Fund. Because there is no cutoff date for this bill, we must be vigilant in keeping the conversation active. We expect a boost from a Senate companion bill soon, and constituent advocacy will be critical to keeping the bills alive. This week, both chambers will be on the floor all week, where bills can move or be amended quickly and unexpectedly. The next cutoff date is March 13, when bills must be voted out of their house of origin and are then sent to the opposite chamber to start the process all over again. There are more bills than usual to be considered this session, so we'll be vigilant in encouraging lawmakers to keep these important bills moving. Here's an update on some key bills. - Allow local communities to retain a portion of the state's sales tax: HB 1406/Robinson and SB 5646/Kuderer
Bill sponsors have decided that HB 1406 will be the vehicle for this policy, so SB 5646 is not progressing. HB 1406 passed out of fiscal committee last week and is in Rules now, after receiving unanimous support in its policy committee. We expect the House to move quickly, perhaps this week.
- Implement eviction reform: HB 1453/Macri and SB 5600/Kuderer; and Require legitimate cause to terminate tenancy: HB 1656/Macri and SB 5733/Saldaña
Both the House tenant bills are in really good shape and are positioned for a floor vote. We've been in very productive negotiations with the for-profit industry and have been successful in finding compromises while leaving the bills in good shape. Contact your House members now and ask them to vote these important bills off the floor!
- Prevailing Wage methodology for the construction of affordable housing and low-income weatherization: SB 5766/Conway and HB 1743/Ormsby
Both bills were voted out of committee unanimously! HB 1743 passed off of the House floor unanimously on Friday March 1st, and SB 5766 was made eligible to be pulled to the Senate floor.
As always, you can track the progress of many relevant bills through our online bill tracker, and learn about our legislative priorities here. In Case You Missed It Dr. Tim Thomas' recent webinar, Understanding Evictions and Fighting Anti-Black Racism with Housing Justice, is available on our website, along with slides and the research it draws from. If you didn't get the chance to join the webinar live, it's worth perusing now. The webinar also provided a detailed update on the status of the eviction reform bills. Please share widely with your networks. Keep Advocating! Because of your past advocacy, our elected housing champions are coming in with more urgency than ever before. "You're weighing in and you're being heard," shares the Housing Alliance's director of policy and advocacy Michele Thomas. The Housing Alliance will be looking for more opportunities to bring together constituents and lawmakers in deep conversation about housing and homelessness this session. If you expect to meet with your lawmaker and would like some guidance or support, let us know. |
