Your weekly legislative session update from Olympia! Legislative Session Update, Week 9 Halfway through the legislative session, there is cause for optimism about the housing justice agenda, thanks to your strong advocacy. We're hearing that despite the budget crisis and a record number of bills to consider, lawmakers still see housing and homelessness as urgent priorities, and our bills are moving quickly. Thanks to all of you who have taken action so far! Big Week for Housing in the House This past week, the House and Senate passed key bills. Each of these will head to the opposite chamber to be heard again in policy committees. We are thrilled with the bipartisan support that most of these bills received! - HB 1453/Macri will reform the eviction process to help keep people in their homes and out of homelessness and passed the House on 3/5 with a vote of 54:44.
- HB 1406/Robinson will allow local investments to retain a portion of the sales taxes collected to invest locally in affordable housing and passed the House on 3/5 66:32.
- HB 1440/Robinson will require 60-days notice to tenants of rent increases and passed the House 3/5 62:36.
- HB 1219/Walen will allow local jurisdictions to use Real Estate Excise Tax revenue they collect to invest in affordable housing and passed the House on 3/5 74:24.
- SB 5600/Kuderer will reform the eviction process to keep people in their homes and will create a new program in the Department of Commerce to create a revolving fund that will quickly pay the judgements of tenants who have had their tenancy restored with judicial discretion to allow landlords to get paid and give time to the tenant to pay the judgement off. It passed out of the Senate on 3/9 31:15 (with 3 excused).
Advocacy Continues We're still working hard to gain traction on a few critical priorities. This year, we are asking an additional $69M for Housing & Essential Needs (HEN), which would double the current appropriation level. This is a difficult ask in such a tight budget climate, but HEN's sponsors and champions have been fierce. There is a sign-on letter circulating, and we are not backing down from the request. Rock star advocates have been sharing their personal stories in Olympia to make the case for this investment. HB 1921/Frame will bring in additional revenue for the state's operating budget and the Housing Trust Fund by lowering the Real Estate Excise Tax (REET) rate for lower-valued properties and raising it for properties valued at over $7M. The bill is considered "necessary to implement the budget" which exempts it from the cutoffs that other bills are held to. It remains in good shape and we expect to see a Senate companion bill soon. It's been a significant part of the revenue conversation, and the fact that it brings in revenue for the state makes it easier to advocate for new investments elsewhere, such as in HEN. Budget, Coming Up Lawmakers will soon turn their attention to finalizing the details of the operating and capital budgets. The House is expected to release its proposed budget by the week of March 25 with the Senate following soon after. We believe our $200M request for the Housing Trust Fund, fueled by the "600 Million For Homes" day of action, is a top priority for many lawmakers but an extra push in these next couple of weeks is needed. Stay tuned for an action alert. Attend a Town Hall with Your Lawmaker The housing justice agenda has made some real progress, but hurdles remain before we can declare success. We are only half way through the session and each policy bill has to make it all the way through the opposite chamber in order to pass and it is critical that advocates double down on advocacy. Many lawmakers are holding Town Hall meetings for their constituents, a great opportunity to share your stories without having to travel all the way to Olympia. Find yours here, and watch for an updated advocates guide with talking points later this week! Take a Look "Three Days is Not Enough - Landlords Support Eviction Reform"
Landlords agree that the eviction bills on our legislative agenda (Cause: HB 1656/Macri, SB 5733/Saldaña; Eviction reform: HB 1453/Macri, SB 5600/Kuderer) are really common-sense measures to prevent homelessness. Check out this blog post from northwest Washington landlord Tara Nelson, who shares the story of a tenant and single dad who needed just a little extra time to recover from a job loss and catch up on his rent. Status of Key Bills In addition to the updates above, you can track the progress of many relevant bills through our online bill tracker, and learn about our legislative priorities here. On the bill tracker page, we've also added a "hotsheet" that we're using in Olympia to keep legislators updated on the status of key bills.
Biweekly Advocate Calls Want additional updates? Join our biweekly advocate calls every other Friday at noon through the legislative session. The next call is Friday 3/15, from noon to 1:00 pm. Then mark you calendar for every other Friday after that. Call 1-866-339-4555. Access code: 2064429455#. | 
