Resident Action Project Changes the Narrative Did you catch the Resident Action Project?s (RAP) panel conversation in Olympia this week? Six RAP leaders educated a roomful of lawmakers about homelessness by sharing their personal stories of housing instability and asking them to fund affordable homes. ?We wanted lawmakers and their staff to hear directly from the experts ? people who have experienced homelessness themselves ? on the actions they can take this session to reduce homelessness, instead of relying on sensationalistic reporting,? said Housing Alliance community organizer Stina Janssen, who helped organize the event. If you missed it, check out the Facebook livestream here and the KING 5 news segment here. Huge thanks to Lisa, Shannon, Mr. B, Karl, Ren, and Mindy! The House and Senate Duke It Out Over Budget You?ll remember that both chambers released their budgets last week ? and they?re pretty far apart from each other. So now, they negotiate. The housing justice agenda has a lot to gain from these negotiations ? but also a lot to lose. For instance, the House included just $150M for the Housing Trust Fund, while the Senate included $175M. That?s a difference of hundreds more affordable homes. Anything can happen during negotiations, and it?s important lawmakers are reminded of the human impact of their budget decisions. Right now, they need to hear the voices of advocates, loud and clear. It?s a Pressure Cooker in Olympia Bills must pass their fiscal committees by the end of the day today. After that, action will move to the floor, where lawmakers will pass bills until the 4/17 deadline. There is a lot of legislation to consider, and the huge budget differences between the House and Senate are creating additional pressure. Also turning up the heat: revenue. We know that revenue reform is essential to correct Washington?s upside down tax code where those with the smallest incomes pay 18% in taxes, while CEO?s and those earning the most pay just 3%. (Want to learn more? Check out this quick read.) Lawmakers are considering several critical bills that will bring in more money to the state by making the wealthy pay their fair share. An example is the House?s proposal to tax extraordinary profits ? but some lawmakers are skittish about voting yes on tax reform. We Can Win, With Strong Advocacy In situations like this, advocacy is absolutely critical. Your voice brings in a dose of reality and your input can highlight the consequences of not taking action. Hearing from constituents keeps lawmakers motivated and focused on what matters most. Thank you for speaking up and please keep doing it! A huge thank you especially to those who have traveled to Olympia from around the state over the last three months to testify during committee hearings in support of housing and homelessness priorities. I?ve Been Advocating ? How Are Those Bills Doing? Thank you! Here?s a quick overview. - Addressing the methodology for determining prevailing rates of pay for affordable housing: HB 1743/Ormsby
We?re thrilled to say this bill passed both chambers and is on its way to the Governor?s office for signing, hopefully this week. Congrats and thank you to everyone who spoke up!
- Eviction reform: HB 1453/Macri and SB 5600/Kuderer
A landlord mitigation fund was added during negotiations, which will provide prompt payment of judgements to landlords while giving tenants more time and flexibility to pay. This win/win addition was funded at $1M in the Senate budget, but $0 in the House. Champions Representative Macri and Senator Kuderer are working hard on negotiations for these important bills. HB 1453 passed out of Senate Ways & Means on Monday and SB 5600 is poised for a floor vote in the House soon.
- More notice of rent increases: HB 1440/Robinson
This bill passed out of the House with bipartisan support and could be voted on in the Senate any day, after it was pulled out of Rules last week.
- Allowing local communities retain a portion of state sales tax for affordable homes: HB 1406*/Robinson
This attracted bipartisan support and a $69M allocation in the House, but the Senate budget didn?t fund it. Negotiations are ongoing, and we?re hopeful the final budget will include this investment and that the Senate Ways and Means committee will pass it out without reducing its capacity.
- Reduce barriers to building affordable homes and ensure that density doesn?t result in displacement: HB 1923*/Fitzgibbon
The Housing Alliance has worked hard on this bill and is among an unusual set of stakeholders who are supporting this policy. There are continuing negotiations, and we hope to see it pass out of the Senate Ways & Means committee before the cut-off. *1406 and 1923 are in the Senate Ways & Means committee. 1406 is likely to be considered necessary to implement the budget and exempt from cut-off deadlines. If 1923 isn?t passed out by end of day today, it could be dead for the year. If you haven?t already, please tell your Senator to swiftly vote these bills out of committee. If your Senator isn?t on Ways & Means, they can still be helpful by making sure that the committee knows that these bills are a key priority. Your voice is essential right now! As always, you can track the progress of many relevant bills through our online bill tracker, and learn about the Housing Alliance?s legislative priorities here. Still Have Energy for More Housing Justice? Check this out. Housing Trust Fund advocates, check out this article from Crosscut about the housing justice agenda this session, and why a significant investment in the Housing Trust Fund is essential this year. Trying to wrap your head around revenue reform? All In for Washington has some great explainers, like this short post that uses graphics to show what we mean when we say Washington?s tax code is upside-down. Anyone catch Rachael Myers on KVRU?s The 5th Estate that aired last Friday? Mark Your Calendars Our final two legislative updates for advocates will happen from Noon-1pm on Friday 4/12 and Friday 4/26. Call in at 1-866-339-4555, code 206-442-9455#. All are welcome! The Housing Alliance Is Hiring Are you our new Director of Organizing, Member Organizer, Community Organizer, or Communications Specialist? We are excited to have four open positions to join our team! Please consider applying and share these positions with anyone who might be interested: https://www.wliha.org/about/jobs. | 
