The last few weeks of legislative session have been action-packed, full of votes, committee hearings, and floor action. It was a big time effort to make sure rent stabilization and transit-oriented development stayed alive.
Things will pick back up the first week in April as we near the next cutoff deadline April 2nd.
This is the time to contact your legislators and ask them to not send these bills to the governor.
Rent Stabilization- HB 1217
Washingtonians want the state to do more to address our housing crisis and help keep people in their homes. HB 1217 is a strong, well-crafted bill that will keep rent costs from skyrocketing year over year, and provide more predictability for renters.
HB 1217 had its first hearing in the Senate last month and will soon be up for a vote in the Senate Housing Committee.
Transit-Oriented Development- HB 1491
Our TOD bill is awaiting a vote in the Senate Housing Committee. This policy is a product of the hard work and deep negotiations of many organizations and partners- we are ready for it to be passed this year. We’ll need this bill to fund improvement in Spanaway.
Transit-Oriented Housing Development Bill HB 2160
During the 2024 legislative session in Washington State, members of the House of Representatives introduced House Bill 2160, aiming to promote community and transit-oriented housing development. The bill would have required cities to allow developments of a specified scale within defined distances from high-capacity transit stops.
This study assesses how the proposed increases in development capacity by the bill compare to existing allowances. The results show that while the typical developable station area parcel already permits more development capacity than HB 2160 would have, a significant amount of land would be affected by the bill.
GMA Compliance– HB 1135
Last week you helped send over 600 emails in just a few short days, and HB 1135 is in good shape! This wonky but important bill will close loopholes in the Growth Management Act to ensure all cities and counties comply with the latest updates. The Senate Committee on Local Government passed the bill this week and it’s on its way to the Rules Committee.
It’s important to pause and celebrate our wins, so please let the Senate Rural Housing committee know we appreciate their work moving this one through!
[end