Legislators are wasting no time this short session. Our bills have a lot of hearings next week, and we’re gearing up for in-person and virtual action opportunities. Still learning the ins and outs of session? I put together this Legislative Toolkit with links and quick tips to hopefully help you jump right in.

And we’ll be live in your newsfeed on Thursday at 1pm PT for our first Policy Roundtable of the year – everything you need to know about STEP housing bills.

STEP Housing – HB 2266

STEP housing refers to critical housing types like Shelters, Transitional housing, Emergency shelters, and Permanent supportive housing; and Washington needs a lot more of it. HB 2266 and its Senate companion bill will make building STEP housing easier, and they are moving! Shoutout to Rep. Peterson for running this important bill on the House side. You know what to do – hit the button to Sign in PRO for HB 2266’s first committee hearing.

And we’ve got our experts on deck to help break down what this housing looks like, what’s in the bill, and what it means for our communities – tune in on Thursday at 1pm for a live conversation I’ll host with Futurewise Executive Director Alex Brennan, and Director of Planning and Law Tim Trohimovich. (This is a great time to check and be sure you follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Youtube, and Bluesky)

Encouraging Middle Housing

We’re watching a number of bills that support building more middle housing, faster, in more places, and first up is HB 2304, reforming condo liability laws to make it easier to build small condos, and help make home ownership a reality for more people. This bill is being championed by Rep. Jamila Taylor, and has its first hearing in the House Committee on Civil Rights & Judiciary on Friday at 10:30. 

Balancing Needs in Rural Areas

Futurewise was founded by folks working at the nexus of protecting agricultural, farm and resource-lands from sprawl, while fighting for affordable housing and equitable growth; so balancing needs in rural communities is always a pillar of our legislative agenda. We’ve got a few key bills that are on the move, but not quite up for a vote or action opportunity just yet. Here’s what we’re watching: 

• HB 2269 – Middle Housing in LAMIRDs – limited areas of more intensive rural development. HB 2269 will allow middle housing in LAMIRDs in rural counties, helping tackle the housing crisis while still mitigating sprawl. Wonky, technical, and important! This bill is up for its first vote in the House Committee on Housing, and we expect it to be on the move. 
   
• Back again, SB 5470 / HB 1345 to allow rural ADU’s. Futurewise has worked closely on ADU policy for rural areas for several sessions, especially to get adequate environmental protections in place. It’s important that rural development not disrupt our critical natural spaces, and Futurewill will continue to track this bill’s progress. 
  
  SB 5470 is being heard by the Senate Committee on Housing this week, and we’ll keep you in the loop on important updates if we need to mobilize.

Pull out your calendars, we’ve got events! 

Lobby Days in Olympia

Futurewise has a number of partner organizations that host incredible lobby days, so if you’re itching to get down to Olympia to meet with your elected representatives, here are a few great ways to do it: 

• Democracy Lobby Day – Friday, Jan 23
  Hosted by: WA for Equitable Representation, Redistricting Justice for WA, People Powered Elections WA, WA Conservation Action, and Free the Vote Washington
  REGISTER
   
• Housing & Homelessness Advocacy Day – Monday, Jan 26
  Hosted by WA Low Income Housing Alliance 
  REGISTER 
   
• Habitat Housing Impact Day – Wednesday, Feb 18
  Host: Habitat for Humanity, Seattle-King & Kittitas Counties
  REGISTER
   

Policy Roundtable: STEP Housing 

Mark your calendar for our first policy roundtable, where we’ll dive deeper into the STEP Housing bill, how it folds into existing housing policy, and what makes it an important piece of the housing puzzle and tackling homelessness. 

Save the date: Thursday, Jan 22nd, 1pm on Facebook and YouTube

You can always check out our online events calendar and join our discord to see what’s coming up!  Join us in January for policy roundtables with Futurewise experts discussing our priorities in more details. Stay tuned for more info!

We’ll call that good for the second week of the 2026 session. Thank you for your advocacy!

Onward,

Marcella