Legislative Update Week 11: The Path Through the Senate
Week of March 23 Legislative Update
The last few weeks of legislative session have been action-packed, full of votes, committee hearings, and floor action. You stepped up big time to make sure rent stabilization and transit-oriented development stayed alive. This week we’re getting a bit of a reprieve- the House and Senate are hard at work on their respective budget drafts, so bill action has slowed down a bit.
Things will pick back up as we get closer to the next cutoff deadline April 2nd, so stay tuned for more action opportunities in next week’s digest. This week we’re focused on contacting the Senate Housing Committee, which will soon take a vote on both rent stabilization and TOD.
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 week and will soon be up for a vote in the Senate Housing Committee. We need the committee to know this is an important priority- send them an email urging them to vote YES!
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! Email the Senate Housing Committee to let them know not to delay, let’s get it done.
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!
If you’re reading this email, you likely already support transit-oriented development, and know it will help our communities. We know that adding more housing, increasing density, and making it easier to access public transit are all good things.
But it’s important for us to be able to show the impact to legislators. That’s why we’ve created a bill analysis that clearly lays out where the TOD bill would have the biggest impact.
We need your help to finish up some of the data collection in time to show Senators. We’ll have a detailed checklist to follow, and our state organizer can walk you through the whole process. Whether you have one hour or three to help out, please sign up!
Alright that’s it for this week- our bills are moving, but they face a tougher path in the Senate, so we’ll be back in your inbox with important ways to make an impact as we approach the final month of this legislative session.