Growing Together: Legislative Update Week 4
Week of February 3 Legislative Update
Welcome to February! There are officially 81 days left in the Legislative session. Compared to last year’s short session, we’ve had plenty of time to catch our breath between actions (and join the campaign discord, am I right?). With the long session, legislators have the time to let their bills germinate. While this gives us more time to respond and mobilize, it also gives our opposition time too. It is crucial in a long session to keep our support strong and constant so none of our bills gets lost in the weeds. Keep sharing the sign in pros with friends and family. Keep emailing your legislators. Keep attending events. All of these actions will keep our bills growing!
– Ava Foley, Campaign Intern
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Last week HB 1217, the rent stabilization bill that will set a 7% cap on rent increases, got sent to the House Appropriations Committee for a hearing. The Appropriations Committee hears and votes on House bills that have a fiscal note. The hearing is scheduled for February 3rd and we need you to sign in PRO again! Make sure to click the button and do this before 3pm on 2/3. We are also expecting the bill opposition to mobilize, so this is the bill to to friends and family to sign in PRO! This will be the last hearing on HB 1217 in the house, so don’t miss out and smash that button.
Also, check out our shiny new one-pager and talking points on rent stabilization! |
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Transit-Oriented Development – HB 1491
Transit-oriented development bill, which will allow more homes near transit and connect people to their communities is on the move (read more in our snazzy, hot-off-the-press one-pager!) It had its first hearing last week. Thanks to the 800+ activists that signed in pro, we have a little over 260 more pro sign ins than the con sign ins! It’s important we keep mobilizing and showing legislators that the “con” sign ins are in the minority.
HB 1491 is scheduled for a vote in the House Committee on Housing on February 4. We’re advocating for making the multi-family tax exemption (MFTE) program mandatory, which would be easier for developers to build affordable housing and make sure this housing works for everyone. It’s important that we’re letting legislators know we love this bill and want them to prioritize affordability and density. Click the button below to email the Housing Committee to VOTE YES and support affordability and density! |
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Rural Housing Solutions
Rural places across Washington have housing needs and affordability concerns just like anywhere else in the state. But the supply-side strategies that we need to adopt in our urban and suburban cities and towns don’t work for Washington’s rural communities. We can’t build urban or suburban levels of density in our rural areas without destroying what defines these communities as rural. That’s why we’re highlighting and working on a series of bills that can balance affordability and protecting our farms and natural resources. |
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Wildfire Protections – HB 1254
HB 1254, which would help protect homes and rural communities from wildfires by setting new guidelines, like specific building materials and vegetation setbacks for new homes. This bill also helps conserve trees and green spaces by keeping new development too close to forests and other places prone to wildfires. HB 1254 was scheduled for an executive session last week and has been pushed to this week on February 7. Stay tuned for more updates, but no action is needed now. |
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HB 1345 would allow detached accessory dwelling units (DADUs) in rural areas with restrictions and accountability in place. Thanks to your advocacy from last year, legislators are responding with improved legislation from last year’s bills that provided minimal restrictions in place to protect our farms and natural resources.
As the steward of Washington’s Growth Management Act, Futurewise is advocating in Olympia for smart policy responses to the housing crisis that meet the needs of rural communities, without sacrificing the open space, farmland, and natural resources that are the defining features of Washington’s rural areas. We are still signed in OTHER on HB 1345 as we work with legislators, stakeholders and community partners to overcome obstacles in this bill that still threatens our rural communities.
HB 1345 is scheduled for an executive session on February 6. No actionneeded, please stay tuned for more detailed updates. |
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GMA Compliance – HB 1135
This bill closes a legal loophole that could prevent our legal team from making sure cities and counties are in compliance with new updates to the Growth Management Act. HB 1135 was scheduled for an executive session last Friday that has now been pushed to February 7 while we work to amend the bill to clarify and clean up language. I’ll let you know when we need outside pressure to beef up our support. |
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Join our Rural Housing Roundtable
For over thirty years, Futurewise has been your voice in Olympia to protect rural lands from development and sprawl. This year is no different, and there are a number of bills we’re tracking that impact rural communities.
To help you understand this legislation, where Futurewise stands on the issues, and how you can make your voice heard, Futurewise is hosting a live Rural Housing Roundtable in a few weeks on our YouTube channel! Tune in to hear from Futurewise Executive Director Alex Brennan, Director of Planning & Law Tim Trohimovich, and yours truly, about what’s on the rural housing agenda in 2025. We’ll dig into the details of these proposed bills and what they mean for rural communities in Washington.
Join us on Wednesday February 12th at 12 PM. Tune in via the Futurewise YouTube channel. |
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