Recent Blog Posts

Low income renters in Washington face a staggering shortage of affordable homes, contributing to housing instability and homelessness across the state
Legislature Failed to Make Significant Progress on Housing Crisis
Hundreds of Thousands of Washingtonians at Risk of Displacement and homelessness by Excessive Rent Increases
Relief for renters clears important hurdle with WA House passage of measure to prevent excessive rent increases
Washington’s housing wage rises to $36.33 per hour – fifth highest in the nation 
The shortage of affordable housing has worsened for renters with extremely low incomes, especially in Washington
State lawmakers must make bold investments this year to solve the affordable housing and homelessness crisis
Bill to Stop Rent Gouging Approved by House Appropriations Committee, Landlords Join Housing Advocates Pushing for Floor Vote
Governor Inslee’s budget takes bold steps - significant housing investments are also needed in this biennium
The vision, mission, and values that guide our work
housing action
A Final Capital Budget!

Share:

Michele Thomas, Director of Policy and Advocacy

More great housing & homelessness news from the capitol!

The capital budget was just released, and it includes $75 million for the Housing Trust Fund! This is an amazing victory in a year with so much pressure on the capital budget! The House just passed the budget on a 96-2 vote, and the Senate still has to pass the budget. But the bill released includes amounts both sides had previously agreed to, which means that amendments are very unlikely.

A

dditionally, Weatherization Assistance for low-income homeowners was allocated $15 million. Weatherization improvements of owner-occupied homes save homeowners money and keep homes warm in the winter and cool in the summer. Weatherization assistance is especially important in rural communities and has environmental benefits of less energy consumption.

The capital budget also directs the Department of Commerce to use $2.5 million in existing funds to create a pilot for ultra-energy efficient affordable housing.

Overall, this is very great news! Almost 2,000 households in need across the state will have safe, healthy, affordable homes because of this allocation, and farmworkers will have safe, affordable seasonal housing. There are plenty of thanks to be made. Stay tuned for the mighty list of lawmakers who championed these allocations.

You can check out the full budget language here. Section 1032 contains the HTF allocation.

If you have a moment, please send a quick thank-you note to these legislative champions:

Rep. Hans Dunshee (44th LD, Snohomish): Dunshee.Hans@leg.wa.gov
Rep Derek Stanford (1st LD, Bothell): Derek.Stanford@leg.wa.gov
Rep Richard DeBolt (20th, Chehalis): Richard.DeBolt@leg.wa.gov
Speaker Frank Chopp (43rd LD, Seattle): Frank.Chopp@leg.wa.gov
Rep June Robinson (38th LD, Everett): June.Robinson@leg.wa.gov
 
 

 

Share:

Add new comment

About text formats

Plain text

  • No HTML tags allowed.
  • Web page addresses and email addresses turn into links automatically.
  • Lines and paragraphs break automatically.
CAPTCHA