Recent Blog Posts
Ben Miksch, State and Federal Policy Associate
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Monday was the first day of the 2013 Legislative Session in Olympia, and if it was any preview we're off to a very interesting session. |
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| The biggest news was the announcement at noon where we got our first real glimpse of who would be governing the Senate. Remember, the Democrat majority of 26-23 that existed right after the election is now effectively a Republican majority of 25-24, with Democratic senators Rodney Tom and Tim Sheldon crossing party lines to give the GOP the majority. This meant some big changes in Senate committee leadership positions. The Seattle Times covered it well here. | Image
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Senator Rodney Tom Senator Tim Sheldon |
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The legislature has a number of huge challenges ahead this session, not the least of which are addressing the $1 billion revenue shortfall and then finding another $1 - $2.5 billion on top of that in order to comply with the Supreme Court's McCleary ruling. You may recall this decision stated that Washington was failing in its constitutional duty to fund basic education. With more people struggling to afford a safe place to live and other basic necessities, balancing the need to fully fund education while maintaining our social safety net is also a challenge they have to tackle. This year, maybe more than other years, your advocacy will be crucial for moving the ball forward on the funding and policies we need to prevent and end homelessness in Washington. We will be sending out regular calls to action, and we need you to act. Legislators need to hear a loud call coming from their constituents telling them that affordable housing priorities are important needs that must be addressed. |
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| As part of this effort, the Housing Alliance will be working harder than ever to give you the tools you need to get involved. We will be working to put the latest news from Olympia on this blog as soon as possible, which will be compiled into a continuation of Michele Thomas’ This Week In Housing, emails. We also have information about all of the lead and support items on our agenda here, as well as fact sheets and one pagers on all of our issues here. Last year, even in a tough environment, we made significant progress and we’re using that positive momentum moving into this session. That’s why we at the Housing Alliance are excited about our work moving forward. Last year, even in a tough environment, we made significant progress and we’re using that positive momentum moving into this session. That’s why we at the Housing Alliance are excited about our work moving forward. This is going to be a long, hard session and likely even more difficult than the last, but if we work together and stay involved I know we can make a real difference. And be sure to add Housing and Homelessness Advocacy Day to your calendar for February 11! If you haven’t registered, you should right now by heading over to our Advocacy Day Homepage. Afterwards, join in on our Facebook event. |
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Calling all housing advocates... Image
Time to activate the advocates! |
Photo Credits: Morgan Garvin and Washington State Legislature
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