2583

AFFORDABLE HOUSING (HB 2583)

2/7/18   Our priority affordable housing bill, in both the House and Senate. Despite an outpouring of support from the public and Federation members, HB 2583 and SB 6400 were not scheduled for committee votes by the Feb. 2 cutoff deadline. But our multi-level effort to address the economic concerns of our members living in high-cost areas of the state continues – stronger than ever.

AFFORDABLE HOUSING BILL NEEDED FOR STATE EMPLOYEES BECAUSE HIGH RENTS “ARE MAKING IT DIFFICULT FOR THEM TO SURVIVE”

1/23/18  AFSCME Council 28 (WFSE) members and our allies countered opponents and made a strong case today for our priority affordable housing bill as a matter of survival for many state employees.

“The price of housing in Seattle has skyrocketed and because of that it’s impacting a lot of state workers because their cost of living is not equal to wages,” Local 304 member Tommy Fuglestad testified on HB 2583 before the House Judiciary Committee this morning (Jan. 23).

The skyrocketing rents in King County and other high-cost areas of the state are “making it difficult for them to survive,” he said.

Fuglestad, who works at North Seattle College and is a member of the Federation’s Statewide Executive Board, was joined by members of Western State Hospital Local 793 in a show of support for the affordable housing bill.

High housing costs are forcing more and more state employees to move farther and farther away from their worksites with increasingly burdensome commute times, he said.

“And it’s more than just in Seattle,” Fuglestad said. “A lot of times many of them are forced to work more than one job to be able to make ends meet.”

HB 2583  would remove the state ban on rent control so local governments could have the option of regulating the amount of rent charged for single-family and multiple-unit residential rental structures.

“It gives cities the freedom to kind of look at all their different options and find local solutions to the housing crisis,” Local 304 President Alex Bacon said in an interview the night before on KOMO-TV.

1/23/18 . House Judiciary hearing today 10 am. Committee docs here.

1/16/18  The priority Affordable House Bill (HB 2583) has been moved to the House Judiciary Committee. So at this point there is no hearing this week for HB 2583. The Senate version (SB 6400) is in the Senate Financial Institutions and Insurance Committee.

Affordable Housing Lobby Day Jan 18

Affordable Housing bill introduced (HB 2583)

1/9/18  Rep. Nicole Macri’s affordable housing bill inspired by Federation members who no longer can afford to live where they work was introduced Tuesday (Jan. 9).

House Bill 2583, sponsored by Macri of the 43rd Dist., has been referred to the House Community Development, Housing and Tribal Affairs Committee. Macri is vice chair of that committee.

Macri’s affordable housing bill declares

“there is a housing emergency throughout Washington state. Safe, accessible and affordable housing is a cornerstone of a civil and human society. Yet, because of steep rent costs, thousands of families throughout our state do not have access to this fundamental human necessity.”   READ BILL TEXT HERE

That crisis has hurt businesses because workers look for jobs closer to where they can afford to live. The lack of affordable housing causes more homelessness, a burden on local school districts, cities, counties and other local governments.

Yet, it’s state law that has tied the hands of local governments and HB 2583 would fix that.

Macri’s bill would give local governments the freedom to address the crisis in affordable housing by abolishing the statewide bans on local laws that regulate rent.

This is one of the Federation’s major priorities in the 2018 legislative session. And Lobby Days are a great way for member advocates to tell their stories directly to legislators about the need for HB 2583. Sign up at: https://wfse.org/lobby-days