2024 Legislative Session Update
For the week of Sunday, January 21, 2024
2024.01.21 - WLA Bill Status & Upcoming Events Report - PDF LINK
Today marks the 14th day of the 2024 Legislative Session in Olympia. While many celebrated Martin Luther King Jr Day with a day off, the Legislature kept working and opened the day with speeches praising and honoring the civil rights leader. Being a supplemental budget year and shorter (60 days), there are plenty of bills being heard and moved out of committee these past two weeks. Our first cutoff is coming up on Wednesday, January 31st, which will be the last day to read in committee reports (pass bills out of committee and read them into the record on the floor) in house of origin, except House fiscal committees and Senate Ways & Means and Transportation committees.
HB 2276/SB 6191 – Real-Estate Excise Tax
With housing policy taking the forefront of the 2024 session, we take a look at HB 2276 which is prime sponsored by Representative April Berg (D-44), who happens to be the Chair of the House Finance Committee. The bill adjusts the state real estate excise tax (REET) and adds a real estate transfer tax (RETT) on high-value properties. Specifically, it would adjust the state REET to reduce taxes on most property sold under $3,025,000. would also impose a new RETT of 1% on any property selling over $3,025,000, calculated on the value over $3,025,000. Estimates put new revenue from this tax at around $200 million per year. Funding would increase for the Housing Trust Fund, Farm Worker Housing, Home Security Fund, Apple Health & Homes Account, Developmental Disabilities Housing and Services, and to stabilize low-income housing in the Housing Trust Fund portfolio.
The companion to this bill is SB 6191, prime sponsored by Sen. Noel Frame (D-36). The bill is scheduled for a hearing in the Senate Ways and Means Committee on Thursday, January 25 at 4:00 p.m.
We will keep you updated on important and relevant legislation throughout the session.
If you are wanting or asked to testify on a bill, please click this link on instructions and helpful hints on the testimony process.
2024 Weekly Hearing Schedule
Week of January 22
Below is the weekly schedule of legislative committee hearings we are tracking for the week of Monday, January 22 to Friday, January 26.
If anyone is interested in watching any of these hearings, they can do so on TVW at www.tvw.org and select the appropriate committee hearing to view.
To take action on any of the bills you can do the following:
§ To Sign up to Submit written testimony,
§ Testify virtually or in-person, or
§ To Provide position to be noted for the legislative record, click here.
- Select either House or Senate (Whether the bills is being heard in a House or Senate Committee)
- Select the Committee name the bill is scheduled for a hearing.
- Select the date of the hearing to the corresponding bill.
- Click on the bill number of interest.
- Then you select one of the options you would like to take
- I would like to testify in person during the hearing.
- I would like to testify remotely.
- I would like my position noted for the legislative record.
- I would like to submit written testimony.
Please let us know if you would like to take Action on any of these bills or update/change our position(s).
Upcoming Events
Housing (House) - HHR B and Virtual JLOB - 1/22 @ 1:30pm
• HB 2308 - Public Hearing - Concerning housing affordability tax incentives for existing structures. (Remote Testimony Available). (Support/High)
• HB 2321 - Public Hearing - Modifying middle housing requirements and the definitions of transit stop. (Remote Testimony Available). (Position Needed)
• HB 2353 - Public Hearing - Promoting affordable housing in unincorporated areas within urban growth areas of counties. (Remote Testimony Available). (Position Needed)
Business, Financial Services, Gaming & Trade (Senate) - SHR 2 and Virtual J.A. Cherberg - 1/23 @ 8:00am
• SB 5968 - Exec Session - Regulating home equity sharing agreements under the consumer loan act. (Position Needed)
Finance (House) - HHR A and Virtual JLOB - 1/23 @ 8:00am
• HB 2012 - Exec Session - Concerning eligibility for a property tax exemption for nonprofits providing affordable rental housing built with city and county funds. (Position Needed)
• HB 2026 - Exec Session - Concerning rental income received by people eligible for certain property tax exemption programs. (Position Needed)
Local Government, Land Use & Tribal Affairs (Senate) - SHR 3 and Virtual JACB - 1/23 @ 8:00am
• SB 6152 - Public Hearing - Requiring certain counties to measure the gap between estimated existing housing units and existing housing needs. (Hearing is on the Proposed Substitute.) (Remote Testimony Available). (Support/High)
Labor & Commerce (Senate) - SHR 1 and Virtual J.A. Cherberg - 1/23 @ 10:30am
• SB 6192 - Public Hearing - Addressing additional work and change orders on public and private construction projects. (Remote Testimony Available). (Position Needed)
Law & Justice (Senate) - SHR 4 and Virtual JACB - 1/23 @ 10:30am
• SB 5792 - Public Hearing - Concerning the definition of multiunit residential buildings. (Remote Testimony Available). (Position Needed)
Local Government (House) - HHR E and Virtual JLOB - 1/23 @ 10:30am
• HB 2252 - Public Hearing - Allowing small business establishments in residential zones. (Remote Testimony Available). (Position Needed)
Environment & Energy (House) - HHR C and Virtual JLOB - 1/23 @ 4:00pm
• HB 2039 - Exec Session - Modifying the appeals process for environmental and land use matters. (Position Needed/Priority Needed)
Housing (House) - HHR B and Virtual JLOB - 1/23 @ 4:00pm
• HB 2270 - Public Hearing - Creating a Washington state department of housing. (Remote Testimony Available). (Oppose/High)
• HB 2113 - Exec Session - Concerning compliance with the housing element requirements of the growth management act.
Environment, Energy & Technology (Senate) - SHR 1 and Virtual J.A. Cherberg - 1/24 @ 8:00am
• SB 5826 - Public Hearing - Requiring customer charges to be listed on utility billing statements if the charges are a result of implementing the Washington climate commitment act. (Remote Testimony Available). (Position Needed)
Housing (Senate) - SHR 4 and Virtual JACB - 1/24 @ 10:30am
• SB 6064 - Public Hearing - Concerning moneys collected by a landlord as fees, deposit, or security for pets. (Remote Testimony Available). (Position Needed)
• SB 6175 - Public Hearing - Concerning housing affordability tax incentives for existing structures. (Remote Testimony Available). (Support/High)
• SB 6212 - Public Hearing - Requiring landlords to report on-time rent payments to consumer reporting agencies. (Remote Testimony Available). (Position Needed)
• SB 5118 - Exec Session - Concerning modifying the multifamily property tax exemption to promote development of long-term affordable housing. (Neutral/High)
• SB 5961 - Exec Session - Improving housing stability for tenants subject to the residential landlord-tenant act and the manufactured/mobile home landlord-tenant act by limiting rent and fee increases, requiring notice of rent and fee increases, limiting fees and deposits, establishing a landlord resource center and associated services, authorizing tenant lease termination, creating parity between lease types, and providing for attorney general enforcement. (Oppose/High)
• SB 5967 - Exec Session - Concerning an exemption to the leasehold excise tax for leases on public lands. (Support/Priority Needed)
• SB 6013 - Exec Session - Expanding the homeownership development property tax exemption to include real property sold to low-income households for building residences using mutual self-help housing construction. (Position Needed)
• SB 6136 - Exec Session - Reestablishing a business and occupation tax on the privilege of providing property for rent and supporting access to affordable rental property by exempting from tax landlords participating in a rent stabilization program. (Oppose/High)
• SB 6173 - Exec Session - Encouraging investments in affordable homeownership unit development.
Consumer Protection & Business (House) - HHR C and Virtual JLOB - 1/24 @ 1:30pm
• HB 2329 - Public Hearing - Conducting a study of the insurance market for housing providers receiving housing trust fund resources. (Remote Testimony Available). (Position Needed)
• HB 2081 - Exec Session - Regulating home equity sharing agreements under the consumer loan act. (Position Needed)
Appropriations (House) - HHR A and Virtual JLOB - 1/24 @ 4:00pm
• HB 2114 - Public Hearing - Improving housing stability for tenants subject to the residential landlord-tenant act and the manufactured/mobile home landlord-tenant act by limiting rent and fee increases, requiring notice of rent and fee increases, limiting fees and deposits, establishing a landlord resource center and associated services, authorizing tenant lease termination, creating parity between lease types, and providing for attorney general enforcement. (Remote Testimony Available). (Oppose/High)
Housing (House) - HHR B and Virtual JLOB - 1/25 @ 8:00am
• HB 2158 - Public Hearing - Expanding urban growth area boundaries for residential development. (Remote Testimony Available). (Position Needed)
• HB 2323 - Public Hearing - Requiring landlords to report on-time rent payments to consumer reporting agencies. (Remote Testimony Available). (Oppose/High)
• HB 2308 - Exec Session - Concerning housing affordability tax incentives for existing structures. (Support/High)
• HB 2321 - Exec Session - Modifying middle housing requirements and the definitions of transit stop. (Position Needed)
• HB 2425 - Public Hearing - Enacting the home affordability sustainment act, a rental support program. (Remote Testimony Available). (Support/High)
Law & Justice (Senate) - SHR 4 and Virtual JACB - 1/25 @ 8:00am
• SB 5796 - Exec Session - Concerning common interest communities. (Position Needed)
• SB 5792 - Exec Session - Concerning the definition of multiunit residential buildings. (Position Needed)
Business, Financial Services, Gaming & Trade (Senate) - SHR 2 and Virtual J.A. Cherberg - 1/25 @ 10:30am
• SB 6243 - Public Hearing - Providing a state business and occupation tax exemption to encourage clean technology manufacturing in Washington. (Remote Testimony Available).
Local Government, Land Use & Tribal Affairs (Senate) - SHR 3 and Virtual JACB - 1/25 @ 10:30am
• SB 5834 - Exec Session - Concerning urban growth areas. (Position Needed)
• SB 5901 - Exec Session - Concerning co-living housing. (Position Needed)
• SB 6015 - Exec Session - Concerning residential parking configurations. (Support/High)
Capital Budget (House) - HHR B and Virtual JLOB - 1/25 @ 1:30pm
• SHB 1892 - Public Hearing - Concerning the workforce housing accelerator program. (Remote Testimony Available). (Neutral/Monitor)
• SHB 2160 - Public Hearing - Promoting community and transit-oriented housing development. (Remote Testimony Available). (Oppose/High)
Finance (House) - HHR A and Virtual JLOB - 1/25 @ 1:30pm
• HB 2063 - Public Hearing - Providing an exemption from the real estate excise tax for transfers of property to qualifying low-income first-time homebuyers. (Remote Testimony Available). (Neutral/Monitor)
• HB 2375 - Public Hearing - Including an accessory dwelling unit under property that qualifies for the senior citizens property tax exemption. (Remote Testimony Available). (Support/Medium)
Ways & Means (Senate) - SHR 4 and Virtual JACB - 1/25 @ 4:00pm
• SB 6215 - Public Hearing - Improving tax and revenue laws. (Position Needed)
• SB 6191 - Public Hearing - Increasing the supply of affordable and workforce housing. (Hearing is on the Proposed Substitute.) (Remote Testimony Available). (Oppose/High)
Housing (Senate) - SHR 4 and Virtual JACB - 1/26 @ 10:30am
• SB 6211 - Public Hearing - Creating clarity and consistency in rental agreements under the manufactured/mobile home landlord-tenant act. (Remote Testimony Available). (Support/High)
• SB 6210 - Public Hearing - Concerning unlawful detainer actions. (Hearing is on the Proposed Substitute.) (Remote Testimony Available). (Support/High)
Local Government (House) - HHR E and Virtual JLOB - 1/26 @ 10:30am
• HB 2252 - Exec Session - Allowing small business establishments in residential zones. (Position Needed)