The 2022 legislative session has concluded and it’s time to take a moment to look at what we’ve accomplished. While this year’s session was short in length, it was long in activity. We helped to push more than 12 bills across the finish line and secured historic investments in affordable housing and homeownership.
Our volunteers sent more than 8,000 messages to lawmakers throughout the 60-day session – which is incredible! None of this would have happened without your support, so thank you for all you did this year to help advance affordable housing.
Some of the highlights from this session include:
- Secured over $400 million in new affordable housing funding – bringing the full biennial budget to $700 million, including $25 million for affordable homeownership for the very first time.
- Passed HB 1643 creating a REET exemption for the sale of property to nonprofits building affordable housing.
- Passed HB 1738 raising the bond cap for the Washington State Housing Finance Commission – allowing them to continue their great work funding affordable housing projects across the state.
- Passed HB 1769 ending Community Municipal Corporations – eliminating a barrier to the construction of affordable housing in some east side cities.
- Passed SB 5755 creating a sales and use tax break for affordable housing construction in some mid-sized cities.
Yet, there is still much more to do and we look forward to working with you to continue to build momentum for important agenda items, such as:
- Passing a bill to end exclusionary zoning across Washington State.
- Reforming the Washington State Housing Trust Fund to deliver funds more efficiently and effectively for affordable housing of all types.
- Expanding the work from SB 5755 to more cities across Washington – lowering the cost of affordable housing that we can pass along to the families we serve.
- Reforming the rural Home Repair Loan Program to help families across rural Washington to stay in their homes.
Again, we couldn’t have done it without you or our champions in Olympia. Please join us by taking a moment to send a Thank You note to our friends in the state legislature via this link.
Thank you for making the victories from the 2022 session a reality and your commitment to standing with us at Habitat for Humanity SKC in our mission to build a world where everyone has an affordable place to call home.
If you have any questions on the upcoming legislative session or how to get involved in our advocacy work, please contact our Advocacy and Policy Director Ryan Donohue at ryan.donohue@habitatskc.org. To receive Advocacy text alerts sign up here.