Where Things Stand After the Front Nine of Legislative Session

We have seen movement on several bills in the last few weeks in Olympia and our annual Legislative Day on the Hill event had a fantastic turnout. Thank you to everyone who was able to make it to Olympia to speak with lawmakers. Attendees shared how rent control is not the answer and offered some possible alternatives. Be sure to check out the recap article from RHAWA’s Engagement Coordinator, Daniel Bannon on page 26.

We have already passed several deadlines for this year meaning that any bill that has not already moved out of its original chamber is now a dead bill for the year. We have played the front nine holes of this year’s proverbial legislative golf course. Our efforts and success this year would not have been possible without the support from our members, the public, and industry professionals.

This year we were able to stop all of these bills:

• HB 1915 - Extremely onerous additional tenant protections including perpetual lease terms.
• HB 1621 - Would appoint eviction commissioners with no experience and no oversight from any elected body and could slow an already slow eviction process.
• HB 1907 - Establishing B&O Taxes on Self-storage facilities which would allow for B&O on residential units in the future.
• HB 1334 - Would raise the property tax ceiling cap for counties from 1% to 3%. I do want to note this bill’s PRO/CON list was CON by about a 10 to 1 majority. It’s clear in a year around budget issues and inflation, no one was asking for an extra increase in property taxes.
• SB 5222 - Rent Control on the Senate side of things. This was moved out of the Senate Housing Committee but did not receive a hearing in the Senate Ways and Means Committee and as such is now dead and is not eligible for a Senate floor vote.

Even with the Senate rent control bill SB 5222 dead, don’t take a breath just yet. The House of Representatives Rent Control bill HB 1217 made it to the House floor and was voted through. The House version, 2S HB 1217, is the vessel the legislature hopes to hold the water across the finish line.

So where does the bill go AFTER it is passed out of the house? Well, the bill will come over to the Senate and will need to go through the entire process of public committee hearings all over again and will need to clear at least two committees in the Senate before having the opportunity to come to the Senate floor for a vote. We believe we can stop this bill on the Senate side, but we need your consistent support and presence in hearings to help make that happen.

Some of the bills RHAWA supported also unfortunately will not be moving forward. I want to start by saying that in past years, bills that RHAWA supports are not put on a committee agenda for a hearing. This year, we believe these bills received hearings because lawmakers see the sense in these ideas, and legislators wanted something to support that would help tenants and housing. Not Rent Control.

These bills include:

• HB 1099 - Tenant Assistance Program or TAP would have given tenants short-term gap funding if they were unable to pay rent in the event of a sudden life emergency or crisis.
  
• HB 1089/SB 5740 - These companion bills dealt with eviction reform to improve tenant safety.
  
• HB 1088 - Would have established a task force to overhaul the RLTA which has barely been touched since its original inception in 1973.
  
• SB 5661 - The Harmonization Bill which would have established one supreme law of the land for the entire state to follow and would not allow local jurisdictions to implement more restrictive laws.

Again, unfortunately, these great bills will not be moving forward, but we are extremely encouraged to see increased interest in some of the commonsense bills that will actually help housing and tenants in Washington. These things take time, and it is important to be patient as we continue to present alternatives to restrictive rental housing policy.

If you are looking for further updates and information, check out the 2025 Legislative Session Update videos on the RHAWA YouTube Channel. Also, check out the RHAC Advocacy Center on RHAwa.org/advocacy-center-state. Make sure to keep an eye on your inbox for further bill updates as we move through the back nine of this year’s legislative session.

This article was written and edited by RHAWA representatives and is intended for the use of RHAWA members only. Copyrighted members-only materials may not be further disseminated. Formal legal advice and review are recommended prior to the selection and use of this information. RHAWA does not represent your selection or execution of this information as appropriate for your specific circumstance. The material contained and represented herein, although obtained from reliable sources, is not considered legal advice or to be used as a substitution for legal counsel.