Seattle may not be able to force landlords to lower rents (yet), but a bill in the State Legislature could incentivize them to do so. A bipartisan bill introduced in the State Senate would give rental property owners a 15-year break on their property taxes in exchange for reserving a quarter of the building’s apartments for low-income families earning less than 50 to 60 percent of the area median income.
Sen. Joe Fain (R-Auburn) and Sen. David Frockt (D-Seattle) introduced the Preservation Tax Exemption bill last week. If passed, the incentive could contribute to the “preserve” part of Mayor Ed Murray’s plan to create or preserve 20,000 units of affordable housing in the next decade.
“We will never solve the housing affordability crisis if we only focus on construction of new apartments,” Murray said in a statement. “We must work to preserve existing affordable homes, including affordable market-rate homes. This is a cost-effective solution to prevent the displacement of thousands of families in our city.”
Still, the preservation program would fall well short of meeting Murray’s goals. The City estimates that it could preserve 3,000 affordable units over 10 years at the cost of $12 a year to the average property taxpayer. The program is a complement of sorts to Seattle’s Multi-Family Tax Exemption, which offers tax incentives to developers to build new units of affordable housing.
Once again, the fight to fully fund the state’s court-mandated education obligations will be the top priority for state lawmakers in this year’s 60-day session. Compounding the problem is the Tim Eyman-backed initiative that now requires a two-thirds vote for increasing taxes or a drastic decrease the sales tax rate. Capitol Hill’s representatives in Olympia recently pointed to November’s low voter turnout as the reason they are having to deal with Eyman’s initiative in the first place.
A bill introduced by Seattle Sen. Pramila Jayapal may help turn that trend around. SB 6379 would automatically register eligible voters with certain forms of identification. “There should be no barriers between the people and voting, and with this bill one more barrier has been removed,” Jayapal said in a statement.
Citizens who are 18 years or older would be registered automatically after obtaining an enhanced driver’s license, commercial driver’s license or applying for certain benefits. The bill would allow opting-out of registering to vote.
Since the session began, the 43rd District’s Sen. Jamie Pedersen and Rep. Brady Walkinshaw reintroduced several bills that failed to make it out of committee last year and have sponsored a handful of new ones.
Pedersen will continue his work to pass a bill that would require employers who provide health insurance to employees to include contraceptive coverage as part of the benefit package. SB 5026 was first introduced last year. A bill (HB 2460) sponsored by Walkinshaw this session would give local municipalities the authority to ban firearms in certain public places, including libraries, public parks, and transportation systems.
According to House speaker custom, 43rd District’s Rep. Frank Chopp will not sponsor any bills. February 5th is the last day bills can be passed out of committee. Here are a few of the other bills Capitol Hill’s reps are sponsoring:
Pedersen
- SB 6402 – Concerning the courts’ consultation of the judicial information system before granting orders.
- SR 8669 – Supporting the goals of the National Day of Silence.
Walkinshaw
Walkinshaw has an added task this session: Campaigning for Congress. The 32-year-old Capitol Hill resident is running to represent District 7 in Washington D.C. Rep. Jim McDermott announced he would not seek reelection for the seat he’s occupied for 27 years.
UPDATE: Leaders at Seattle’s City Hall are supporting another bill that would create a pilot program allowing a small number of I-502 stores in the state to test marijuana delivery:
City Attorney Pete Holmes and Mayor Ed Murray announced today their support of House Bill 2368 sponsored by Rep. Chris Hurst (D-Enumclaw) that creates a pilot program for legal marijuana home delivery service in Seattle. Despite current state law prohibiting delivery of marijuana, various online operators have been offering illegal delivery services, undercutting Washington state’s voter-approved legal marijuana market.
“We must address illegal delivery services that are undermining I-502 and allow responsible businesses to offer delivery service in Seattle,” said Murray. “The proposed pilot delivery program, along with increased enforcement of existing marijuana laws, will better protect customers, patients and business owners, while strengthening the legal marijuana industry.”
City Hall is also endorsing House Bill 2494 that would eliminate criminal penalties “for the non-commercial sharing of small amounts of marijuana between adults over the age of 21.” The bill would also reduce criminal penalties for possession of marijuana amounts “that fall just outside of legal limits.” “Current law disproportionately impacts people of color and minority communities across the state, and is inconsistently enforced,” the city’s statement on the legislation reads.
How would the property-tax incentive legislation actually work? Would apartment owners have to freeze rents for those units at the current level? That might still be too high for many people in that income range. Or would rents actually have to go down, based on the person’s income?
I hope they’re not suggesting exempting the entire bldg from property taxes in exchange for 25% of the units being lower rents. Because you know who would have to make up the rest– yes, existing middle-class homeowners. Again.