A view from the 8th floor of the under construction Heartwood development, an affordable mass-timber apartment building from Community Roots Housing at 14th and Union (Image: atelierjones)

The mass timber Heartwood’s central stairs (Image: atelierjones)

Housing, and how to make more of it across the state, has been the driving theme in Olympia’s 2023 session. While some proposals fell flat, others including what amounts to an end to single-family zoning, pushed through and look likely to become law. There were, of course, dozens of other laws passed this session, and a budget is still pending.

The Legislature is set to adjourn April 23. In a budget year, like this one, whether or not a given bill is dead is tougher to pin down. There are a number of cutoff dates built into the system, and in theory, a bill needs to meet those dates, which typically involve being passed by either the senate or house. If it doesn’t meet the date, it won’t become law. However, if a bill has budget implications, then it can be revived even if it missed the dates. And since virtually everything has some budget implication, virtually everything can be brought back.

With that in mind, these are where many efforts stand as of the writing of this story, but, some things that seem dead make yet be revived, we won’t know for sure until adjournment. For details about any of the bills in the story, go here, and enter the bill number.

Keep in mind the session is not over. If you see something up in the air that you find compelling, now is the time to contact your legislators, state Reps. Nicole Macri and Frank Chopp, and state Sen. Jamie Pedersen.

(Image: seattle.gov)

HOUSING
Washington needs about 1 million new homes by 2044, according to the state Dept. of Commerce. To open up options for more housing, the Legislature has decided to, essentially, end single-family zoning as we know it across much of the state with HB 1110. Cities with populations more than 25,000 will need to allow for at least duplexes on every lot. Cities with populations of greater than 75,000 will need to allow at least four houses on every lot. Some of the space is to be set aside for affordable housing. There are some exceptions and fine print surrounding environmentally critical areas and other specially designated areas. Cities will also be required to allow at least six of nine so-called middle housing types. These are all varieties of more density than single-family, without going full blown apartment building. The state defines them as: duplexes, triplexes, fourplexes, fiveplexes, sixplexes, townhouses, stacked flats, courtyard apartments, and cottage housing. All this adds up to lots of potential infill development in the coming years.

This does not mean, however, the bulldozers are going to start rumbling toward the big old houses in North Capitol Hill, let alone the rest of the city. Just because a type of building is allowed does not mean it is required. Homeowners can continue to live in their existing houses. They can tear down an existing house and replace it with another single family house if they so desire. This simply mean they would have the option of tearing down the single-family house, and replacing it with more units. In land use circles, the general expectation is that over time, most properties are eventually are built out to the highest density levels permitted and practical, though it can take a generation of more before it actually happens.

Beyond that, there was a bill which allows for increased density around transit hubs, SB 5466. This isn’t likely to have much impact on Seattle or Capitol Hill, since we’ve already adopted many of the polices in it, such as allowing greater density near transit, and ending parking minimums near transit. But statewide, it should serve to open many areas to additional density.

Not everything that related to housing made it through. A Gov. Jay Inslee proposal to sell $4 billion in bonds to allow the state to build affordable housing seems to have died. Similarly, seemingly dead is a bill (HB 1628) sponsored by Capitol Hill-area Rep. Frank Chopp which would have increased sales taxes on homes to fund affordable housing. These two, it should be noted, are good examples of things with budget implications that could potentially be revived, even though they seem dead.

Another local legislator, Rep. Nicole Macri, proposed a bill to help renters from being charged extra for a month-to-month lease, and also from excessive move-in and security fees, but HB 1388 failed.

SCHOOLS
A few years ago, the state made dramatic changes to the way it funds schools. While many called it a victory for education. Even then, others were sounding alarm bells about funding for special education, which is often still underfunded. The state, in its wisdom, had decided that no more than 13.5 percent of the students enrolled in a school district can qualify for extra funding as students in need of special education. No matter that some district have special ed populations higher than that. (For it’s part, the Legislature said it was afraid districts would overclassify special ed students as a way of milking more money from the state.)

It looks like the cap may change, though the House and Senate have passed slightly different versions, so it’s still a bit up in the air how it will all shake out. And since it will most certainly have budget implications, this one could really go down to the wire with exactly what happens.

GUN CONTROL
Washington will ban assault-style riles, including the manufacture, import, distribution or sale with HB 1240. Current owners of such weapons will be able to keep them. Gun dealers who already have them in stock will be allowed to sell out what they have. There is an exception for the military, and for service members who may own such a weapon and move to the state. Democrats behind the bill pointed to the near weekly mass shootings carried out with such weapons across the country. Republicans say the issue is more mental-health related, not gun related. The corresponding GOP-led effort to address the gun violence issue with beefed up mental health services is checks notes non-existent. (In fairness, there actually was a bill or two with Republican support which involved mental health issues.) Expect a court challenge on this one.

Capitol Hill’s state Sen. Jamie Pedersen floated his own piece of gun control legislation, SB 5078. The law will require gun manufacturers to make sure their products are not sold to straw purchasers, gun traffickers, and others nefarious types. It also forbids marketing guns to children and people who might be prohibited from owning a gun.

Another bill, HB 1143, mandates that a potential purchaser undergo a gun safety class before being permitted to buy a gun.

TRANS RIGHTS
Another bill of Pedersen’s SB 5028, changes the rules surrounding allowing a legal change of name. It also allows records of such a change to be sealed. This is a big win for transgender people, domestic violence survivors and refugees, as it will make it harder for them to be tracked by those with ill intent.

POLICE
The state passed a raft of police reform bills in the wake of George Floyd’s murder in 2020. Now, it’s rolling back one of them a bit with SB 5352. In package of bills in 2021 was set a series of standards police needed to meet before being able to start a vehicular chase. Since then, some police had complained the standard was too high, and they were forced to allow suspects to get away. The new bill lowers the threshold, makes it easier for police to chase suspects, though not as easy as police groups wanted.

DRUGS
In 2021, the state Supreme Court struck down Washington laws making drug possession a felony. There was a stopgap measure in place last year, but this year, SB 5536 seems to have found the way to make drugs illegal again. Possession will now be a misdemeanor. The new law also encourages police and prosecutors to send people to alternate programs such as drug treatment before arrest or trial. UPDATE: Drug possession will not be a state crime later this year. A 2021 state Supreme Court ruling invalidated Washington’s laws making possession a felony. Last year, the Legislature passed a stopgap measure, set to expire in July, which re-criminalized the behavior with an eye to a permanent fix this year.

But in a vote in the closing hours of this legislative session, the House was unable to pass a new version of the law (SB 5536) which would have made possession a gross misdemeanor. The proposal faced uniform opposition from Republicans, and a split Democratic vote, so it failed 43-55. After the failed vote, the existing measure will sunset in July with nothing to take its place. Capitol Hill Reps. Chopp and Macri were both opposed to the bill. Sen. Pedersen had also voted against the bill when it passed out of the state Senate March 3.

What happens next is unclear. One possibility is the various counties and cities will be left to regulate possession within their jurisdictions. The state could always take another crack at it next year. It’s also possible to call a special session to resolve the issue, but there have not yet been outward signs of that happening.

Also on the drug front was SB 6263 concerning psychedelic mushrooms. As originally proposed, the state would have kind of legalized them in some controlled settings. But instead of going that far that fast, the bill as passed sets up a group to study them mushrooms for safety and value in treating mental illness.

VOTING
You know that long list of state tax increases on the ballot, and how you decide if each one should be upheld or not? Well the votes on those are purely advisory; they mean nothing. Even if every voter in the state said No, the tax hike would still stand. You just bubble in yes or no 15 times, but no one really ever even bothers to look at the results. These votes, a relic of a Tim Eyman initiative, will be going away.

ABORTION
Since the U.S. Supreme Court threw out Roe v. Wade and left abortion up to the states, the issue is on the forefront of legislatures across the country. Red states, like our neighbor Idaho, quickly moved to make abortion illegal, and then kept going, seeking new and innovative ways to make it harder for women to get one. Idaho, particularly relevant since they are our neighbor, enacted a law making it illegal for someone to help a minor cross state lines to get an abortion without parental consent.

Washington has been working in the other direction, seeking not only to protect abortion rights here, but also to help those who might come here seeking an abortion. One of the bigger moves this session was HB 1469 a law which shields Washington residents against actions from other states. It forbids law enforcement from arresting anyone for engaging in legal health services. (For example with that Idaho law, a scenario could be someone from Washington gave an Idaho resident a ride to an abortion here. If Idaho asks Washington to then arrest the driver, police here will not be permitted to do so.)

And, of course, there are the dueling rulings from federal courts about whether or not the abortion pill is legal. Just to be on the safe side, Washington, through the Dept. of Corrections, has purchased what it says is a three-year supply of the pills. Then, SB 5768 authorizes the state to distribute it.

THE BUDGET
There will be a budget, and it will be a two-year spending plan. It will probably be in the neighborhood of $70 billion. Much beyond that is difficult to say. House and senate budget writers need to agree on just how much the state should spend on what, and the governor has to sign off on whatever they come up with. While the state is solidly under control of the democrats, some disagreements can pop up. For example, last Friday, The Seattle Times reported that the governor was unhappy with both versions of a transportation budget being considered. It’s not likely that negotiations will drag on for months, as used to happen about 10 years ago when the state had a divided government, but we won’t know for sure until the 23rd.

FAILED BILLS
Most of the thousands of bills introduced in Olympia, and really in most legislatures, don’t make it across the finish line and become law. To get a look at any or all of them, go to the index here, and pick a letter. Meanwhile, here’s some bills that didn’t make it:

•  A move to lower the state’s drunk driving standard from a BAC of .08 to .05.
• A so-called “right to repair” bill which would have mandated electronics manufacturers make parts available, so people can fix their gadgets instead of having to buy a new one.
• A “Parents Bill of Rights,” lately a hot topic in conservative circles, will not be coming to Washington. Though the version proposed here wasn’t nearly as off the rails as the ones they come up with in red states.
• A bill that would have reigned in the governor’s powers in an emergency. This has been a pet peeve of the state GOP since Gov. Inslee’s Covid emergency declaration, and the almost unchecked powers it gave him.
• The blueberry will not be the official state berry. Nor will the Columbia Plateau cactus be the official state cactus. (This one actually passed, but seems appropriate here: The Suciasaurus rex will be the official state dinosaur.)
• A bill to increase the annual cap on property tax hikes from 1 percent to 3 percent. (Yes, your tax bills go up by more than 1 percent per year, that’s largely because voter approved levies don’t count against the cap.) This is another that could be revived owing to its budget implications.

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