Legislative Update

Gone in 60 days:

BIAW races to keep homes affordable

by Jan HimebaughGovernment Affairs Director

Much like the car thief played by Nicolas Cage in the 2000 movie, Gone in 60 Seconds, Gov. Inslee and majority party legislators had big ambitions, but not much time to achieve their goals this session—and the stakes were very high.

Historically, the political party in control of the White House loses seats in the off-year election. A pre-session Elway poll confirmed that trend in Washington state, as voter support for Democrats shows dropping from 52% in 2020 to 42%, with Republicans gaining ground.

So faced with losing seats in this fall’s elections, Gov. Inslee, environmental interest groups and antihousing Democrats entered the 2022 legislative Session with their sights set on getting as much as they could as fast as they could. Having appointed Steve Hobbs from the Senate to Secretary of State, that coalition was confident the path was cleared for their anti-housing agenda to pass this session.

But the Governor and the anti-housing activists didn’t count on the opposition of BIAW members, our Government Affairs team and pro-housing Republicans and Democrats. By the time session ended March 11, BIAW and our partners had worked with legislators to block every bill on the Governor’s anti-housing agenda except one:

• Net-zero energy codes - DID NOT PASS

Builders already must meet current state requirements to be 70% more efficient by 2030. HB 1770 attempted to change the target and add new carbon reduction goals. New requirements in this bill would have added over $39,000 to the price of a home. This bill also died in the Senate.

• Net ecological gain standard in land use DID NOT PASS

HB 1117 would have implemented a net ecological gain standard to development regulations, driving up costs for all homes connected to public infrastructure like water, sewer and power. This one also came to its final resting place in the Senate.

• Climate change in Growth Management Act - (GMA) DID NOT PASS

HB 1099 would have required certain GMA cities and counties to account for climate change in comprehensive planning—including a requirement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and vehicle miles traveled. It passed both chambers in different forms and went to conference. The conference committee adopted a compromise proposal. The Senate passed the compromise on the last day of session. Due to consistent time management issues by the House Majority, the bill died in the final minutes of session.

• Job-killing ergonomics regulations DID NOT PASS

In 2003, BIAW helped pass Initiative 841, which directed the state Dept. of Labor & Industries to repeal its job-killing ergonomics rules. HB 1837 was an attempt to revive ergonomics rules. Thankfully we were able to kill this bill in the Senate.

• Increased land use uncertainty for builders PASSED

Unfortunately, BIAW wasn’t able to kill all the bad bills. After years of battle, SB 5042, the big, bad vesting bill, made its way through the Legislature and to the governor’s desk. This bill erodes certainty for builders and puts land-use planning decisions in the courts.

On the plus side, the Legislature approved one good housing bill.

• State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) reform

SB 5818 makes some minor adjustments to SEPA in a positive way. Any time home construction is exempt from SEPA review or appeals, it saves time and money. Similarly, any time local government planning promoting housing is exempt from SEPA appeals, it saves time and money. SB 5818 eliminates SEPA appeals for local planning decisions that increase housing capacity or affordability. It also provides SEPA transportation and aesthetics appeals exemptions for residential, multi-family and mixed-use commercial projects in GMA cities. Finally, it prohibits local governments from requiring project applicants to submit SEPA checklists when the project is exempt under SEPA.

As you can see, in the end, the Legislature did little to address the housing supply and affordability crisis all of Washington is facing.

Other bills BIAW was able to bat down that would have made it even more difficult to build homes in Washington:

• SB 5732: Mandating green roofs for commercial buildings

• HB 1766: Limiting (or eliminating) natural gas companies’ ability to expand service

• HB 1767: Allowing publicly owned electric utilities to engage in targeted electrification

• HB 5155: Requiring interest to start running on a judgment entered following trial and arbitration awards for tortious conduct from the date on which the cause of action accrues

• SB 5517: Prohibiting employers from denying employment to individuals who test positive for marijuana use

• SB 5801: Requiring employers or retro groups to pay attorneys’ fees on workers’ comp appeals

• HB 1763: Allowing for independent medical exams to be video recorded

Sadly, two priority BIAW bills had momentum during the session, but ultimately were not approved before sine die:

• High school graduation pathway options

A priority for our president Joseph Irons and the BIAW Workforce Development Task Force, HB 1162 would have expanded graduation pathways to include a performance-based pathway. This bill would have helped us develop a new pipeline for students interested in working in residential home building. Despite bipartisan support in the house, this bill died in the Senate.

• Streamlining local permit process reviews

SB 5964 aligned with our legislative priority to streamline and simplify permits to help cut the costs of homeownership. It exempted interior remodels from site plan reviews as long as the remodel didn’t alter the structure’s original footprint. This bi-partisan bill passed the Senate unanimously but died in the House.

While 2022 was a tremendously successful session for BIAW because we staved off a healthy number of bad bills, the truth remains: elections have consequences. Frustrated voters who can’t afford a home should remember this in November.