Major Week for Priority Bills: Housing Affordability, REET, Energy Efficiency, Rent Control.
Major Week for Priority Bills: Housing Affordability, REET, Energy Efficiency, Rent Control.
In 2023, NAIOP Washington State successfully defeated a bill during the legislative session that would have increased the real estate excise tax (REET). We anticipate similar legislation during the 2024 Washington State Legislative Session. During this session, REET may be rebranded as a “transfer tax.” While we were previously successful in our efforts to stop a REET increase from moving forward, NAIOPWA’s Government Affairs team is actively engaged to defeat its passage once again.
With the start of the 2024 Washington State legislative session, bills overturning the current state pre-emption to rent control have been brought forward, as well as proposals which would implement state-wide rent control measures. We strongly oppose any efforts to implement rent control, as well as efforts to overturn the state’s pre-emption. It is important to take a sober look at why rent control is bad policy.
The 2023 legislative session drew to a close in April, marking the end of a session that has been billed by some as the ‘Year of Housing’ for Washington State. A remarkable 1,776 bills were introduced, and a staggering number of those bills pertained to housing, development, and commercial real estate.
NAIOP Washington State, a nonpartisan organization committed to creating a favorable political and regulatory environment for the commercial real estate industry, engaged deeply with lawmakers to advise on these bills and advocate for our industry. Lawmakers engaged NAIOPWA’s Government Affairs Committee leadership before session, requesting input on proposed bills and assistance in authoring bills, and continued to engage with NAIOPWA throughout the legislative session.
NAIOP Washington State is proud to announce the recipients of its 2023 Legislator of the Year Awards: Senator Mark Mullet and Representative Strom Peterson.
Senator Mullet, a Democrat representing the 5th Legislative District, showed a commendable commitment to understanding the concerns of the commercial real estate industry during this year's legislative session. His leadership on bills to streamline and expedite the land use review and permitting process has better positioned our industry to address our pressing housing crisis and will enable greater investment in Washington. Senator Mullet also sponsored legislation that, if passed, would have greatly expanded allowable density near high-capacity public transit and would have required deeper study of anticipated costs associated with the state energy performance standards prior to code implementation.
To read more, click below. You must be logged in to your NAIOPWA member profile to access the full report. For more details about membership, email Danielle Duvall, [email protected].
Read the rest of the report, including exclusive bill tracking, using your NAIOPWA member profile. For more information about joining, email Danielle Duvall, [email protected].
Log in to your NAIOPWA member profile to access the complete report. To join, please reach out to Danielle Duvall, [email protected].
On Monday at 2:00 the State Economic Forecast Council will release the final economic forecast that the biennial budget will be based upon. The Senate is expected to make their budget public sometime next week, and on Friday the Senate Ways and Means committee will hold a marathon public hearing on the budget.
Join now to read the full report. For more information, contact Danielle Duvall, [email protected].
NAIOP Washington State members have full access to our state legislative reports. For more information about joining, please contact Danielle Duvall, [email protected].
To access the full report, log in to your NAIOPWA member profile. Now is a great time to join the association and get access to exclusive legislative updates like this one. For more information, contact Danielle Duvall, [email protected].
To view NAIOP's bill tracking report and the full legislative update, log in to your NAIOPWA member profile by clicking below.
For more information about becoming a member, contact Danielle Duvall, [email protected].
To view NAIOP's bill tracking report and the full legislative update, log in to your NAIOPWA member profile by clicking below.
For more information about becoming a member, contact Danielle Duvall, [email protected].
Log in to your NAIOPWA member profile to see the status of the bills we are following and committee hearings next week.
For more information about joining NAIOP and receiving exclusive legislative updates, contact Danielle Duvall, [email protected].
I will provide a more detailed update of which priority bills have moved out of committee after February 17.
For more information about joining NAIOP and gaining access to exclusive legislative reports, contact Danielle Duvall, [email protected].
Full legislative reports are available exclusively to current members. For more information about joining our chapter, contact Danielle Duvall, [email protected].
The 2023 session of the Washington State Legislature convened on January 9 for a 105-day legislative session. This is the first since 2020 to completely return to Olympia for both committee hearings as well as floor action. One addition to the legislative process is the complete integration of hybrid legislative hearings allowing for both in person testimony as well as remote testimony allowing individuals who cannot make the trip to Olympia to participate in hearings from around the state.
Per tradition, the first few days were dedicated to the organization of the legislature, the swearing in of public officials, as well as a state of the state address from Governor Inslee in which he presented his priorities for the legislative session. Governor Inslee outlined several policies including significant increases in spending on housing, homelessness, behavioral health, and education. He also advanced policies on gun control and abortion rights.