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Committee advances bill expanding prohibited rental-agreement provisions after amendments
Summary
The Housing Committee on March 24 reported out Senate Bill 5,313 as amended (9–7, 1 excused). The committee adopted two amendments: one to reset a late floor amendment for further work and another to add the new prohibitions to the Manufactured Housing Landlord–Tenant Act.
Senate Bill 5,313 was presented to the House Housing Committee on March 24. Serena Dolly, staff to the committee, summarized that the bill would expand the list of prohibited rental-agreement provisions under the Residential Landlord–Tenant Act (RLTA). The committee considered two amendments before reporting the bill out with a due-pass recommendation.
Representative Reed moved Amendment VASE 191 to address a floor amendment that had been added late on the Senate floor; Reed said the amendment would reset the bill to the version that left the Senate committees so members could “work more cleanly on the intent behind the language.” Representative Lowe urged members to reject that motion, saying negotiations brought stakeholders together and that the amendment would “undo that process.” The committee adopted VASE 191.
The committee then considered H1993.1, which would add the list of prohibited rental-agreement provisions from the bill into the Manufactured Housing Landlord–Tenant Act (MLTA). The mover described the change as ensuring that renters in manufactured-housing communities receive the same protections. Representative Dufo opposed adding the MLTA provisions, noting statutory and practical differences between the RLTA and the MLTA, and raising concerns about including arbitration and nonessential-service restrictions in the MLTA.
The committee adopted H1993.1. Members then moved to incorporate the adopted amendments into a striking amendment and to report the engrossed substitute bill out of committee with a due-pass recommendation. The clerk called the roll. The recorded roll-call votes were: Representative Peterson (yes); Hill (yes); Richards (yes); Lowe (no); Jacobson (no); Manjaris (no); Barkis (no); Connors (no); Dufo (no); Engel (no); Entenmann (yes); Gregerson (yes); Lakanoff (yes); Reed (yes); Thomas (excused); Timmons (yes); Zahn (yes). The clerk announced the tally: 9 ayes, 7 nays, 1 excused. By that vote, engrossed substitute Senate Bill 5,313 was reported out of committee as amended.
During debate Representative Dufo warned that continued expansions of landlord–tenant law impose recurring costs on small rental providers and expressed concern that prohibiting arbitration clauses could remove a low-cost dispute-resolution option in some cases. No additional staff direction, fiscal notes, or specific implementation steps were recorded during the meeting.
