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Sponsor urges new public-housing paradigm; bill would create 21-member task force to study publicly owned mixed-income housing
Summary
Senate Bill 5,753 would form a public housing task force to examine using publicly developed mixed-income housing to meet state housing demand; sponsor described models in Japan and South Korea and proposed a statewide housing authority and companion public bank bill to finance development.
Senate Bill 5,753, carried by Senator Hasagawa, would establish a 21-member public housing task force administered by the Department of Commerce. Staff told the committee the task force must issue a preliminary report to the Legislature by July 1, 2026, and a final report by Nov. 1, 2026, including recommendations on financing, public land use, governance, and strategies to implement publicly owned mixed-income housing statewide. The bill would require Commerce to post meeting summaries within 30 days and set several study tasks, including review of the United Nations’ housing adequacy guidance and whether a state land bank could facilitate affordable housing development. A fiscal note had been requested but was not yet available.
Senator Hasagawa told committee members she was proposing a return to a public-housing paradigm that would differ from mid-20th century projects, describing “livable communities” with clinics, childcare classrooms, small-business storefronts and parks co-located with housing. Hasagawa said past policy favored developer-driven production and that a public-led build strategy could scale supply; she described research visits to Korea and Japan where centralized housing authorities supported social housing and urged the committee to consider a similar statewide structure. Hasagawa also referenced a companion financing bill (SB 5,754) intended to create public-banking capacity to underwrite large-scale public housing development.
Committee members asked clarifying questions about task force membership and financing. Senator Alvarado noted successful local housing-authority sponsored mixed-income communities in her district and suggested the task force could build on existing housing authority practice. Hasagawa said Washington currently has only a handful of housing authorities and that a statewide authority could address statewide shortages.
The staff briefing concluded with no committee vote recorded for this bill during the meeting; the item was heard as part of the public hearing agenda and subsequently suspended in favor of other hearings. The bill’s reporting deadlines and the task force’s broad charge would require subsequent rulemaking and interagency coordination if enacted.
