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Committee reports out task force bill to study housing cost drivers; amendment adds trades and small-landlord seats
Summary
The House Committee on Housing on Jan. 23 voted to report substitute House Bill 1108 out of committee with a due-pass recommendation after adopting amendment SERE 101, which expands the task force membership and clarifies the charge to consider cost drivers for both homeownership and rental housing. The committee voted 16-0.
OLYMPIA, Wash. — The House Committee on Housing on Jan. 23 voted to report substitute House Bill 1108 out of committee with a due-pass recommendation after adopting amendment SERE 101.
Vice Chair Hill moved that the bill be reported out with a due-pass recommendation. Representative Amy Jacobson moved amendment SERE 101; Jacobson said the amendment "adds some members to the Affordable Housing Task Force, a member from the building trades, and looks at rental and small-landlord folks." The amendment was agreed to by voice vote and incorporated into the substitute bill.
House Bill 1108 creates a legislative task force charged with analyzing housing cost drivers. Serena Dolly, staff to the committee, said the amendment clarifies that the task force must consider cost drivers for both homeownership and rental housing and adjusts task-force membership. Representative Jacobson described the bill's purpose in broader context: "In the last two years, we have had over a 100 new regulations on builders. And 73% of Washington cannot afford our median home price of $640,000," she said, urging support for the task-force approach.
Chair Peterson and other committee members said they expect the task force to examine permitting, zoning and construction-cost issues among other factors. After the amendment was adopted, Vice Chair Hill moved that the substitute bill, as amended, be reported out with a due-pass recommendation; the motion was seconded and the committee passed the bill by voice vote. Clerk tally announced 16 ayes and 0 nays.
Why it matters: The task force established by HB 1108 is intended to produce a structured analysis of the factors driving housing costs in Washington — from permitting and regulatory changes to construction and labor costs — and to identify potential areas for legislative or administrative action.
What’s next: Substitute House Bill 1108, as amended, was passed out of committee and will proceed to the next step in the legislative process. Committee members said they will monitor the task force’s membership and scope as it begins work. Committee staff noted a separate lot-splitting bill previously on the executive calendar has been moved to Monday for further language work.
Details of the vote: Committee voice vote; clerk recorded 16 ayes, 0 nays.
