At a public hearing of the Washington House Housing Committee in Olympia, members heard testimony on House Bill 1108, which would create a 22‑member task force to research and report on the primary cost drivers for housing in Washington state.

The bill would require the task force to gather and consider information from the Affordable Housing Advisory Board and other experts and deliver findings and recommendations to the Legislature by Dec. 1, 2026. Committee staff described the group as including legislators, economists, builders, labor representatives, local governments, developers and housing providers.

Sponsor Representative Mark Clicker, 16th District, told the committee the proposal — which he called the “cost driver” bill — had unanimous committee support last year and aims to bring stakeholders together to identify the “root of the problem.” "This will get us in the right direction," Clicker said.

Industry and housing groups testified in favor. Bill Stoffacher, representing the Building Industry Association of Washington, said the association will participate and offer ideas on impact fees, permitting and land availability. "We're trying to figure out the pathway on how to build housing better," Stoffacher said.

Ryan Donahue, chief advocacy officer at Habitat for Humanity Seattle‑King and Kittitas Counties, said a formal, legislative task force would lend legitimacy to proposals and surface ideas that informal groups do not. "The opportunity for a legislative‑driven task force to come together and help identify some of the additional challenges that we as developers are facing is exactly the kind of thing we need to encourage," Donahue said.

Members of labor and business also testified. Morgan Durham of the Association of Washington Business urged expanding the group's scope to include rental cost drivers in addition to construction costs and noted the fiscal note on the bill is currently "de minimis." Erin (A.) Frazier of the Washington State Building Construction Trades Council asked the committee to state explicitly that the labor seat come from a statewide building trades organization so the appointee can represent statewide variation across crafts.

Not all testimony was supportive. Jeff Peck, who said he has worked in plat development and building finance for more than 20 years, argued that government regulations and permitting — including environmental permitting he tied to wetlands and Clean Water Act enforcement — are among the largest drivers of housing costs. "You all really need to seriously think about the overall impacts of your decisions," Peck said.

Other witnesses who asked the committee to broaden or clarify representation included a renter who described predatory landlord practices and Washington Realtors, which said a diverse stakeholder analysis could yield useful recommendations.

The committee closed the hearing on House Bill 1108 after the panel presentations and public testimony; no committee vote occurred during the hearing.