By nearly all measures, the first month of the new City Council was quiet. Sure, there were a couple of controversial but legally meaningless resolutions, and Council member Sawant has pushed through some carryover legislation from last year. But a lot of committee meetings got cancelled, and few new bills were introduced. It now appears that was the quiet before the storm — and the storm just made landfall.
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Catching up on HB 2907, the proposed new county-wide payroll tax
On Friday, HB 2907, which would authorize a new payroll tax in King County on companies with employees earning more than $150,000, passed out of the Washington State House Finance Committee. But the road ahead is still long and bumpy, and what lies at the end is still far from clear.
Continue readingWinter evictions ban comes up for final vote
Tomorrow afternoon, Council member Sawant’s proposed ban on “winter evictions” comes up for final approval by the Seattle City Council. Since it was voted out of committee two and a half weeks ago, it has finally started to attract the attention it deserves, including some organized opposition from the Durkan Administration.
Continue readingCity-wide MHA survives legal appeals
This afternoon, the Seattle Ciy Attorney’s office announced that the deadline for appealing a recent ruling on the city-wide MHA legislation has passed, clearing the path for the ordinance moving forward.
Continue readingNew McKinsey report dives into Seattle-area homelessness crisis
Late last month, the consulting firm McKinsey published a new report looking at the cause of the deep homelessness crisis in the Seattle/King County area — despite the obvious prosperity the region is enjoying.
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Your weekend reading
There are a number of reports and documents that have been published in the last couple of weeks and are worth paying attention to. So curl up in front of the fire, break out your reading glasses, and dig in.
Continue readingCouncil votes ban on “winter evictions” out of committee
Thursday evening the City Council voted out of committee the proposed ban on winter evictions, after amending it to add back some conditions under which an eviction may proceed.
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Here’s what you missed over the holidays
Welcome back! A few things happened in mid-to-late December that you may have missed, so here’s a post to get you caught up.
Continue readingSawant introduces bill prohibiting evictions from November through March
This afternoon, Council member Sawant introduced a bill that would prohibit residential landlords from evicting a tenant during the coldest months of the year.
Continue readingToday’s State Supreme Court rulings on tenant-protection laws: a deep dive
As I wrote earlier today, this morning the Washington State Supreme Court handed down two rulings related to two of Seattle’s tenant-protection ordinances: the “First in Time” ordinance, and the “Fair Chance Housing” ordinance. Here’s a deeper dive on the cases and the rulings.
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