Gov. Jay Inslee signs legislation to help overcome racist real estate covenants that pervaded until the 1960s and caused intergenerational harm.
From Vancouver to Bellingham and Pullman to La Push, the cost of housing has soared. In the last decade, one million new residents arrived while only one-quarter as many homes went up. When demand exceeds supply, prices rise. Rise they have.
Rents are up. Prices are up. Accordingly, homelessness is up. And too many families are just a paycheck away from trouble.
To begin the 2023 legislative session, Gov. Jay Inslee encouraged the Legislature to “go big” to meet the scale of the housing crisis. On Monday, the governor and lawmakers gathered to sign a slate of housing-related bills to clear obstacles to housing construction and right historic wrongs related to housing discrimination.
At a later date, the governor will sign a budget that allocates more than $1 billion over the next biennium to address homelessness and affordable housing.