2024 Legislative Session | Protecting tenants, ferries & other priorities

||| FROM THE OFFICE OF REP. ALEX RAMEL |||

It’s with excitement and sincere honor that I welcome you to the 2024 legislative session. Commencing on January 8^th, your legislature is embarking on a 60-day journey to continue addressing issues facing our communities and pass this year’s supplemental budgets. As things get rolling, I’d like to share some of the legislation I am focusing on this year, and how you can stay involved and make sure we know what matters the most to you.

Your 2024 Legislative Priorities

Last Fall, I sent out a survey to learn more about your legislative priorities for 2024. About 150 folks shared their thoughts with me and some of the top priorities were ferry and transportation systems, affordable and accessible housing and environmental protection. There were a lot of different issues raised, and it’s a good reminder that our state government needs to be able to move forward on multiple priorities at once.

Thanks to your feedback, I am excited to prioritize legislation that supports these priorities.

It’s not new news, but our community is especially focused on the disruptive impacts of declining ferry service. We can’t solve this problem over night, but I want you to know you are heard.   Worker shortages and aging vessels pose tough challenges, but our commitment to keeping ferries sailing remains unshakeable. Over the last few years, we’ve made changes that are starting to have an effect.  WSF recruitment, training and changes to make it a more favorable workforce are starting to increase our staffing levels. New vessels are budgeted for, and a design build contract with one or more shipyards is on the horizon. While hurdles remain and it will take several years to build up to what we need, we won’t lose sight of our goal for reliable, adequate, and affordable service. Continued investments in repairs, upgrades, and our workforce are crucial to finally righting the ship of this historically underfunded system.

Bills of Focus For 2024

A great way to stay engaged with your legislature is to sign up to testify on a bill you care about. Signing up is easy within the legislative page of any bill on https://app.leg.wa.gov/billinfo/ once it’s been scheduled for a committee hearing. Below is a graphic explaining where to click and information about the legislation I’ve introduced and am supporting this year.

House Bill 1052: To boost affordable housing in San Juan County, this bill expands the existing property tax exemption for non-profit housing providers. Currently, the exemption hinges on using specific funding sources. This bill adds a new qualifying source: any local affordable housing revenue already approved by San Juan County. This opens the door for more non-profits, allowing them to contribute to a thriving, accessible housing market for residents and workers.

House Bill 1244: Uneven levy caps costs cripple some of our school districts. By increasing parity between school district levy caps, we can provide flexibility and opportunity for districts to meet the various challenges they, face.  

House Bill 1391: Decarbonizing our buildings is key to a cleaner future, but navigating the patchwork of incentives shouldn’t be a roadblock. We need a central hub, a map to navigate the existing programs, ensuring fair access and maximizing impact across our state. Let’s make building upgrades attainable for every home and business.

House Bill 2114: Nearly half of Washington renters spend a third of their income on housing, fearing the next rent hike could be the one that breaks them. We can’t wait. We need rent stabilization now. It’s time to give renters the same breathing room mortgage holders have – predictable costs, stable homes. To learn more about efforts to protect tenants, sign up for my Protecting Renters E-newsletter and watch my recent video discussing some of the stories of excessive rent increases I’ve heard from tenants.

House Bill 2129: Unlocking Washington’s geothermal potential could mean hundreds of megawatts, even gigawatts, of clean, reliable baseload power. This bill paves the way for responsible exploration and development, guided by strong partnerships with our Tribes. By sharing knowledge and working together, we can harness this sustainable energy source while respecting cultural sensitivities and environmental integrity.

House Bill 2131: Allowing gas utilities to provide energy delivery through thermal (hot water) networks is a great way to decarbonize energy use in buildings while relying on the workforce and skills already in this industry. This bill provides enabling authority, regulatory oversight and creates pilot project funding to encourage these super-efficient energy systems.  

House Bill 2143: Right up until the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, oil companies in Washington were bringing oil from Russia to our state, and our consumers were unknowingly contributing to militarization, authoritarianism, and other abuses of power abroad. At the time, I didn’t know that; but sunlight is the best disinfectant.  As we transition to a cleaner future, accurate information empowers consumers to make conscious choices and prioritize ethical energy providers who don’t support human rights abuses.

Staying Engaged This Legislative Session

Watch — TVW.org broadcasts all debates and votes that happen in the House or Senate, as well as all committee meetings in both chambers.

Testify — Go here for an overview of the process, here for instructions on how to testify remotely, and here to sign in for hearings in the House or Senate.

Research — Look up any bill by number, lawmaker, or topic here. To learn about the entire legislative process, click here. You can search for the daily agenda for each committee here. Just select the committee you’re interested in, and you can find out which members are assigned to that committee, review upcoming agendas and documents, as well as past reports and hearings.

Stay Informed — Visit my website and sign up for the Hot Sheet, a weekly guide to what the House Democratic Caucus is working on in Olympia. The Hot Sheet compiles many of the legislative priorities scheduled for a hearing or a vote on each day, so it’s a great snapshot of what is happening each week.

Get in Touch — You can always reach my office by email or phone; my contact information is included in the bottom of this email.