FAN staff Blake Alford and UW Social Work intern Sarah Starrett participated in this week’s Balance Our Tax Code rally in Olympia, calling for progressive revenue to meet critical needs in our state. Thanks to coalition partners Statewide Poverty Action Network for the scroll of budget items we need to keep pushing for!

Take Action

Today March 1 is the last day to consider bills, except initiatives and alternatives to initiatives, budgets and matters necessary to implement budgets, differences between the houses, and matters incident to the interim and closing of the session. Session ends on Thursday, March 7. Our advocacy focuses on the supplemental budget and passing the Affordable Homes Act REET 2.0, considered Necessary to Implement the Budget (NTIB), which would secure more funding for affordable housing by increasing transfer tax on properties sold for over $3 million and exempting properties below $1 million.

Please send a letter to your representative regarding budget action: Faith Action Network link.

We are asking the Senate Ways & Means Committee members for an increase in budget allocations to align with the House’s funding levels for the following:

  • Housing Trust Fund: Increase Senate supplemental Capital Budget from $111.6 million to $153 million as in the House budget for the Housing Trust Fund to build affordable homes.
  • Security Grants: House Budget has $1 million for 2024 and $2 million in 2025, while Senate allocated $833,000 in 2024 and $667,000 in 2025.
  • Working Families Tax Credit Outreach: The House Budget included $2 million in outreach, while the Senate did not fund it.
  • Health Equity for Immigrants Campaign: The House Budget includes additional $27.5 million in programmatic funding to the Medicaid-like program and $1 million in community-based outreach assistance. The Senate budget provides no additional funds for program or for outreach.
  • Office of Refugee and Immigrant Assistance (ORIA): House has budgeted $25 million, Senate $5m.
  • Senior Nutrition programs – House budgeted $15.2 million; the Senate $7 million.

Week 8 Recap

Excellent News

HB 1368 100% Clean School Buses made it out of Senate Ways & Means and was approved by the Senate today, 29 yeas, 20 nays.

SB 5241 Keep Our Care Act, designed to regulate medical mergers in Washington, passed the House Appropriations Committee by a vote of 18-11. The bill empowers the state attorney general to monitor hospital and healthcare mergers, aiming to protect services such as gender-affirming and reproductive health care. Despite opposition from those who fear it could limit access in rural areas, an amendment offers an emergency review for essential mergers, setting the stage for a heated legislative debate on the bill.

The following bills passed this week—thank you for your advocacy!

HB 1652 Ensuring Families on TANF Keep 100% of their Child Support Payments.

HB 2368 Funding for Services for Newly Arrived Immigrants within the Office of Refugee and Immigrant Assistance, to help provide emergency and legal services for people who do not qualify for federal refugee programs.

HB 1541 Nothing About Us Without Us to ensure the meaningful participation of people with direct lived experience on statutorily created or mandated state committees.

SB 5427 Biased Incidents Hotline to support people who have been targeted by hate crimes and bias incidents.

HB 1903 Reporting Lost and Stolen Firearms.

HB 2118 Dealer Responsibility to establish further requirements of care for gun dealers.

SB 5444 Concerning Firearms in Sensitive Places to prohibit carrying a weapon into certain designated places like zoos, public libraries, and transit facilities.

SB 5853 Extending the Crisis Relief Center Model to provide behavioral health crisis services for minors.

HB 1929 Supporting Young Adults Following Inpatient Behavioral Health Treatment.

Some Bad News

Monday was the Opposite Fiscal Cutoff deadline – the last day to pass bills in the House fiscal committees and Senate Ways & Means and Transportation Committees. It was a brutal day for bills. HB 2114, which aimed to limit rent increases in Washington, was blocked in the Senate Ways & Means Committee, facing significant opposition. The bill proposed a 7% cap on rent hikes and encountered resistance due to concerns it might hinder the growth of the state’s rental market. The bill’s failure has sparked tension over the urgency of addressing the state’s housing affordability crisis.

HB 1579, a key police reform measure to establish a state Office of Independent Prosecutions. Washington Coalition for Police Accountability expressed frustration, highlighting the continued struggle for accountability in law enforcement. The proposed office aimed to build on earlier police reforms by providing an independent body to prosecute cases, a move intended to ensure fairness and restore trust in the justice system. The failure of this bill, along with other accountability measures, contrasts with progress on legislation banning the practice of hogtying, underscoring the complex landscape of police reform efforts in the state.

Rallies at the Capitol

ECONOMIC JUSTICE: On Tuesday, FAN joined our coalition partners with Balance Our Tax Code (BOTC) in a rally at the capitol steps to advocate for funding public programs, addressing our upside-down tax code, and defending the capital gains tax. The rally was at the same time as a public hearing on Initiative 2111 banning state and local income taxes in Washington.

BOTC is also strongly against Initiative 2109, which will bypass a hearing and proceed directly to the ballot for a public vote. I-2109 is aimed at repealing Washington’s capital gains tax and threatens to remove approximately $1 billion annually from the state budget. This tax, which in its first year collected around $890 million, primarily supports early learning, childcare programs, and school construction. The proposal to eliminate the 7% tax on capital gains exceeding $262,000 could create significant budget shortfalls that would impact the state’s financial resources for education and childcare. The capital gains tax, passed in 2021, is largely paid by wealthier individuals (3,354 taxpayers), with a small fraction of taxpayers contributing the majority of the revenue. As the initiative moves towards a November ballot decision, state lawmakers face the challenge of addressing the potential financial gap if the repeal is successful. This situation underscores the debate over fiscal policy and priorities in funding state programs.

LABOR RALLY: Union members and supporters held a rally at the State Capitol in Olympia on Wednesday to advocate for HB 1893, legislation permitting striking workers to receive limited Unemployment Insurance benefits. This bill, which has passed the Washington State House but has not yet been voted on in the Senate, aims to support workers on strike by providing a crucial safety net, thus preventing employers from leveraging economic hardships as a bargaining tool. HB 1893 would place Washington alongside states like New York, New Jersey, and Maine in offering this protection. The proposed law includes a 14-day waiting period for benefit eligibility, limited to four weeks of support. Despite opposition from corporate lobbying groups, the Washington State Labor Council AFL-CIO, emphasizes the bill’s importance for fair labor practices and negotiations, highlighting the bill as a priority for ensuring workers can exercise their right to strike without facing dire economic consequences.

Resources for You and Your Communities

During this last week of session, our most useful advocacy tools will be:

WA Poor People’s Campaign Rally

We are excited to join our friends at the Washington State Poor Peoples’ Campaign as they gather people tomorrow March 2 in Olympia. We hope to see you there! Organizers are reminding us to prepare for the weather. They will gather at 10:00am at Sylvester Park (615 Washington St SE, Olympia), and march at 11:00am from Sylvester Park to the Capitol, with a rally on the Legislative Building steps at noon. It promises to be a dynamic program with speakers and song and people power. Join with people from all over Washington and those gathered simultaneously across the nation to address the interlocking injustices of systemic poverty, systemic racism, militarism, and ecological devastation. Prepare to mobilize voters!

Celebrating Ramadan

Ramadan begins the evening of March 10th this year. Please consider joining a public iftar dinner to break the fast with your neighbors at your local mosque. MAPS in Redmond, MAYF in Burien, and Pacifica Foundation in Tacoma welcome you. Use this guide to see other local interfaith iftars that may be happening in your area.

Opportunities

Thanks to the advocacy of the Coalition for Free and Fair Filing, we share good news: You can save money this year when you file your taxes with DIRECT FILE, a historic new service that will allow eligible taxpayers to file their taxes for free directly with the IRS. It’s quick, easy, & free, includes ITIN filers, and people with Earned Income Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit. Learn more at directfile.irs.gov.

Upcoming Events

Saturday, March 2, 9:00am-4:00pm, Decolonization for Transformation, in-person, Sunnyslope Church, Wenatchee. Save the Date for a Cultivating Justice featuring Sarah Augustine, Executive Director, Coalition to Dismantle the Doctrine of Discovery. Email Jess Ingman for more details.

Saturday, March 2, 9:00am-5:00pm, Why Race Matters Workshop, in-person. This workshop with Peace and Justice Action League of Spokane, addresses how racial inequities have been built into institutions and structures throughout our country. Participants will learn key steps we can take to advance racial equity in our organizations and in our community.

Saturday, March 2, Noon, WA Poor People’s Campaign March, in-person, WA State Capitol, Olympia. Join in the Mass Poor People’s Assembly in Olympia in conjunction with 30 states nationwide! Challenge poverty being the 4th leading cause of death in this country! See more at washingtonPPC.org

Wednesday, March 6, 11:00am-1:00pm, in-person. Rally for Universal Health Care.

Saturday, March 9, 3:00pm, Interreligious Dialogue Initiative Film Screening and Discussion: Carving the Divine, in-person, Seattle University, Seattle. An event in solidarity and support for the Seattle Betsuin Buddhist Temple which recently experienced arson.

Saturday, March 10, 1:30-3:30pm, American Democracy in Peril: What History Tells Us and How We Take Action Today, in-person and online, University Unitarian Church, Seattle. Learn from lecturer David Domke about how the civic choices that we make today will determine the future of American democracy and justice.

Sunday, March 17, 5:00-8:30pm, Muslim Association of Puget Sound (MAPS) Interfaith Iftar: United in Humanity – Fostering Peace, Compassion, and Understanding, MAPS Redmond. Unite in our common humanity and explore the significance of Ramadan together. Break fast together at sunset, partake in a shared meal, and forge meaningful connections

Sunday, March 24th, 2:00pm, Cesar Chavez Day Block Party: March for Farmworker’s Rights, in-person, 1521 S 1st St, Sunnyside. Join a community solidarity rally and much more. Contact United Farm Workers at 614-390-9968

August 5-9, Holden Village Summer 2024 Lecture Series, in-person, Holden Village, Chelan. Learn from FAN Staff members Kristin Ang and Tomo Duke as well as Board Member Rev. Dr. Edward Donalson III on their work with FAN and beyond.