Session has come and gone, concluding the Washington State Legislature’s lawmaking work for 2024. Thus, it’s time for The Urbanist’s annual report on the legislative heroes and their counterpart zeroes.
In terms of laws passed, the output was relatively low, but some bills will have a significant impact. Some state leaders had pledged a “Year of Housing 2.0” building on a 2023 session when they passed a statewide missing middle housing standard and liberalized rules around accessory dwelling units. While most of the big bills with this housing push did not come to fruition this session, a few smaller bills did, such as one that should effectively re-legalize co-living micro-apartments. This has the potential to spur a building boom in an affordable housing type, providing more of a safety net for people experiencing housing insecurity and financial distress.
Overall, though, 2024 lacks a signature policy win of the caliber of years past. 2021 was the year of climate, with Washington implementing a cap-and-trade program raising billions for climate investments while raising costs on climate polluters. 2022 was the year of transportation via the $17 billion Move Ahead Washington package. As mentioned, 2023 was the year of housing. At best, 2024 was the year of microhousing, if not macro, and disappointing overall.
So why wasn’t more accomplished in 2024? Our zeroes list can offer some hints, with some lawmakers throwing up key roadblocks to efforts like boosting transit-oriented development (TOD) and rent stabilization. Check out our legislative recap panel for a deep dive on what went wrong this session, as well as some victories and hope for next time.
