Another set of bills died Friday as another legislative cutoff passed, but a bill boosting Sound Transit funding options was not among them. Senate Bill 5528 authorizes “enhanced service zones” within the Sound Transit Taxing District to raise funds to speed up existing Sound Transit 3 (ST3) or deliver additional projects. Unfortunately, House Bill 1660 failed to pass the senate, which means statewide accessory dwelling unit (ADU) reform appears dead this session.
Missing middle housing still missing
After a more sweeping statewide missing middle bill (HB 1782) failed to make it out of either chamber, HB 1660 took on greater significance as the last remaining hope for a step forward this year on lifting statewide zoning restrictions. But sponsors couldn’t whip enough votes in the Senate, and it failed to pass before Friday’s deadline. HB 1782 sponsor Jessica Bateman (D-Olympia) noted how big of a missed opportunity this represented.
“We have yet to address the underlying problem of supply and we can’t solve this crisis without it,” Bateman tweeted.
