In the News

Washington youth in extended foster care will no longer have to reimburse the state using their own disability or survivor benefits under a new bill signed into law Wednesday. Senate Bill 5911, sponsored by Sen. Emily Alvarado, D-West Seattle, and Sen. Judy Warnick, R-Moses Lake, stops the state, starting next year, from intercepting funds from ...

OLYMPIA — Washington is one step closer to ending the practice of intercepting federal benefits from young adults receiving foster care services under a bill the Senate unanimously passed Friday. If it becomes law, the proposal would ensure foster youth ages 18 to 21 receive federal benefits such as retirement, survivors and disability insurance and ...

Here at the Observer we like to flag big tax bills moving fast and quiet — and ones that lurk low and deep, poised to resurface late in the session. On that latter note, see SB 6173, aka the Walmart tax. Sen. Emily Alvarado’s bill would achieve a progressive dream of making Big Business pay for foisting low-wage workers’ medical care onto ...

SEATTLE — Washington landlords can no longer raise rents by more than 10% per year under landmark legislation Gov. Bob Ferguson signed into law Wednesday. Effective immediately, House Bill 1217 caps residential rent hikes during a 12-month period at 7% plus inflation, or 10%, whichever is lower. The limit will last 15 years. The bill also restricts manufactured home rent ...

OLYMPIA — House lawmakers approved a controversial measure Monday evening to prohibit landlords from raising a tenant’s rent more than 7% in a 12-month period. House Bill 1217 passed 53-42 and will now head to the Senate for consideration. Under the bill, rent increases are limited to 7% during any 12-month period. A “striking amendment” adopted by ...

It has become increasingly hard for first-time buyers to purchase a home in Washington. One proposed solution heard in the Senate Housing Committee on Feb. 5 would limit large investors’ single-family home purchases. Senate Bill 5496 sponsored by state Sen. Emily Alvarado would effectively bar investment entities — business entities with interests in more than 25 single-family properties — from ...

If you are among the more than 1 million renters in Washington state you’re potentially as few as 60 days from a rent increase — of any amount the landlord determines — under state law. There currently is no cap on rent increases; the only requirement is that renters be provided at least 60 days notice. And rent in Washington state, compared ...