A bill signed by Gov. Jay Inslee on Thursday makes Washington the first state in the country to guarantee legal representation to low-income tenants facing eviction.

Cities such as Philadelphia, New York, San Francisco, and Cleveland have passed similar laws in recent years, which require courts to appoint an attorney for any tenant earning less than 200% of the federal poverty level, but Washington is the first state to do so.

Sen. Patty Kuderer (D-Bellevue), the prime sponsor of SB 5160, described it as “a fundamental shift in how we look at the eviction process in Washington state.”

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