Tag Archives: Housing

Amid mismanagement, Fortunato blasts governor’s veto of housing crisis study

While the Legislature met earlier this week for a one-day special session to address the controversial drug-possession law known as the Blake fix, Gov. Jay Inslee signed the three state budgets into law.

However, he quietly vetoed bipartisan provisions to look at why housing and homelessness in Washington is so bad.

The ranking Republican on the Senate’s housing committee, state Sen. Phil Fortunato, sponsored a budget proviso in the more-than-$70 billion state operating budget that would have created a task force to study the state’s housing supply and affordability problem.

“Most of the housing policies being adopted in Olympia only make the problem worse,” said Fortunato, R-Auburn. “We aren’t building enough housing units, and the only solution from the majority is to either tax housing production or impose more regulations that make housing more expensive. My proposal would have taken a nonpartisan look at what’s driving our housing crisis.”

While hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars continue to pour into the state’s housing affordability crisis, Fortunato is expressing dismay and suspicion at the governor’s actions to kill any accountability for the state’s housing and homeless policy.

“I find the timing interesting,” said Fortunato. “Within a short period of time, we have The Seattle Times breaking stories about mismanagement at the King County Regional Homeless Authority and the director stepping down. Then, the governor is trying to cover up a bipartisan accounting of the state’s response to the housing and homeless debacle.”

In his veto message, the governor noted that the study didn’t spend enough money on the taskforce and that he didn’t want executive agency staff working on the taskforce.

“It’s a bit ironic because for years I’ve been working on a comprehensive solution on this issue that the majority Democrats have refused to hear, and now they’re actively trying to prevent the public from knowing why we’re in this situation,” added Fortunato. “Since the majority and the Governor have been doubling down on failure, I guess I shouldn’t be surprised he wanted to spend more money.”

Fortunato sponsored the American Dream Homes legislation that would reduce government-imposed costs to build smaller starter homes. It would also include tax incentives for builders and requirements on longer-term affordability.

“The state is making construction of homes unsustainably expensive. From permitting costs to other regulatory burdens like the Climate Commitment Act, government is adding tens of thousands of dollars to housing costs. This study would have uncovered what those impacts really are and saved families hundreds of dollars a month on housing,” Fortunato said.

Democrats switch course, adopt Republican-led homeless approach

Gov. Jay Inslee recently held a news conference in Spokane, touting the work of a new approach to dealing with the state’s daunting homelessness crisis. The only problem? The policies being touted as effective were originally part of a package that homeless advocates and Democratic lawmakers sought to kill.

The ranking Republican on the Senate’s housing committee is calling out the hypocrisy and urging adoption of his proposals this coming legislative session.

“We need a comprehensive homeless plan that helps our cities and counties deal with the influx of homelessness, largely caused by Democratic policies,” said Sen. Phil Fortunato. “It is estimated that the state and counties, not including cites, spend in the vicinity of $3 billion, more than 4 percent of the state’s budget. The recent report by the state auditor on how homeless dollars are being spent is a strong indictment of the status quo. The problem isn’t that we are not spending enough on homelessness, it is how we are spending it.”

Much of what the governor is touting is covered under Fortunato’s SHELTER Act, and Senate Bill 5591, which would create guidelines for prioritizing rapid rehousing for persons with disabilities, families, pregnant women and people over 60 years old.

“I hope that the governor and my Democratic colleagues working on this issue can put partisan politics aside and do what works for our communities and those experiencing homelessness. It is not compassionate to have people live on the street in cardboard boxes,” said Fortunato, R-Auburn

Opposition from the more than 400 homeless advocates to the SHELTER Act during its 2020 committee hearing focused on provisions that required secure fencing, police security, and prohibiting drugs or alcohol. They also derided enforcement measures, such as making it a misdemeanor for camping on public property.

After the Legislature failed to act on an effective homelessness strategy, local jurisdictions began implementing their own versions of Fortunato’s proposal. Shortly after the hearing, Mercer Island adopted an ordinance with even harsher penalties such as jail time and hefty fines. The City of Auburn passed an ordinance levying a $1,000 fine and/or 90 days in jail for those convicted of criminal trespass for camping on public property. In November of this year, Tacoma approved a controversial public camping ban that is nearly identical to Fortunato’s proposal.

The 2023 legislative session begins Jan. 9 and is scheduled to last 105 days. Fortunato has introduced Senate Bill 5016, a comprehensive homeless plan incorporating many of the Republican homeless strategies into a single bill.

The proposal, called “From Homelessness to Housing,” would provide temporary shelter, transitional housing and work opportunities, with the goal of moving people through the continuum toward homeownership, generating wealth for low-income families to escape poverty, Fortunato added.

“The housing affordability problem in our state is real, people are feeling it and it goes beyond homelessness,” Fortunato said. “The state’s response should be to move people through this housing continuum with the goal of affordable home ownership. That can’t happen if we let people languish in this drug, alcohol and mental health crisis while simultaneously restricting housing options for everyone else.”

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