1. 2017 Homelessness & Affordable Housing Policy Priorities
Teresa Clark
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2. Overview Housing Alliance legislative agenda setting process
Overview of Housing Alliance 2017 legislative agenda
Housing Trust Fund
Document Recording Fees
Source of Income Discrimination
Homelessness Safety Net
Supportive Housing Services Medicaid Benefit
Preparing for the 2017 legislative session

3. Legislative Agenda Goals
The Housing Alliance believes an effective state legislative agenda meets the following goals:
Has a statewide impact,
Addresses racial or social inequity,
Has “an army" of supporters or stakeholders behind each individual ask,
Has a balance of policy and fiscal asks,
Addresses the spectrum of affordable housing and homelessness needs,
Addresses urgent issues,
Is responsive to current economic and political realities,
Builds relationships, brings in partners and builds the movement
Falls within the Housing Alliance’s organizational mission

4. Legislative Agenda Setting Process
Late spring/early summer: Gather member and community feedback on affordable housing and homelessness priorities (via survey)
Summer: Public Policy Committee convenes to develop a draft legislative agenda
Fall: Housing Alliance Board of Directors approves the lead agenda

5. 2017 Lead Agenda 1. Invest $200 million into the Housing Trust Fund
2. Prevent the cliff in state homelessness funding
Eliminate the sunset on the document recording fees,
Increase the document recording fee,
Eliminate the 45% mandated use of state funds for one purpose,
Streamline and improve state and county auditing and reporting requirements.
3. Outlaw discrimination based on a renter’s source of income
4. Protect and fully fund homelessness safety net programs
The Housing and Essential Needs Program,
The Aged, Blind and Disabled Program,
Medical Care Services,
SSI Facilitation Services.
5. Ensure full Operating Budget authority for the 1115 Medicaid Waiver for Permanent Supportive Housing

6. Housing Trust Fund (HTF)
What is the Housing Trust Fund?
Primary source of state funding to build affordable housing. For every $1 in Housing Trust Fund investments, $5.5 in other resources are leveraged.
Has created over 40,000 affordable homes since its creation in 1986.
Not a true “trust fund.”
What is the legislative vehicle (or ask)?
The ask is for the legislature to appropriate $200 million in the state’s biennial capital budget.

7. Affordability is a problem statewide
Slide source 2016 Dept of Commerce
Dept of Commerce slide: shows that there’s a huge need for more affordable housing. For every 100 households earning btw 0-30% of AMI (walk through what AMI means and how it’s used as a standard in affordable housing policy that’s more locally-responsive than just the poverty level). Define what affordable means: not spending more than 30% of income on housing costs.
Nearly 3 in 4 renters in Washington at or below 30% Area Median Income (AMI) are severely rent burdened (spend more than 50% of income on housing costs)1.
1 in 3 renters in Washington between 30% and 50% Area Median Income (AMI) are severely rent burdened (spend more than 50% of income on housing costs1.
The Point In Time Count in January 2016 counted 20,844 people experiencing homelessness that night, across the state; 8,474 were unsheltered2.
NLIHC “Out of Reach” report.
Washington State Department of Commerce

8. Unaffordable Housing Leads to Spending Less on Other Needs
Monthly Spending by those in the lowest income quartile (based on expenditures):
Without Affordable Housing
Food: $217
Transportation: $55
Retirement: $38
With Affordable Housing
Food: $350
Transportation: $158
Retirement: $76
“America’s Rental Housing,” a report from the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University

9. Statewide Investments in Affordable Housing 1989 – 2015
Pacific
68 Units +
8 Beds
$6.2 M
Lewis
386 Units + 6 Beds
$13.1 M
Cowlitz
474 Units +
41 Beds
$16 M
Wahkiakum
19 Units
$1.1 M
Yakima
1,421 Units +
108 Beds
$47.6 M
Thurston
926 Units +
88 Beds
$32.4 M
Pierce
2,738 Units +
224 Beds
$76.6 M
King
15,320 Units +
2,098 Beds
$370.3 M
Douglas
150 Units +
18 Beds
$9.6 M
Franklin
388 Units
$11.4 M
Walla Walla
603 Units +
151 Beds
$28.3 M
Whitman
239 Units
$9.3 M
Asotin
56 Units
Garfield
10 Units
$94.1 K
Stevens
183 Units
$5.7 M
Pend Oreille
152 Units
$2.3 M
Grays Harbor
231 Units +
25 Beds
$5.3 M
Jefferson
109 Units + 4 Beds
$5 M
Clallam
666 Units
$21.7 M
Kittitas
$3.7 M
Snohomish
2,569 Units +
55 Beds
$57.5 M
Okanogan
361 Units + 47 beds
Chelan
6 Beds
$30 M
Adams
438 Units +
$12.6 M
Lincoln
39 Units +
16 Beds
$2.5 M
Ferry
177 Units
$2.6 M
Clark
2,036 Units +
95 Beds
$42.8 M
Whatcom
1,229 Units + 9 Beds
$32 M
San Juan
236 Units
$9.9M
Island
163 Units +
17 Beds
$6.4 M
Mason
279 Units +
$8.5 M
Skamania
142 Units
$4.6 M
Klickitat
63 Units + 6 Beds
Skagit
715 Units + 6 Beds
$19.8 M
Grant
1,390 Units +
$31.4 M
Benton
515 Units +
$12.3 M
Columbia
8 Units
$42.3 K
Spokane
2,907 Units Beds
$81 M
Kitsap
960 Units +
80 Beds
$28.2 M
Multiple Counties (scattered-site projects)
358 Units
$6.7 M
Investments in affordable housing since the start of the fund (created in 86, but implemented in 89)
Units = homes (could be standalone homes, or apartment units)
Beds = seasonal farmworker beds
Statewide Totals:
39,833 Units + 3,293 Beds $1.1 Billion includes:
HTF $946.3M + HOME $120.7M
“Beds” refer to shelters, group-home, seasonal farmworker, barrack-style beds. Not all counties include beds.
“Units” refer to all types of rental units such as studios, 1-bedroom, 2-bedrooms, etc.

10. Housing Trust Fund (HTF)
Who can use HTF resources to build housing?
Funds are restricted to nonprofits, public housing authorities, local governments, and federally recognized tribes.
How are HTF resources distributed?
The Washington State Department of Commerce makes HTF funding allocations. Commerce must follow established allocation rules to make sure funding is distributed equitably in terms of geographic representation and populations served.
Who is served by HTF funded housing?
People with developmental, behavioral, and physical disabilities
Farmworkers
Veterans
Seniors
Youth and young adults including LGTBQ youth
Communities of color
Survivors of domestic violence
Immigrants and refugees
Families and individuals experiencing homelessness
Low and moderate income workers
First time homebuyers

11. Who is Served by the Housing Trust Fund?
The overwhelming bulk of Housing Trust Fund dollars support homes for those with the lowest incomes. Over 70% are extremely low income.
Slide Source: Washington State Department of Commerce.

12. HTF Fiscal Committees
House of Representatives Capital Budget Committee
State Senate
Ways and Means Committee

13. Document Recording Fees (DRF)
What are document recording fees?
DRF are a $58 fee charged when certain real estate related documents are recorded by local county auditors.
60% distributed to counties to fund homelessness services
40% are sent to the Department of Commerce to fund homelessness programs through the Consolidated Homelessness Program (CHG).
Primary source of funding for both local and state homelessness programs.

14. Document Recording Fees (DRF)
What do document recording fees fund?
Homelessness shelters, including domestic violence shelters,
Youth and young adult shelters and outreach services,
Short-term and longer-term rental and utility assistance,
Housing application fees and move-in assistance (deposits, tenant screening fees),
Permanent supportive housing services, outreach services, and housing case management services.
Operation and maintenance costs of affordable housing.

15. Document Recording Fees (DRF)
What is the legislative vehicle (or ask)?
Pass a bill that makes the following changes to state law:
Eliminate the sunsets of a portion of the fees,
Increase the document recording fee,
Eliminate the 45% mandated use of state funds for one purpose,
Streamline and improve state and county auditing and reporting requirements.

16. DRF Funding Cliff County Loss of Funds Whatcom County -$2,111,587
Spokane County
-$4,414,446
King County
-$20,942,990
Clark County
-$5,129,555
Yakima County
-$1,557,048
Snohomish County
-$7,997,686
Walla Walla County
-$487,659
Grays Harbor County
-$698,480
Skagit County
-$1,335,099
Pierce County
-$8,363,843
State Total
-$70,474,556

17. DRF Funding Cliff County People impacted each year by loss of funds
2016 Point in Time, people unsheltered
Spokane County
1,413
981
King County
6,704
4,505
Clark County
1,642
231
Snohomish County
2,560
481
Pierce County
2,677
1,762

18. Even without cliff, fee isn’t keeping up
Recording fee does not match housing rent inflation

19. Affordability is a problem statewide
Every $100 increase in rent is associated with:
6% increase in homelessness in metro areas
32% increase in homelessness in non-metro areas
Source: Journal of Urban Affairs, New Perspectives on Community-Level Determinants of Homelessness, 2012

20. Students of color experience much higher rates of homelessness than white students.
Percent of these who are homeless by subgroup:
Asian - 0.7%
American Indian/Alaska Native - 7.6%
Black/African American - 7.6%
Hispanic/Latino - 4.1%
Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander - 6.6%
White - 2.3%

21. DRF Policy Committees
House of Representatives Community Development, Tribal Affairs, and Housing Committee
State Senate Financial Institutions and Insurance Committee

22. DRF Fiscal Committees
House of Representatives Appropriations Committee

23. DRF Fiscal Committees
State Senate
Ways and Means Committee

24. Source of Income Discrimination (SOID)
What is source of income discrimination?
When someone is denied housing solely based on the source of income that they use to pay their rent.
Unfairly denies people the opportunity to apply and compete for housing, even if they are able to afford rent and utilities.
Often used as a proxy for illegal types of discrimination related to race, gender, family composition, disability, age, and veteran status. Thus, it has a disparate impact for certain communities and creates additional housing barriers for communities of color, female headed households, people with disabilities, people with criminal records, veterans, seniors, and others.
Currently, only a few jurisdictions outlaw source of income discrimination: Seattle, Bellevue, Kirkland, Redmond, Unincorporated King County, Tumwater, Olympia, and Vancouver.

25. Source of Income Discrimination (SOID)
What is the legislative vehicle (or ask)?
A bill that will change state law to outlaw the practice of source of income discrimination.
In our 2015 bill, sources of income protected included:
Social Security Income
Supplemental Security Income
Other retirement programs
Any federal, state, local, or nonprofit-administered benefit or subsidy programs, including housing assistance, public assistance, and general assistance programs.

26. SOID Legislative Committees
House of Representatives Judiciary Committee
State Senate Human Services, Housing, and Mental Health Committee

27. Homelessness Safety Net Programs
What are our homelessness safety net programs?
Housing & Essential Needs (HEN) Program – Housing, utility, and “essential needs” assistance for people with temporary disabilities. HEN provides people with housing assistance while they are recovering.
Aged, Blind, and Disabled (ABD) Program – ABD provides people with permanent disabilities who are applying to the federal SSI program and elderly immigrants with a $197/month cash grant. This grant provides people with basic survival assistance while they are waiting to be accepted to other programs.
SSI Facilitation Services – Services funded by the state to help people with permanent disabilities apply to the federal Supplemental Security Income program.
Medical Care Services Program – State funded health insurance program that provides health care coverage for elderly and disabled immigrants who are not yet eligible for the federally funded health coverage.

28. Homelessness Safety Net Programs
What is the legislative vehicle (or ask)?
Protect funding for the HEN, ABD, MCS, and SSI Facilitation Services in the state operating budget.
Appropriate $5 million to the ABD program to fund its budget shortfall and ensure cuts are not made to the program.
Raise new sources of revenue to fund the McCleary Supreme Court decision (~$4 billion) in the state operating budget. Do not fund McCleary by cutting human service programs.

29. Safety Net Policy Committees
House of Representatives Human Services and Early Learning Committee
State Senate Human Services, Housing, and Mental Health Committee

30. Safety Net Fiscal Committees
House of Representatives Appropriations Committee

31. Safety Net Fiscal Committees
State Senate
Ways and Means Committee

32. Medicaid Supportive Housing Benefit
What is the Medicaid supportive housing benefit?
Washington State is currently in negotiations with the federal government to create a new Medicaid benefit that would pay for the housing services delivered in permanent supportive housing.
This new Medicaid benefit would help people experiencing chronic, long-term homelessness, people with physical and behavioral health disabilities, and people with long-term care needs access and retain housing.
This benefit is on track to go into effect in early 2017.
Visit the Housing Alliance’s Medicaid benefit resource page at wliha.org/medicaid-benefit-resources

33. Medicaid Supportive Housing Benefit
What is the legislative vehicle (or ask)?
This benefit is fully funded by the federal government through an 1115 Medicaid waiver. Medicaid waivers allow states to test innovative health benefits over a 5-year period that will improve people’s health and save the health care system money over the long-term.
The Housing Alliance’s legislative priority is to ensure full operating budget authority for the 1115 Medicaid Waiver for permanent supportive housing.
This means that we want the language (budget proviso) in the state’s operating budget bill to not restrict the implementation of this new supportive housing services Medicaid benefit.

34. Medicaid Policy Committees
House of Representatives Health Care and Wellness Committee
State Senate Health Care Committee

35. Medicaid Fiscal Committees
House of Representatives Appropriations Committee

36. Medicaid Fiscal Committees
State Senate
Ways and Means Committee

37. Preparing for Session
Join the Housing Alliance advocacy action list at bit.ly/advocacyaction
Sign onto the 2017 lead agenda at bit.ly/2017leadagenda
Take note if your lawmakers are on legislative or fiscal committees lead issues will move through
Meet with your lawmakers to discuss these policy priorities and report back to the Housing Alliance via our lawmaker meeting survey at bit.ly/LMmeetings
Submit issues for our support agenda (December)
Save the date for Housing and Homelessness Advocacy Day Feb 2, (registration opening in December)
Start thinking about your capacity to contact lawmakers, testify in Olympia, and mobilize others to do the same
Call for stories of people impacted by these issues! Contact

38. Next Learn at Lunch Webinars
Thank you!
Next Learn at Lunch Webinars
Wed Nov 30: After the Election: An Overview of our Advocacy Landscape
Wed Dec 21: Understanding the Local Impact of the Document Recording Fees and the Housing Trust Fund