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Dear Friends and Neighbors,
I'm happy to reach out to you again and hope you are well. We are already a month into this session, and a lot has happened since my last update, including positive steps forward for some of my legislation. Before I bring you up to speed on some of the latest session news, I want to thank you again for placing your trust in me and allowing me to serve you. It's an honor to be your state representative from the 25th District. Please continue reaching out to me and sharing your input and feedback as we move forward.
Please Take Our Survey
Speaking of sharing your input, as we continue to progress through the 2023 session, I want to know what's on your mind. What issues really matter to you? What do you think the Legislature should be focused on? Which policies do you support or oppose?
Please make your voice heard by taking the 25th District legislative priorities survey. Please click here to share your input. I plan to share some results from this survey in a future update.
And if you would like to meet with me in-person, or discuss any issues further, please contact me using one of the methods listed at the bottom of this email. I look forward to hearing from you.
Update on My Legislation
Several of the bills I'm sponsoring have been advancing through the legislative process. Here's a roundup of their progress.
House Bill 1401 would empower all cities and counties to adopt a simple, low-cost, expedited permit process for development of single-family, duplex, triplex, or accessory dwelling units with less than 1,801 square feet per unit. The Housing Committee unanimously passed the bill on Thursday. This simple legislation would help ease our state's affordable housing shortage and give the people of Washington more housing options. By giving more control to local governments and allowing them to make permitting decisions based on their own needs and circumstances, everyone wins.
House Bill 1402, which is scheduled for a vote in the Local Government Committee on Feb. 8 would give cities and counties the flexibility to adjust urban boundaries to include different or more land so developers and home builders would have additional area to work with.
Currently, the Growth Management Act artificially restricts land use outside of urban boundaries. This legislation would allow local municipalities to redraw those boundaries if they aren't working. That would open more land to be used for additional affordable housing units. We have plenty of usable property throughout Washington that could be developed for housing. We just need to enact legislation to make it available.
House Bill 1561 would increase the public utility tax exemption threshold and annually adjust the threshold for inflation. Under the current law, a business would have to pay public utility taxes (PUT) on gross income above $24,000 per year (or $2,000 per month). This legislation would double the threshold – and increase the threshold yearly with inflation – so businesses who engage in activities that are taxable under PUT would have to collect over $48,000 per year (or $4,000 per month) or more to have to pay taxes on their business income.
Small businesses and owner operators, like Uber and Lyft drivers for example, who pay public utility taxes were left behind when the legislature adjusted the B&O thresholds in 2022. This bill simply recognizes and corrects that oversight. It's schedule for a hearing on Feb. 7 in the Finance Committee.
House Bill 1064 is still alive, after it received a hearing in the Capital Budget Committee. The bill would allow the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction to administer a school safety capital grant program. Grants could only be awarded for school safety projects that make physical improvements intended to advance the safety or security of a school facility. Our kids' safety and the safety of their schools is of paramount importance. It would be terrific to get help to school districts, especially smaller ones, as they modernize with safety in mind.
More Info About My Bills
I have been busy letting people know about the commonsense legislation I'm working on this session. To that end, I have made several media appearances to discuss my legislation, and several reporters have written articles in favor of my bills. Use the links below to learn more.
Radio: Rep. Jacobsen discusses her bill regarding inmate safety on KTTH
Radio: Rep. Jacobsen discusses housing bills on KIRO
Radio: Jacobsen bipartisan bills seek to make housing affordable
Radio: Jacobsen bill would allow rehire of forced-out non-vaccinated state workers
Radio: Rep. Jacobsen joins Ari Hoffman to discuss her efforts to get unvaccinated workers their jobs back
Radio: Rep. Jacobsen discusses her bill to re-employ non-vaccinated state workers with Brandi Kruse
Shift: Rep. Cyndy Jacobsen: “We need to take a good look at funding students instead of schools.”
Tacoma Weekly: Jacobson bill seeks to reduce affordable housing barriers
The Center Square: 'Pave the way': Rep. Jacobsen bills would ease rules to build homes in Washington
Columbia Basin Herald: Affordable housing legislation introduced in Olympia
News Radio KPQ: Proposed bill would 're-hire' workers fired over vax mandate
Washington Policy Center: House Bill 1029 aims to reemploy workers forced out of jobs for lack of a COVID-19 vaccination
MyNorthwest.com: WA Rep: Bill to protect women inmates, transgenders 'going nowhere'
You can also learn a little more about my experience and background from this legislative profile that aired on TVW: click here.
Please Continue to Reach Out
As this session moves forward, please continue to reach out to me. I will be holding some town hall meetings with my seatmates, Sen. Chris Gildon and Rep. Kelly Chambers in the coming weeks. I will keep you informed of dates and times, and meeting info in future updates. I'm honored to represent you in the 25th District and I'm sincerely grateful for your support. My door is always open so please continue to contact me.
In service,
Sincerely,
Cyndy Jacobsen
