Washington Legislature passes $2.2 billion emergency relief package
(The Center Square) — Washington lawmakers passed $2.2 billion in emergency aid for schools, renters, and small businesses on Wednesday ahead of a months-long budget process.
Introduced in late January, House Bill 1368 and its companion Senate bill will put billions towards fighting the COVID-19 pandemic and propping up the state’s battered economy.
More than two weeks and two amendments later, the package was passed with bipartisan support in both chambers of the legislature. It is paid for with federal dollars from two COVID-relief packages passed by Congress last year.
As passed, the bill includes $714 million for K-12 school funding, $356 million in housing assistance, and $240 million in grants for 12,000 small businesses.
It also shores up $618 million in public health assistance including $68 million for COVID-19 vaccine distribution, $100 million in epidemiology and lab grants, and another $438 million for testing and contact tracing money.
Among the bill’s other spending items are $65 million for immigration services and another $5 million in food aid.
This latest relief package was intended as a way of keeping Washingtonians from waiting until the eleventh hour for immediate aid while state lawmakers debate a two-year budget which will likely pass in the spring.
Despite boasting exclusively Democratic sponsorship, HB 1368 ultimately saw bipartisan support across party lines, though some Republicans wanted to see even more money for small business and landlord relief.
Its passage comes days before the legislature’s February 15 deadline for most committees to pass and read new bills into the record in their chamber of origin.
As many in Washington argue, the bill’s $2.2 billion will likely not be enough as the pandemic continues on into 2021.
By the Washington Low-Income Housing Alliance’s estimates, back rent in the state may total more than $1.1 billion since the onset of the pandemic in March 2020. The state eviction moratorium is set to expire on March 31.
In January, Inslee pushed seven Western Washington counties out of shutdown to return indoor dining for Puget Sound-area bars and restaurants to help curtail the state’s current jobless rate of 7.1%.
The governor’s proposed budget also lays out $100 million in proposed small business grants which critics say may be too little by the time of their potential approval.
As the state legislature wraps up the fifth week of its 105-day session slated to end on April 25, a host of other relief bills are pending approval.
They include Senate Bill 5169, sponsored by Sen. David Frockt, D-Seattle, which would bolster supplies of personal protective equipment for health care workers. It now heads to the House after passing the Senate on Wednesday.
Another piece of relief legislation, Senate Bill 5272, sponsored by Sen. Christine Rolfes, D-Bainbridge Island, would free up pandemic-affected businesses from paying liquor licensing fees for a year. It awaits action in the House.
HB 1368 awaits the stroke of Inslee’s pen which is expected in the coming days.
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