CERTIFICATION OF ENROLLMENT
SENATE BILL 6229
Chapter 155, Laws of 2020
66TH LEGISLATURE
2020 REGULAR SESSION
RECIPIENTS OF HOUSING-RELATED STATE FUNDING--WASHINGTON STATE QUALITY AWARD PROGRAM
EFFECTIVE DATE: June 11, 2020
Passed by the Senate February 14, 2020
  Yeas 31  Nays 16
CYRUS HABIB

President of the Senate
Passed by the House March 4, 2020
  Yeas 91  Nays 6
LAURIE JINKINS

Speaker of the House of Representatives
CERTIFICATE
I, Brad Hendrickson, Secretary of the Senate of the State of Washington, do hereby certify that the attached is SENATE BILL 6229 as passed by the Senate and the House of Representatives on the dates hereon set forth.
BRAD HENDRICKSON

Secretary
Secretary
Approved March 25, 2020 3:42 PM
FILED
March 26, 2020
JAY INSLEE

Governor of the State of Washington
Secretary of State
State of Washington

SENATE BILL 6229

Passed Legislature - 2020 Regular Session
State of Washington
66th Legislature
2020 Regular Session
BySenators Kuderer and Wilson, C.; by request of Department of Commerce
Prefiled 01/10/20.Read first time 01/13/20.Referred to Committee on Housing Stability & Affordability.
AN ACT Relating to streamlining reporting for recipients of housing-related state funding by removing Washington state quality award program requirements; and amending RCW 43.185C.210.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
Sec. 1. RCW 43.185C.210 and 2011 c 353 s 6 are each amended to read as follows:
(1) The transitional housing operating and rent program is created in the department to assist individuals and families who are homeless or who are at risk of becoming homeless to secure and retain safe, decent, and affordable housing. The department shall provide grants to eligible organizations, as described in RCW 43.185.060, to provide assistance to program participants. The eligible organizations must use grant moneys for:
(a) Rental assistance, which includes security or utility deposits, first and last month's rent assistance, and eligible moving expenses to be determined by the department;
(b) Case management services designed to assist program participants to secure and retain immediate housing and to transition into permanent housing and greater levels of self-sufficiency;
(c) Operating expenses of transitional housing facilities that serve homeless families with children; and
(d) Administrative costs of the eligible organization, which must not exceed limits prescribed by the department.
(2) Eligible to receive assistance through the transitional housing operating and rent program are:
(a) Families with children who are homeless or who are at risk of becoming homeless and who have household incomes at or below fifty percent of the median household income for their county;
(b) Families with children who are homeless or who are at risk of becoming homeless and who are receiving services under chapter 13.34 RCW;
(c) Individuals or families without children who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless and who have household incomes at or below thirty percent of the median household income for their county;
(d) Individuals or families who are homeless or who are at risk of becoming homeless and who have a household with an adult member who has a mental health or chemical dependency disorder; and
(e) Individuals or families who are homeless or who are at risk of becoming homeless and who have a household with an adult member who is an offender released from confinement within the past eighteen months.
(3) All program participants must be willing to create and actively participate in a housing stability plan for achieving permanent housing and greater levels of self-sufficiency.
(4) Data on all program participants must be entered into and tracked through the Washington homeless client management information system as described in RCW 43.185C.180. For eligible organizations serving victims of domestic violence or sexual assault, compliance with this subsection must be accomplished in accordance with 42 U.S.C. Sec. 11383(a)(8).
(5)(((a) Except as provided in (b) of this subsection, beginning in 2011, each eligible organization receiving over five hundred thousand dollars during the previous calendar year from the transitional housing operating and rent program and from sources including: (i) State housing-related funding sources; (ii) the affordable housing for all surcharge in RCW 36.22.178; (iii) the home security fund surcharges in RCW 36.22.179 and 36.22.1791; and (iv) any other surcharge imposed under chapter 36.22 or 43.185C RCW to fund homelessness programs or other housing programs, shall apply to the Washington state quality award program for an independent assessment of its quality management, accountability, and performance system, once every three years.
(b) Cities and counties are exempt from the provisions of (a) of this subsection until 2018.
(6))) The department may develop rules, requirements, procedures, and guidelines as necessary to implement and operate the transitional housing operating and rent program.
(((7)))(6) The department shall produce an annual transitional housing operating and rent program report that must be included in the department's homeless housing strategic plan as described in RCW 43.185C.040. The report must include performance measures to be determined by the department that address, at a minimum, the following issue areas:
(a) The success of the program in helping program participants transition into permanent affordable housing and achieve self-sufficiency or increase their levels of self-sufficiency, which shall be defined by the department based upon the costs of living, including housing costs, needed to support: (i) One adult individual; and (ii) two adult individuals and one preschool-aged child and one school-aged child;
(b) The financial performance of the program related to efficient program administration by the department and program operation by selected eligible organizations, including an analysis of the costs per program participant served;
(c) The quality, completeness, and timeliness of the information on program participants provided to the Washington homeless client management information system database; and
(d) The satisfaction of program participants in the assistance provided through the program.
Passed by the Senate February 14, 2020.
Passed by the House March 4, 2020.
Approved by the Governor March 25, 2020.
Filed in Office of Secretary of State March 26, 2020.
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