Z-0823.1
HOUSE BILL 2522
State of Washington | 66th Legislature | 2020 Regular Session |
ByRepresentatives Ormsby, Ryu, Doglio, Frame, and Pollet; by request of Office of Financial Management
Read first time 01/15/20.Referred to Committee on Appropriations.
AN ACT Relating to making expenditures from the budget stabilization account to alleviate the issue of homelessness; creating a new section; making appropriations; and declaring an emergency.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The legislature finds that Washington state experiences the fifth highest per capita rate of unsheltered homelessness in the nation. There are approximately ten thousand people living outside or in places that are unsafe and unfit for human habitation on a given night in our state. Sections 2 through 4 of this act appropriate over three hundred million dollars from the budget stabilization account to address the immediate crisis of unsheltered homelessness. The intent of these appropriations is to move thousands of unsheltered individuals indoors and into stable housing quickly. The amounts appropriated will be provided to the department of commerce for a new sheltering grant program, a transitional housing pilot program for homeless youth, an expansion of the essential needs and housing assistance program, permanent supportive housing, improvements to affordable housing and homelessness data collection, and for the housing trust fund for additional enhanced homeless shelters and to enhance existing shelter facilities. Additional funding will be provided to the department of social and health services to make improvements to the aged, blind, or disabled assistance program. Funding will also be provided to the department of ecology for assistance grants to local governments to remediate waste and material generated by homeless encampments and for the department of ecology to remediate or remove waste and material from vacated homeless encampments.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. FOR THE OFFICE OF FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT—HOME SECURITY FUND ACCOUNT.The sum of $18,499,000 is appropriated from the budget stabilization account for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2020, and the sum of $262,177,000 is appropriated from the budget stabilization account for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2021. The appropriations in this section are provided solely for expenditure into the home security fund account and are intended to provide sufficient funding for homeless response program expenditures during the 2019-2021 and 2021-2023 fiscal biennia.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. FOR THE OFFICE OF FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT—WASHINGTON HOUSING TRUST FUND.The sum of $30,000,000 is appropriated from the budget stabilization account for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2021. The appropriation in this section is provided solely for expenditure into the Washington housing trust fund and is intended to provide sufficient funding for additional homeless shelters and enhancements to existing shelters during the 2019-2021 and 2021-2023 fiscal biennia.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. FOR THE OFFICE OF FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT—MODEL TOXICS CONTROL OPERATING ACCOUNT.The sum of $8,000,000 is appropriated from the budget stabilization account for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2021. The appropriation provided in this section is solely for expenditure into the model toxics control operating account and is intended to provide sufficient funding to remove solid, hazardous, and infectious waste generated by vacated homeless encampments during the 2019-2021 and 2021-2023 fiscal biennia.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. This act is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety, or support of the state government and its existing public institutions, and takes effect immediately.
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