Strike everything after the enacting clause and insert the following:

"NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1. (1) By July 1, 2022, the department of commerce must select an impartial third-party facilitator to convene an affordable housing work group. The work group must make recommendations to the appropriate committees of the legislature on how the state can increase the construction of affordable housing, including missing middle housing types, statewide.

(2) The work group must consider information and findings by a variety of authoritative bodies with expertise in housing construction trends and barriers, including data on:

(a) Housing financing;

(b) Real estate trends, including types of buyers and housing and forecasts;

(c) Stability and growth of the construction industry, including number of firms operating in the state over the last 10 years, labor availability, and number and types of units built and in what regions;

(d) Land availability and costs;

(e) An evaluation, using case studies, of why vacant lots and vacant houses remain unbuilt or unhoused during the last five years;

(f) The cost to build compared to the cost to renovate in a variety of markets;

(g) The cost to build single-family housing compared to the cost to build missing middle housing types;

(h) Market prices per square foot for single-family housing and middle housing types;

(i) Feasibility of converting vacant commercial buildings to residential uses, comparing large properties, such as shopping centers and office buildings, with smaller buildings;

(j) Statewide zoning characteristics and market response using case studies;

(k) Data on impact of zoning changes and displacement; and

(l) Market response to housing units and land owned by community land trusts.

(3) The facilitator must select at least one member to serve on the work group from each of the following:

(a) The department of commerce;

(b) Association of Washington cities;

(c) Washington state association of counties;

(d) A regional planning authority on each side of the crest of the Cascade mountains;

(e) Washington low-income housing alliance;

(f) A Washington realtors association;

(g) A building construction association; and

(h) A rental property association.

(4) By December 1, 2022, the facilitator must submit a report to the appropriate committees of the legislature containing the recommendations of the work group after review and approval by the facilitator and work group. Recommendations must result from consensus-based decision making. The report must include recommendations where consensus has been achieved and note dissenting opinions where consensus has not been achieved.

(5) This section expires January 1, 2024."

On page 1, line 2 of the title, after "units;" strike the remainder of the title and insert "creating a new section; and providing an expiration date."