WASHINGTON STATE

Washington State House Democrats

HOUSE DEMOCRATS

House OKs bills highlighting public safety, consumer protection

OLYMPIA — Public safety and consumer protection took center stage earlier today (Monday, March 4, 2013) in a legislative package the House of Representatives OK’d and sent across the rotunda for Senate consideration.

Topping the list was House Bill 1529, prime-sponsored by state Rep. Derek Stanford, D-Bothell. Involving the disclosure of information by landlords in the screening of potential tenants, the measure is aimed at preventing discrimination against the victims of domestic violence when they are seeking housing.

Right now, a tenant-screening-service provider can disclose an applicant’s status as a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking. Such a service can disclose that an applicant who had been the victim of such a crime had previously terminated a lease. Information on issues that aren’t the fault of a housing-applicant can show up in the applicant’s background check. Sometimes people who want to get into a home are sacrificing their lawful rights — some are even staying in abusive relationships — in order to avoid having that bad mark on their record. The measure passed, 81-17.

House Bill 1647, prime-sponsored by state Rep. Gael Tarleton, D-Seattle, requires that landlords exercise appropriate care and safety when they are keeping copies of any master keys or duplicate keys for the dwellings they manage. Three years ago a maintenance man used a key from a landlord’s office to enter a woman’s apartment in Richland. The man sexually assaulted the tenant. The measure passed, 98-0.

House Bill 1617, prime-sponsored by state Rep. John McCoy, D-Tulalip, makes permanent the 2011-2013 caps set on administrative costs for the Housing Assistance Program and the Affordable Housing Program in the Department of Commerce. The goal in the bill is to ensure a steady and predictable stream of revenue for administering these programs. The measure passed, 98-0.

House Bill 1170, prime-sponsored by state Rep. Dawn Morrell, D-Puyallup, updates the property-tax-exemption program to help make sure that folks on fixed incomes — such as low-income senior citizens, as well as disabled veterans and other people in need — aren’t being taxed out of their homes. The measure passed, 98-0.

House Bill 1853, prime-sponsored by state Rep. Marcie Maxwell, D-Renton, clarifies that licensed real-estate brokers are independent contractors. State law would thus exempt real-estate brokers, managing brokers, and designated brokers from overtime requirements, unless a broker is specifically designated as an employee in his or her contract with a real-estate firm. The measure passed, 98-0.

Housed Bill 1012, prime-sponsored by Stanford, provides protection for appraisers for work they’ve done for appraisal-management companies. The proposal Increases (from $25,000 to $100,000) the amount of the surety bond that an appraisal-management company is required to maintain. The problem is that some of the appraisal-management companies have gone under, which has left appraisers nationwide holding the bag for millions of dollars. The measure passed, 98-0.