OLYMPIA – The availability of childcare in Washington is in short supply and a bill approved in the state House Monday night, HB 1370, sponsored by Rep. Lisa Callan (D-5, Issaquah), will help communities struggling to fund the capital investment needed to build childcare facilities. The bill increases the maximum amounts of loans and grants that can be awarded to organizations.
Under current law, the state’s Early Learning Facilities (ELF) program provides this funding in three categories: facility predesign, planning, and development; minor renovation or repairs of existing early learning facilities; and the construction, purchase, or expansion of existing facilities. The maximum loan or grant amounts for those purposes are, respectively, $10,698, $106,978, and $855,823.
If Callan’s bill is approved in the Senate and becomes law, these amounts will increase with the new maximums being:
- $20,000 for predesign, planning, and development,
- $200,000 for minor renovations or repairs, and
- $1 million for major construction and renovation.
“This is what we need to do to be sure we’re eliminating the childcare desert in many parts of the state where childcare is simply not available,” Callan said. “We want every child to have what they need to thrive. Ensuring that accessible, affordable childcare and early learning facilities are available throughout the state is one of my top priorities as a lawmaker, and today a large bipartisan majority in the House agreed.”
In an amendment to the bill, legislators in the House voted to rename the ELF in honor of the longtime chair of the House early learning panel who retired in 2019. That fund will now be known as the Ruth LeCocq Kagi early learning facilities revolving account, and a related account was dubbed the Ruth LeCocq Kagi early learning facilities development account.
HB 1370 has moved to the Senate, which is expected to begin considering the bill within a few legislative workdays.
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