WASHINGTON STATE

Washington State House Democrats

HOUSE DEMOCRATS

Wednesday, October 16

A $28.5 million fund to partially refund Washington farmers for cap-and-trade fuel taxes they paid in 2023 has gone mostly unclaimed so far.

Washington’s cap-and-trade rebate pot for farmers still almost full
Washington farmers and truckers have barely touched a $28.5 million pot of money the state set aside to partially refund them for the cap-and-trade taxes they paid on fuel in 2023. They have claimed $1.86 million, or just 6.5% of the money, the Department of Licensing reported Tuesday. The department started taking applications Aug. 26. It and farm groups expected the money to go quickly. Lawmakers set up a $30 million fund to offer partial refunds ranging from $1,000 to $4,500. The Licensing Department took $1.5 million to run the program and planned to send out the money first-come, first-served. Continue reading at Capital Press. (Don Jenkins)


Gov. Jay Inslee points to the work his homeless encampment initiative has done to clear encampments and transition people into housing. Last December, Inslee released his budget proposals surrounding housing and homelessness programs at the site of a former encampment in Seattle. (Laurel Demkovich/Washington State Standard)

WA program to clear roadside encampments needs more money to keep going
Washington’s work cleaning up encampments along state highways is helping get unsheltered people into housing. But the state Department of Transportation says expanding the program and maintaining its progress will require more money. In the two years since the right-of-way safety initiative launched, the department has helped close 47 encampment sites in five counties. Two of the 49 originally targeted sites are still active. At the end of August, 1,208 people living in the encampments accepted housing, and 891 are still in housing, according to the department. Continue reading at The Washington State Standard. (Laurel Demkovich)


A lone tent is pitched between East Marginal Way South and Highway 99 in the Industrial District in this June 2019 file photo. (Paul Christian Gordon for Cascade PBS)

Washington unveils five-year plan to ease record-high homelessness
More than 200,000 Washington residents – a record number – experienced homelessness or housing instability during July 2023, according to a new report from the state Department of Commerce, which outlines statewide goals for addressing this issue over the next five years. The State of Washington Homeless Housing Strategic Plan lays out a five-year plan for addressing the state’s housing affordability crisis as one way to address the record number of Washington residents who are unhoused or housing-unstable, and also spells out a strategy to provide more emergency housing across the state. Continue reading at Crosscut. (Paul Christian Gordon)


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