Airbnb is gearing up to fight a renewed push for a tax on short-term rentals. Based on our latest perusal of the Public Disclosure Commission, the homestay broker recently dumped more than $1 million into the humbly named Airbnb Helps Our State Thrive PAC.
While Airbnbs can be anything from free-standing houses to apartments to bedrooms in people’s houses, many short-term rentals are accessory dwelling units (ADUs): the backyard cottages lawmakers have allowed in much of the state. ADUs have garnered a fanbase in the statehouse as a solution for cross-generational families or a quick ticket to boosting property values. But there’s real money in the prospect of lining Washington’s most touristy locales with ritzy Airbnbs.
We’re told this PAC will advocate for short-term rental hosts broadly, but job one is killing a proposal from Sen. Liz Lovelett, D-Anacortes, whose district includes the scenic San Juan Islands, which have both many Airbnbs and an affordable housing crisis. Senate Bill 5576 would impose a 6% excise tax on short-term rentals statewide starting in 2026 to pay for local affordable housing programs ranging from housing assistance to homeless shelters, among other services. A similar tax proposal from Lovelett passed the Senate before dying in the House in both 2023 and 2024.
Expect to see boots hit the ground in Olympia to fight this bill. The newly created Washington Hosts Collaborative Alliance shot lawmakers a letter this week on behalf of some 16,000 short-term rental hosts and their friends in the industry, who gave Lovelett’s proposal two thumbs down.
SB 5576 was referred to the Senate Ways & Means Committee, bypassing the Housing Committee. That likely means it’s on a fast track given that Housing Chair Jessica Bateman, D-Olympia, and Vice Chair Emily Alvarado, D-Seattle, are both sponsors. (Tim Gruver)
A bipartisan plan to reduce chronic absenteeism
Senate minority leader John Braun, R-Centralia, took a second swing at the persistent challenge of chronic absenteeism in Washington public schools with Senate Bill 5007. The bill would help school districts and educators re-engage with families and students who are considered chronically absent, defined as missing 10% of school days or about three weeks of instruction.
Braun noted that this is not aimed at school truancy or suspensions exclusively, because students can be chronically absent, even if that absence occurs with school notification for an acceptable reason, such as illness or a doctor’s appointment. SB 5007 specifically directs school districts to coach school staff on best practices for addressing chronic absenteeism; adds grant dollars to local programs for drop-out prevention and intervention; and adds money to support various student expenses—calculators, backpacks, clothing, and transportation—for students ages 16-21 who are trying to re-engage in their education through the Open Doors Youth Reengagement Program. An Open Doors teacher from Mason County testified in support of SB 5007 and asked lawmakers to add flexible money to the program to support students encountering cost barriers to school attendance related to poverty.
Washington has one of the most dismal rates of chronic absenteeism in the nation, nearly doubling from 15% in 2018-19 school year and to above 30% in 2022-23, according to an analysis by the Associated Press and Stanford University. The pandemic exacerbated the problem of chronic absenteeism nationwide. Before the pandemic in 2018-19, about 15% of students nationwide missed 10% of school days. In 2022-23, nearly one in four students were considered chronically absent, the national study found.
The correlation between chronic absenteeism and the academic achievement gap is well-documented, as students who fail to attend school struggle to keep pace with learning standards. Social determinants play a big part here, as students contending with poverty, homelessness, illness, learning challenges, etc., are more likely to miss school than their peers.
Braun testified that SB 5007 is an “affordable way to have a disproportionate impact at the margins to help students do better,” and many education stakeholders testified in support of the bill. The Conservative Ladies of Washington testified in opposition to SB 5007 along with many of their supporters who signed in “con” online.
This is Braun’s second attempt at funneling more resources to school districts to address chronic absenteeism. Last session, Senate Bill 5850 passed the Senate 49-0 before dying in the House Appropriations Committee. (Sara Kasabian)
Lot-splitting gains some asterisks
The lot-splitting bill we’ve kept our eyes on gained some fine print in the House Committee on Housing that might just get it past its critics this year.
House Bill 1096 from Rep. Andrew Barkis, R-Lacey, still does what it says on the box and lets land owners divide a plot in two to sell, build something else on it, or what have you. It breezed past the committee on Monday with a myriad of amendments from Barkis answering some of the eleventh-hour qualms that helped kill the proposal before in the Senate.
As amended, the bill comes with several key carveouts of note. First, it would shield local governments from litigation over a lot split gone awry, e.g., building an environmental hazard in the making. For that matter, the bill stands to give landowners carte blanche to demolish rental housing via a lot split so long as they refer their tenants to a new place. The bill would apply strictly to jurisdictions enacting the state’s 2023 middle housing reforms where small living spaces like accessory dwelling units—the kind of building projects people split lots for—are legal.
Our Housing Re-Wire panel shared Barkis’s high hopes that 2025 would be lot-splitting’s year. Whether HB 1096’s tweaks propel it to the governor’s desk is TBD. (Tim Gruver)
These articles first appeared in The Washington Observer.
