CERTIFICATION OF ENROLLMENT
ENGROSSED SECOND SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL 1277
Chapter 214, Laws of 2021
67th Legislature
2021 Regular Session
EVICTION PREVENTION—RECORDED DOCUMENT SURCHARGE
EFFECTIVE DATE: July 25, 2021
Passed by the House April 24, 2021 CERTIFICATE
Yeas 57 Nays 39
I, Bernard Dean, Chief Clerk of the
House of Representatives of the
LAURIE JINKINS State of Washington, do hereby
Speaker of the House of certify that the attached is
Representatives ENGROSSED SECOND SUBSTITUTE HOUSE
BILL 1277 as passed by the House of
Representatives and the Senate on
the dates hereon set forth.
Passed by the Senate April 24, 2021
Yeas 26 Nays 23
BERNARD DEAN
DENNY HECK Chief Clerk
President of the Senate
Approved May 10, 2021 3:10 PM FILED
May 10, 2021
Secretary of State
JAY INSLEE State of Washington
Governor of the State of Washington
 ENGROSSED SECOND SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL 1277
AS AMENDED BY THE SENATE
Passed Legislature - 2021 Regular Session
State of Washington 67th Legislature 2021 Regular Session
By House Appropriations (originally sponsored by Representatives
Ormsby, Macri, Ramel, Bateman, Fitzgibbon, Ryu, Senn, Chopp, Berry,
Peterson, Davis, Santos, Valdez, Hackney, Thai, Kloba, Sells, Frame,
Gregerson, J. Johnson, Pollet, Harris-Talley, Stonier, Taylor, and
Wicks)
READ FIRST TIME 03/22/21.
1 AN ACT Relating to an additional revenue source for eviction
2 prevention and housing stability services; amending RCW 43.185C.045,
3 43.185C.060, 43.185C.190, 36.22.178, 36.22.179, 36.22.1791, and
4 36.22.240; adding a new section to chapter 36.22 RCW; adding a new
5 section to chapter 43.185C RCW; and creating a new section.
6 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
7 NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. A new section is added to chapter 36.22
8 RCW to read as follows:
9 (1) Except as provided in subsection (2) of this section, a
10 surcharge of $100 must be charged by the county auditor for each
11 document recorded, which is in addition to any other charge or
12 surcharge allowed by law. The auditor must remit the funds to the
13 state treasurer to be deposited and used as follows:
14 (a) Twenty percent of funds must be deposited in the affordable
15 housing for all account for operations, maintenance, and service
16 costs for permanent supportive housing as defined in RCW 36.70A.030;
17 (b) From July 1, 2021, through June 30, 2023, four percent of the
18 funds must be deposited into the landlord mitigation program account
19 created in RCW 43.31.615 for the purposes of RCW 43.31.605(1).
20 Thereafter, two percent of funds must be deposited into the landlord
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 1 mitigation program account created in RCW 43.31.615 for purposes of
2 RCW 43.31.605(1); and
3 (c) The remainder of funds must be distributed to the home
4 security fund account, with 60 percent of funds to be used for
5 project-based vouchers for nonprofit housing providers or public
6 housing authorities, housing services, rapid rehousing, emergency
7 housing, or acquisition. Priority for use must be given to project-
8 based vouchers and related services, housing acquisition, or
9 emergency housing, for persons who are chronically homeless,
10 including families with children. At least 50 percent of persons
11 receiving a project-based voucher, rapid rehousing, emergency
12 housing, or benefiting from housing acquisition must be living
13 unsheltered at the time of initial engagement. In addition, funds may
14 be used for eviction prevention rental assistance pursuant to section
15 2 of this act, foreclosure prevention services, dispute resolution
16 center eviction prevention services, rental assistance for people
17 experiencing homelessness, and tenant education and legal assistance.
18 (2) The surcharge imposed in this section does not apply to: (a)
19 Assignments or substitutions of previously recorded deeds of trust;
20 (b) documents recording a birth, marriage, divorce, or death; (c) any
21 recorded documents otherwise exempted from a recording fee or
22 additional surcharges under state law; (d) marriage licenses issued
23 by the county auditor; or (e) documents recording a federal, state,
24 county, city, or water-sewer district, or wage lien or satisfaction
25 of lien.
26 NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. A new section is added to chapter 43.185C
27 RCW to read as follows:
28 (1) The eviction prevention rental assistance program is created
29 in the department to prevent evictions by providing resources to
30 households most likely to become homeless or suffer severe health
31 consequences, or both, after an eviction, while promoting equity by
32 prioritizing households, including communities of color,
33 disproportionately impacted by public health emergencies and by
34 homelessness and housing instability. The department must provide
35 grants to eligible organizations, as described in RCW 43.185.060, to
36 provide assistance to program participants. The eligible
37 organizations must use grant moneys for:
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 1 (a) Rental assistance, including rental arrears and future rent
2 if needed to stabilize the applicant's housing and prevent their
3 eviction;
4 (b) Utility assistance for households if needed to prevent an
5 eviction; and
6 (c) Administrative costs of the eligible organization, which must
7 not exceed limits prescribed by the department.
8 (2) Households eligible to receive assistance through the
9 eviction prevention rental assistance program are those:
10 (a) With incomes at or below 80 percent of the county area median
11 income;
12 (b) Who are families with children, living in doubled up
13 situations, young adults, senior citizens, and others at risk of
14 homelessness or significant physical or behavioral health
15 complications from homelessness; and
16 (c) That meet any other eligibility requirements as established
17 by the department after consultation with stakeholder groups,
18 including persons at risk of homelessness due to unpaid rent,
19 representatives of communities of color, homeless service providers,
20 landlord representatives, local governments that administer
21 homelessness assistance, a statewide association representing cities,
22 a statewide association representing counties, a representative of
23 homeless youth and young adults, and affordable housing advocates.
24 (3) A landlord may assist an eligible household in applying for
25 assistance through the eviction prevention rental assistance program
26 or may apply for assistance on an eligible household's behalf.
27 (4)(a) Eligible grantees must actively work with organizations
28 rooted in communities of color to assist and serve marginalized
29 populations within their communities.
30 (b) At least 10 percent of the grant total must be subgranted to
31 organizations that serve and are substantially governed by
32 marginalized populations to pay the costs associated with program
33 outreach, assistance completing applications for assistance, rent
34 assistance payments, activities that directly support the goal of
35 improving access to rent assistance for people of color, and related
36 costs. Upon request by an eligible grantee or the county or city in
37 which it exists, the department must provide a list of organizations
38 that serve and are substantially governed by marginalized
39 populations, if known.
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 1 (c) An eligible grantee may request an exemption from the
2 department from the requirements under (b) of this subsection. The
3 department must consult with the stakeholder group established under
4 subsection (2)(c) of this section before granting an exemption. An
5 eligible grantee may request an exemption only if the eligible
6 grantee:
7 (i) Is unable to subgrant with an organization that serves and is
8 substantially governed by marginalized populations; or
9 (ii) Provides the department with a plan to spend 10 percent of
10 the grant total in a manner that the department determines will
11 improve racial equity for historically underserved communities more
12 effectively than a subgrant.
13 (5) The department must ensure equity by developing performance
14 measures and benchmarks that promote both equitable program access
15 and equitable program outcomes. Performance measures and benchmarks
16 must be developed by the department in consultation with stakeholder
17 groups, including persons at risk of homelessness due to unpaid rent,
18 representatives of communities of color, homeless service providers,
19 landlord representatives, local governments that administer
20 homelessness assistance, a statewide association representing cities,
21 a statewide association representing counties, a representative of
22 homeless youth and young adults, and affordable housing advocates.
23 Performance measures and benchmarks must also ensure that the race
24 and ethnicity of households served under the program are proportional
25 to the numbers of people at risk of homelessness in each county for
26 each of the following groups:
27 (a) Black or African American;
28 (b) American Indian and Alaska Native;
29 (c) Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander;
30 (d) Hispanic or Latinx;
31 (e) Asian;
32 (f) Other multiracial.
33 (6) The department may develop additional rules, requirements,
34 procedures, and guidelines as necessary to implement and operate the
35 eviction prevention rental assistance program.
36 (7)(a) The department must award funds under this section to
37 eligible grantees in a manner that is proportional to the amount of
38 revenue collected under section 1 of this act from the county being
39 served by the grantee.
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1 (b) The department must provide counties with the right of first
2 refusal to receive grant funds distributed under this subsection. If
3 a county refuses the funds or does not respond within a time frame
4 established by the department, the department must identify an
5 alternative grantee. The alternative grantee must distribute the
6 funds in a manner that is in compliance with this chapter.
7 Sec. 3. RCW 43.185C.045 and 2018 c 85 s 9 are each amended to
8 read as follows:
9 (1) By December 1st of each year, the department must provide an
10 update on the state's homeless housing strategic plan and its
11 activities for the prior fiscal year. The report must include, but
12 not be limited to, the following information:
13 (a) An assessment of the current condition of homelessness in
14 Washington state and the state's performance in meeting the goals in
15 the state homeless housing strategic plan;
16 (b) A report on the results of the annual homeless point-in-time
17 census conducted statewide under RCW 43.185C.030;
18 (c) The amount of federal, state, local, and private funds spent
19 on homelessness assistance, categorized by funding source and the
20 following major assistance types:
21 (i) Emergency shelter;
22 (ii) Homelessness prevention and rapid rehousing;
23 (iii) Permanent housing;
24 (iv) Permanent supportive housing;
25 (v) Transitional housing;
26 (vi) Services only; and
27 (vii) Any other activity in which more than five hundred thousand
28 dollars of category funds were expended;
29 (d) A report on the expenditures, performance, and outcomes of
30 state funds distributed through the consolidated homeless grant
31 program, including the grant recipient, award amount expended, use of
32 the funds, counties served, and households served;
33 (e) A report on state and local homelessness document recording
34 fee expenditure by county, including the total amount of fee
35 spending, percentage of total spending from fees, number of people
36 served by major assistance type, and amount of expenditures for
37 private rental housing payments required in RCW 36.22.179;
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 1 (f) A report on the expenditures, performance, and outcomes of
2 the essential needs and housing support program meeting the
3 requirements of RCW 43.185C.220; ((and))
4 (g) A report on the expenditures, performance, and outcomes of
5 the independent youth housing program meeting the requirements of RCW
6 43.63A.311;
7 (h) A county-level report on the expenditures, performance, and
8 outcomes of the eviction prevention rental assistance program under
9 section 2 of this act. The report must include, but is not limited
10 to:
11 (i) The number of adults without minor children served in each
12 county;
13 (ii) The number of households with adults and minor children
14 served in each county; and
15 (iii) The number of unaccompanied youth and young adults who are
16 being served in each county; and
17 (i) A county-level report on the expenditures, performance, and
18 outcomes of the rapid rehousing, project-based vouchers, and housing
19 acquisition programs under section 1 of this act. The report must
20 include, but is not limited to:
21 (i) The number of persons who are unsheltered receiving shelter
22 through a project-based voucher in each county;
23 (ii) The number of units acquired or built via rapid rehousing
24 and housing acquisition in each county; and
25 (iii) The number of adults without minor children, households
26 with adults and minor children, unaccompanied youth, and young adults
27 who are being served by the programs under section 1 of this act in
28 each county.
29 (2) The report required in subsection (1) of this section must be
30 posted to the department's website and may include links to updated
31 or revised information contained in the report.
32 (3) Any local government receiving state funds for homelessness
33 assistance or state or local homelessness document recording fees
34 under RCW 36.22.178, 36.22.179, or 36.22.1791 must provide an annual
35 report on the current condition of homelessness in its jurisdiction,
36 its performance in meeting the goals in its local homeless housing
37 plan, and any significant changes made to the plan. The annual report
38 must be posted on the department's website. Along with each local
39 government annual report, the department must produce and post
40 information on the local government's homelessness spending from all
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1 sources by project during the prior state fiscal year in a format
2 similar to the department's report under subsection (1)(c) of this
3 section. If a local government fails to report or provides an
4 inadequate or incomplete report, the department must take corrective
5 action, which may include withholding state funding for homelessness
6 assistance to the local government to enable the department to use
7 such funds to contract with other public or nonprofit entities to
8 provide homelessness assistance within the jurisdiction.
9 Sec. 4. RCW 43.185C.060 and 2020 c 357 s 915 are each amended to
10 read as follows:
11 (1) The home security fund account is created in the state
12 treasury, subject to appropriation. The state's portion of the
13 surcharge established in RCW 36.22.179 and 36.22.1791 and section 1
14 of this act must be deposited in the account. Expenditures from the
15 account may be used only for homeless housing programs as described
16 in this chapter, including the eviction prevention rental assistance
17 program established in section 2 of this act.
18 (2)(a) By December 15, 2021, the department, in consultation with
19 stakeholder groups specified in section 2(2)(c) of this act, must
20 create a set of performance metrics for each county receiving funding
21 under section 1 of this act. The metrics must target actions within a
22 county's control that will prevent and reduce homelessness, such as
23 increasing the number of permanent supportive housing units and
24 increasing or maintaining an adequate number of noncongregate shelter
25 beds.
26 (b)(i) Beginning July 1, 2023, and by July 1st every two years
27 thereafter, the department must award funds for project-based
28 vouchers for nonprofit housing providers and related services, rapid
29 rehousing, and housing acquisition under section 1 of this act to
30 eligible grantees in a manner that 15 percent of funding is
31 distributed as a performance-based allocation based on performance
32 metrics created under (a) of this subsection, in addition to any base
33 allocation of funding for the cou