Today Washington is one step closer to building a memorial to fallen firefighters and has incentivized housing development on public lands. HB 2091, which authorizes the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to develop a fallen fire memorial was signed into law. Also signed today was HB 2003, which crucially cuts an excise tax to incentivize using public lands to develop housing.

 

“Today is a good day. We haven’t had a memorial to the brave firefighters who have fallen in the line of duty since the original was damaged beyond repair during the Nisqually Earthquake – I am thrilled that in just a couple years Washingtonians will be able to visit the memorial to honor those who sacrificed to keep us safe,” said Commissioner of Public Land Hilary Franz. “On top of that, we’re taking a big first step toward using our public lands to address the housing crisis, something I have committed DNR to be a part of because our ‘all hands, all lands, all together’ mindset can also help ensure no more children have to worry about where they’re sleeping each night.”

 

HB 2091 to create the Fallen Firefighter Memorial was prime sponsored in the House by Representatives Dan Bronoske and Dan Griffey and in the Senate by Senators Kevin Van de Wege and John Braun. The bill authorizes DNR to begin the work to develop a design and identify a location for the memorial. A separate budget request to fund this process was approved in the supplemental capital budget.

 

HB 2003 incentivizes developers to build on public lands to help tackle the state’s housing crisis. It removes the 12.84 percent leasehold excise tax for developers who commit to maintaining housing for low- and moderate-income households. This makes it more affordable to develop housing on state lands while providing a new stream of revenue for schools and local services. It was prime sponsored in the House by Representative April Connors.

 

“It’s not often you get to celebrate two big wins for the people of Washington on the same day,” continued Commissioner Franz. “These bipartisan bills were two of my highest priorities this session. I thank all the legislative sponsors and supporters of both bills for their hard work to get them passed.”

 

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