2025 Policy Platform

Excessive rent increases are driving people out of their homes and communities while increasing homelessness. This bill will provide stability and protect manufactured homeowners and residential tenants while still allowing landlords to make repairs, keep up with costs, and make a profit by limiting annual rent and fee increases to no more than 7%; requiring 6 months notice for rent and fee increases of 3% or more; capping late fees at 1.5% of total rent; and capping all move-in fees to the equivalent of one month’s rent or less. Additionally, this bill creates a private right of action for individuals; allows enforcement by the Attorney General’s Office through the Consumer Protection Act; and allows tenants to quite their lease without penalty if a landlord attempts to raise their rent above what is allowed.  LEARN MORE

Though Washington state has barred local law enforcement agencies from collaborating with federal immigration enforcement, the Department of Corrections (DOC) is exempt from these policies. As a result, immigrants who are incarcerated by the Washington DOC face double punishment after the completion of their sentencing by being transferred to immigration detention and facing deportation. We want to end the DOC carveout to protect all immigrants from deportation.

Expands labor protections for domestic workers to ensure nannies, house cleaners, home health care workers, and others are paid minimum wage, receive necessary breaks and days off, and have protections from retaliation and other abusive labor practices. LEARN MORE

 In the last few years, Washington State has seen a growing population of migrants who have recently arrived in the country and are seeking asylum. This population is arriving without strong connections to existing community support or resources to navigate the immigration system and meet their basic needs. In the most recent session, we won $32 million for support, including for the creation of a resource hub for newcomers. Our new neighbors need longer than 90 days of housing so they can have an opportunity to apply for asylum, receive employment authorization, and be better prepared for living on their own in their new country. For the upcoming session, we plan to request increased funding. LEARN MORE

The use of solitary confinement cauases psychological harm and exacerbates existing mental health conditions —the United Nations has declared that prolonged solitary confinements amounts to psychological torture. In 2023, there were over 6,000 uses of solitary confinement in the Washington Department of Corrections (DOC). Solitary confinement is not just reserved for the most serious and violent infractions, but instead is frequently used for minor prison rule violations, arbitrary retribution, and undeserved punishment for false positive drug tests. This bill is a cost-neutral approach to reducing the over-reliance on administrative segregation (ad-seg) within the DOC by using a higher evidentiary standard that is already used by the DOC in other situations; narrowing the types of infractions that warrant the use of ad-seg; escalating reviews and approval on the use of ad-seg in a case at the 15, 30, and 45 and over 45 day mark; and reducing revidivism by protecting people’s education, housing, and job placement while they are in ad-seg. LEARN MORE

Since SFY2019, Washington State has funded legal services to immigrant communities through the Legal Support and Community Safety Program, which focuses on full direct representation to Washington residents who are facing deportation or who are at high risk of being deported. Having legal representation in immigration court is generally the primary factor in determining whether someone has a meaningful opportunity to be granted immigration benefits in removal proceedings. However, except in limited situations, there is no right to appointed attorneys in immigration court. In the backdrop of threats for mass deportation at the federal level, it is crucial to maintain our state’s immigration legal services capacity by increasing funding for the Legal Support and Community Safety program. LEARN MORE

Unnecessary low-level traffic stops and other such law enforcement interactions disproportionately impact communities of color and low-income people and can lead to entanglement in the criminal legal system, debt, and risks of encountering police brutality. For immigrant communities, interactions with law enforcement can result in being thrown into the detention and deportation pipeline. This bill aims to increase overall safety and equity by redirecting law enforcement capacity and resources to focus on issues of immediate safety on our roads and by creating a grant to support local initiatives that provide solution-oriented responses to non-moving violations. LEARN MORE