AN ACT Relating to the waiver of municipal utility connection charges for certain properties;
Summary
SB 5662 authorizes municipal utilities to waive one-time connection charges for certain properties associated with affordable and supportive housing. The bill applies to properties owned or developed by, or on behalf of, nonprofit organizations, public development authorities, housing authorities, or local agencies that provide emergency shelter, transitional housing, permanent supportive housing, or affordable housing. It also includes certain limited partnerships and limited liability companies used in housing development.
The waiver is generally conditioned on the property being funded with general funds, grant dollars, or other identified revenue streams. In counties east of the crest of the Cascade Mountains with populations over 1.5 million, the bill allows a waiver without an explicit requirement that the exempted charges be repaid from those funding sources. If a waiver is conditioned on a covenant, the covenant must restrict the property to the qualifying use, address price and income limits, and require repayment of the waived charges if the property is later converted to a nonqualifying use. The bill also requires that, once a property no longer meets the eligibility requirements, the waived charges become immediately due and payable as a condition of continued service.
Impact
The bill amends Washington law governing municipal utilities and utility connection charges by creating express authority for utilities to waive those charges for specified housing and shelter projects. It affects the statutes defining connection charges and the circumstances under which utilities may impose or waive them, while adding new eligibility, funding, and covenant requirements tied to affordable housing, supportive housing, emergency shelter, and transitional housing projects. The measure is likely to reduce upfront development costs for qualifying nonprofit and public-sector housing projects and may encourage more such projects to connect to municipal utility systems.
Sentiment
The bill appears to have broad overall support, reflected in strong committee and floor votes in both chambers, including unanimous committee approval in the Senate Local Government Committee and the House Housing Committee. Final passage votes were also favorable, though the House vote showed more opposition than earlier stages, suggesting some concern about the scope or fiscal implications of the waiver authority. The Senate ultimately concurred with the House-amended version, indicating the bill retained enough support to become law despite some disagreement.
Contention
The main point of contention appears to be the breadth and structure of the waiver authority, especially whether utilities should be allowed to waive connection charges without a strict funding-repayment requirement in certain large eastern Washington counties. Another likely issue is the use of covenants and repayment obligations to ensure that waived charges are recovered if a property later changes to a nonqualifying use. Supporters likely viewed the bill as a housing affordability and homelessness response tool, while skeptics may have been concerned about utility revenue impacts, fairness to other ratepayers, and the special treatment of certain regions or project types.
AN ACT Relating to allowing local governments to encourage sustainable technology and resiliency by waiving utility connection charges for organizations utilizing industrial symbiosis;