BIAW Bulletin: April 19, 2021

April 19, 2021

It’s another Hammer with Himebaugh – and we’re coming to a close on the biggest campaign of 2021 – Hammer with Himebaugh vs. BIAW Bulletin. It’s been a really rewarding campaign and I want to thank all the Hammer with Himebaugh supporters now. Our team is truly humbled to have the vast majority of BIAW members on our side of the epic naming rights battle.

Now for an update – it’s been a real legislative zoom-based slog and we really are coming to the end. Sine die is Sunday! Yes! Sunday, April 25 – and again, sine die is fancy Latin for “go away leave us alone please stop passing things, no really leave.”

In all seriousness, this remote session started out, and for most of it was pretty awful — hard to navigate, hard to connect with legislators or other stakeholders to hammer out policy compromise and much questionable legislation were seemingly on an unstoppable path

– A ton and I mean a ton of land constraining and exaction expanding GMA bills, a horde of employment law bills, and significant energy/fuel policies.

– All serving to ensure homes cost even more in Washington – putting homeownership and housing access further out of reach for families. And as we look down the end of the session while the budgets are being finished, it looks like the most major and most damaging to housing affordability are improved to a point where the impacts will be minimal or they are dead.

BIAW’s team from our comms team (except their poor naming choices for this video), legal, executive, to my Government affairs team worked tirelessly to advocate for you. And our BIAW volunteer leadership and members really stepped up – thank you for signing in, testifying, and connecting with your legislators about additional barriers to housing access. THANK YOU. It’s not over, and we’re still working to address some critical pieces on how you all can do business in this state– rest assured, we at BIAW will be vigilant to the end.

Thank you for your action in this session and for building communities. I’m Jan Himebaugh – absolutely thrilled to continue to represent you and this is the Hammer with Himebaugh.

Homes start here.

Himebaugh out.