OLYMPIA, Wash. – A significant number of new laws have just gone into effect in Washington, bringing changes to areas such as policing, housing and wildfire preparedness.
Among these is a law stemming from House Bill 2015, which allocates $100 million in new grants to police departments statewide.
This funding aims to hire and train new police officers and crisis response counselors. To access these grants, cities and counties must implement a new 0.1% sales tax for public safety or have already imposed a similar tax.
Housing is also seeing changes with a new parking law.
Senate Bill 5184 mandates that cities cannot require more than one parking space per two housing units. This law also eliminates parking minimums for small homes, daycares and senior housing, aiming to facilitate the construction of affordable housing.
Another new measure, derived from House Bill 1201, focuses on wildfire preparedness.
It requires local governments to identify and prepare shelter space for pets during wildfire evacuations. This law is designed to ensure evacuees are not turned away from emergency shelters due to their pets.
In Spokane County, the Spokane County Fairgrounds are already open to farm animals and other large pets during emergencies.
The Humane Evacuation Animal Rescue Team provides resources to help pet owners evacuate safely with their animals.
