Republican lawmakers said Friday that the proposal of $800 million plan to help support cities and counties when it comes to issues related to homelessness is a waste of taxpayers’ dollars and will spawn more bureaucracy. The governor was joined by King County Executive Dow Constantine, Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell, Tacoma Mayor Victoria Woodards, Seattle City Council President Debora Juarez, and Spokane City Councilmember Betsy Wilkerson. One of the focuses of the bill will be the homeless encampments along the state highways, especially the ones in Seattle.
Governor Inslee says Senate Bill 5662 will help local jurisdictions prioritize people living on highways get into new housing coming online. More than $800 million will be used for a crisis response program to help people before their living situations spiral out of control.
The bill is currently being debated in the state Senate, and there will also be action in the House but it could be a few more weeks until the bill’s outcome is known. “We’ve been throwing billions and billions of dollars at the problem, and it’s gotten worse,” said state Sen. Chris Gildon, a Republican. “There’s this fear that we are going to create another governmental organization that’s going to be ineffective.”
State Rep. Andrew Barkis, a Republican, agreed, saying that GOP lawmakers can’t get behind Inslee’s massive spending bill. The GOP lawmakers said they are primarily concerned about the proposal because it’s unclear how the cash will be distributed. They also said they want to know more about oversight of the programs. “We need to look at those solid measures of effectiveness,” Gildon said. “Measures of performance.”
“We have spent a lot on trying to solve homelessness,” said Democratic state Sen. Patty Kuderer, who is sponsoring the bill in the legislature. “It doesn’t mean those efforts weren’t effective, it just means they weren’t enough.” Inslee said he’s hoping to help local jurisdictions prioritize getting the unsheltered who live near highways into new housing set to be ready soon in what would end up being a massive coordinated effort between state, county and city agencies.
