FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Monday, Feb. 2, 2026 
Contact: Rob Huff, robh@wliha.org 

Critical bills to prevent and end homelessness pass out of committee 

Two critical housing justice bills passed out of the House Housing Committee today ahead of the February 4 cutoff. Together these two bills – House Bill 2489 and House Bill 2266 – will help ensure that homelessness resources are dedicated to effective solutions that are proven to prevent and reduce homelessness. 

“The passage of these two bills out of the House Housing Committee signals that lawmakers share our frustration with roadblocks and delays to life-saving housing and shelter, and with local criminalization policies that only further harm and that do not solve homelessness," said Michele Thomas, Director of Policy and Advocacy for the Washington Low Income Housing Alliance. "These bills are necessary and needed more than ever, as federal resources to prevent and end homelessness are under attack and as more people are struggling to keep a roof over their heads. We urge the legislature to do everything possible this session to advance real solutions to homelessness.” 

HB 2489, sponsored by Representative Mia Gregerson and known as the "Shelter, Not Penalties Act", prevents the criminalization of homelessness when the jurisdiction is not otherwise providing adequate and accessible emergency shelter. It prohibits enforcement of local laws that punish people for engaging in life-sustaining activities like sitting, sleeping, or protecting yourself from the elements, and redirects local governments towards solutions that prevent and end homelessness. 

HB 2266, sponsored by Representative Strom Peterson, legalizes permanent supportive housing and transitional housing in residential zones and shelter in zones where hotels are allowed. The bill outlaws local ordinances and actions that delay, deny, or otherwise block these life-saving homelessness interventions. 

Before passage today, both bills were amended to provide more clarity and to address questions and concerns raised by local governments. 

Advocates and service providers offered critical context for why lawmakers should support both of the bills during recent public hearings. 

Testifying in favor of HB 2489 and against the ongoing criminalization of homelessness, Meg Martin, the Director of Integrative Services for Interfaith Works in Thurston County shared: 

"We find that if people don't want help, it isn't that they are resisting support, it is that the help they are being offered isn't the right solution,” Martin said. “We see day-in and day-out that when the right type of help is offered, that if it is based in the reality of what people are actually going through, people accept that help and their lives improve dramatically. When encampments are swept without adequate options for housing or comprehensive shelter like ours, people are further traumatized, ineffectively moved around.” 

Speaking in favor of HB 2266 regarding the restrictions that many communities place on the siting of permanent supportive housing and shelter in their jurisdictions, Sarah Dickmeyer from Plymouth Housing shared: 

"We don't have enough deeply affordable housing, and we are not building fast enough. Meanwhile, people are falling into homelessness every day and we are not scaling shelter fast enough,” Dickmeyer said. “These local barriers delay expansion of capacity to meet that need and threaten the right of people to belong. They push people to the margins, sometimes literally, and set different standards for people who are seen as different. This is not fair, or right, and in some cases even legal. We need the state to step in and set a standard, and we urge your support of HB 2266." 

Jenn Henderson, a staff attorney with Disability Rights Washington, also urges lawmakers to pass HB 2266: 

"We strongly support HB 2266," Henderson said. "This bill matters because people with disabilities rely on this housing to survive. Stable housing keeps people with disabilities out of jail and out of involuntary treatment, while homelessness drives costly cycles of incarceration and hospitalization. People with disabilities are part of our communities and should not be zoned out because of who they are.” 
 
HB 2489 and HB 2266 can now move forward through the legislative process. 

For additional information about these bills, please contact Rob Huff at the Washington Low Income Housing Alliance. 

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