A freshman lawmaker from the Yakima Valley is celebrating her first legislative victory as the House unanimously passes a bill aimed at lowering housing costs.
The state House has unanimously approved House Bill 2151, sponsored by freshman Representative Deb Manjarrez of Wapato, marking the first bill she has passed since taking office.
“What this does is it allows Washington state to adopt national standards for inspection of factory-built housing.”
Manjarrez says the new standards will streamline inspections to help reduce construction costs and translate into more affordable housing.
“The bigger effect of this bill however is to reduce the cost of those inspections which I think will bring down the cost of factory-built housing which in our housing shortage time I think will be a very big asset to the state of Washington.”
The Department of Labor and Industries supported the proposal, which keeps safety standards in place while cutting bureaucratic delays. The bill now goes to the Senate for further consideration.
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