Rep. April Connors’ ‘Homes for Heroes’ bill passes unanimously out of committee

A bill by Rep. April Connors, R-Kennewick, to provide home down payment and closing cost assistance to essential workers passed unanimously today out of the House Housing Committee.

House Bill 1633, also known as the “Home for Heroes” program, is an effort to address the state's workforce shortage in occupations critical to life, health, and safety, and would include nurses, firefighters, law enforcement, military members, veterans, childcare providers, mental health professionals, and other first responders.

“I am thrilled this important measure received unanimous support from the committee,” said Connors. “Washington state suffers from a shortage in two critical areas: housing and essential workers. This bill addresses both problems by providing down payment assistance for workers in the professions we desperately need.”

The bill would direct the Washington State Department of Commerce to contract with the Washington State Housing Finance Commission to develop and implement a statewide pilot program to provide interest-free loans to eligible workers. Loans under the program can only be used to assist with the purchase of a primary residence and cannot exceed five percent of a mortgage or $25,000, whichever is less.

To be eligible for the program, individuals must have a household income below 100% of the state median household income and be employed in a permanent, full-time capacity.

The bill advanced ahead of the Feb. 17 policy committee cutoff. That's the deadline for policy bills to pass out of committee and read them into the record on the floor of the chamber where they originated.  

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Washington State House Republican Communications
houserepublicans.wa.gov