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Hi John,

There's only three days left in the 2020 Legislative Session...and important changes to TANF plus an entire Supplemental Budget left to pass.

But a lot can happen in three days! Things have been moving quickly in Olympia, and while we are happy to report that both TANF-specific bills ( HB 2441 [[link removed]] and SB 6478 [[link removed]] ) have officially passed both chambers, some key changes to the legislation were made in the process.

As you may remember, we are advocating that this session lawmakers eliminate two particulary TANF policies that harm families and destabilize the program's lifeline support: full-family sanctions and time-limits. Both of these rigid program policies don't just harm families on an individual level-- time-limits, in particular, have been proven to worsen our state's racial economic divide [[link removed]] . In previous versions, each bill addressed both of these policies. But now, HB 2441 has been amended to only address time-limits, and contains language that allows low-income families to receive extended TANF support in situations of hardship.Similarly, SB 6478 only addresses full-family sanctions, and contains language that eases the sanction policy for a year.

So what does all this mean? In some ways, it's not a bad thing that each bill addresses a specific policy that we've been working to address. Now, lawmakers from both the House and Senate must work together to concur and pass one unified version of both bills before session is up. That's where you and our statewide network comes in! Lawmakers need to hear from YOU about why it is that they must pass a final version that addresses BOTH sanctions and time-limits.

These bills have the power to truly strengthen TANF, and restore the program as the economic lifeline that it is for low-income families. Join us by sending your lawmaker an email today!

Let's make TANF stronger! [[link removed]]

Supplemental Budget: the platform for a strong Washington State

The state's operating budget is a big deal. It's how lawmakers fund the critical programs, social services, and departments that our communities rely on. The budget also appropriates funding to many of the bills that are passed during session, giving them the investments necessary to actually be realized.

Last week, both the House & Senate released their separate budget proposals. Each one--particularly the House's-- was a strong start, and included some important investments in anti-poverty programs that we were excited to see. Some of our favorite proposals include boosted funding to the Housing & Essential Needs program, a complete elimination of the state's Shelter Penalty (which provides lower state assistance grants to people with safe, reliable shelter), and the House's proposal of a Homelessness Prevention Pilot Program, which would provide a shallow rent subsidy to people who rely on low, fixed federal disability payments in high cost of living parts of the state.

As lawmakers wrap up in these final days, they need to hear from you about what you liked in their proposal-- and where you thought they could go farther. Send them an email urging them to invest in and prioritize their communities!

Lawmakers must pass a robust budget! [[link removed]]

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