Keeping veterans and seniors in their homes

The 10th legislative district has one of the largest populations of veterans in Washington state. Island County, for example, has more veterans per capita than any other county. Between Island, Snohomish and Skagit counties, the Washington State Department of Veterans Affairs reports over 72,000 veterans in our region.

Our veterans return home and continue to serve our communities as our friends, neighbors and colleagues. They buy a home, start a family and reintegrate as heroes living among us.

Unfortunately, some return disabled with many unable to meet their basic needs on a fixed income. Social Security and disability compensation from the Department of Veterans Affairs might be all they have.

If they’re fortunate, disabled veterans can find stable housing and support a family. But along the way, there is inflation, the high cost of housing and increased property taxes.

Because of that, many face housing instability and are at risk of homelessness. One in 25 disabled veterans in our state is homeless or unstably housed.

Another group experiencing instability is senior citizens. Homelessness among older adults in the U.S. is increasing with half of single homeless adults aged 50 and older.

Both groups have sacrificed to build the society we inherited. Yet, over the last year, disabled veteran and senior have been losing qualification to their property tax exemption due to programs like Social Security, which provides a cost-of-living adjustment to account for inflation.

This modest increase in benefits wasn’t enough to offset increases in property taxes and, ultimately, this further destabilized housing security.

On January 24th, I introduced House Bill 1560 which provides greater property tax relief to disabled veterans and senior citizens. This bill raises the eligibility income thresholds by 10% and adjusts the thresholds every three years. This expands the program to new beneficiaries while allowing people formerly removed to rejoin.

Along with many proponents, I testified in support of this important legislation in the House Finance Committee last week, on Feb. 7. I will continue to work diligently to get this bill passed this session.

Our seniors and disabled veterans helped build and protect our neighborhoods and communities. They are interwoven into the fabric of who we are. This legislation is just one way we can honor their sacrifice.

If you are a disabled veteran or senior who has lost qualification for this property tax exemption and wish to get involved with supporting this legislation, please reach out to my office. You can contact me at housedemocrats.wa.gov/shavers.

I look forward to hearing from you as we work to help veterans and seniors.