AN ORDINANCE relating to residential rental properties; amending Sections 7.24.060, 7.24.070 and 7.24.080 of the Seattle Municipal Code; requiring that landlords provide information to tenants about how to register to vote and how to update voter registration information.
The Report of the Energy and Environment Committee Agenda Item for Council Bill 118993. An ordinance relating to residential rental properties amending sections 2.24.060.070.080 of the Seattle Municipal Code, requiring that landlords provide information to tenants about how to register to vote and how to update voter registration information. The committee recommends the bill pass. Thank you very much, Councilmember Swann. Thank you, President. This is an ordinance to require landlords to provide new tenants with voter registration forms and information along with the information for tenants. Back at that, they are already required to provide renters a statistically less likely to be registered to vote than homeowners. And this isn't surprising because renters who are being displaced by rising rents have registered to vote again at each new address. This also means that people who are more likely to be renters, such as low income people, young people, immigrants, people of color are less likely to be registered to vote. This legislation is one part of addressing this statistical disenfranchisement, especially given that we are a mail in ballot state. Although obviously the problem is far bigger than the legislation can address. The only objection I've heard so far to helping tenants register to vote as. I'm from the ultra conservative Rental Housing Association. Perhaps they are worried that if more renters vote, more elected officials will support rent control and other tenants rights. But other than that, we have had tremendous support for this bill. I wanted to thank the Seattle Department of Construction Inspection. Ali Banerjee from dental staff and King County Elections were working with us on this legislation and for agreeing to help implement it in a way so as to maximize its effectiveness. And I think especially Ali Banerjee's expertize on this and other demonstrator installation has been truly invaluable. I also wanted to thank our two members, Juarez and Gonzalez, who were very helpful in our committee discussion. And I want to particularly extend, thanks to Zachary Thibeault from the Capitol Hill Community Council, who originally brought the need for this to our attention and has been part of the process all along. And the committee recommended unanimously that we vote yes. Thank you very much, Councilmember Swan. I do believe we have two amendments that we can speak on, if anyone, before we talk about the amendments, if anyone had any comments on the base legislation first, now would be the time. I may see some comments after it's all done, but why don't we walk through the amendments? Councilmember Wallis, thank you. And I want to apologize. We had a bit of a cut, a typo in our referral, and I had to fix it. So for ease of just of discussion, we have Councilmember Gonzalez and I have two amendments, and the first one is Amendment A, so I would move to amend Council Bill 118.0. How do I say this point? 993 It's still the lawyer in me, basically this amendment that by the way. Oh, sorry. Let's do it. So let's. There's been a motion and it has been seconded to and well, you haven't described the amendment yet, but I'll describe it as amending the Council bill 118993 by adding a new Section three and I think by remembering the remaining sections. And now you describe what you're doing. Mm hmm. Very good. So what we have here and we discussed this at committee and if council members want wants to comment, that would be great. But we discussed it committee and with Stsci and a representative from King County election who had a representative here that the requirement to track voter registration to see the the productiveness or how well this would work in getting more voters or renters to sign up to vote that we would like to see the information come back to us. But anyway that this requirement would not be an added burden or administrative task to perform. So basically, it would just track voter registration to see how successful this this council bill would be. Very good. Any discussions on this particular motion? It has been moved in second. All those in favor of. I'll just refer to this benefit, number one, if I may. All those in favor of amendment no. Amendment number one, say I, I as opposed no one has passed councilmember words. You have a Second Amendment. Thank you. This is amendment number two. I moved to amend council bill 118993. This amendment goes is more of a technical amendment. So when we went back and looked at the language, we just basically changed the language from the packet that the packet includes the summary so the landlord or the rent would only have to produce one single packet. So it isn't anything real substantive, it's just making it easier for the landlord to hand out one particular packet to the potential renter. Very good. Any further comments on amendment number two has been moved in second and already all those in favor of amendment number two say I. I opposed. The ayes have it. So now we have a piece of bass legislation has been amended twice. Are there any further comments from any parties? I just wanted to say one thing, and that is that one could argue, why are we asking landlords to do this? We have been trying to we, I think, appropriately enact landlord tenant laws for the protection of tenants, particularly dealing with unscrupulous landlords. And we've seen some horror stories out there, but I think if we look at what's happening in this country and we look at the history of voter suppression, that I think a great city will look at every opportunity to try to enhance voting, every transaction, every opportunity. So I think that it actually is good policy. And as Councilmember Walsh, I think astutely pointed out, that we're trying to do this at no cost or low cost to the landlord. It's I had actually had my staff figure out where the forms were and how it is to be done. So I'd like to think of this legislation. And again, I want to thank community and councilmembers for stepping up with this legislation and just thinking of that here in Seattle, we will do everything possible to make it convenient for voters to vote. It's one of our most important civic duties. And so in that sense, I think this is a great direction to go. And again, I want to applaud those that have thought of it, and it's my pleasure in supporting it. Any further comments and we will vote. Councilmember. Just a quick question if. I ask. Before. I know. I know, but I. Couldn't help myself, could you? Well, you know, it's a good idea. Are we asking for landlords to actually put voter registration. Paper. In the packet or just an announcement or direction on how people can do it online? Not the actual forms. Okay. So it's part of a packet that is already we provide a packet already for landlords to give to tenants during the right. So a point that was brought up earlier, it's pretty easy to go online to change your voter registration. I just want to make sure people know about that tool as well. You know, they get something and they lose it. Yeah, actually, I mean, the online tools are important even for landlord tenant rights because Dems often seek they are I mean, they are information packet. They often many rely on the online version, but we don't want to just have the online version because there's lots of tenants, especially the tenants who need to register to vote and don't have access to that information are probably less likely to go online. So we want to make sure all of those are covered. And to sort of pile on at that point. Obviously, people are relocating when they're signing a new lease for an apartment. And so at that point is a sort of an opportune time to change your voter registration documents. That's a good reminder. It's a good reminder during their change of residence. Okay. So those please call the role on the passage of the bill. Sergeant, I. Beg your Herbold. Johnson. Whereas President Herrell I six in favor not opposed. The bill passed and then Cheryl sign it please read the report of the park shall senator libraries and Waterfront Committee.