---
type: "Bill"
title: "Increasing housing unit inventory by removing arbitrary limits on housing options."
description: "Increasing housing unit inventory by removing arbitrary limits on housing options."
jurisdiction: "us/states/wa"
legislature: "Washington Legislature"
session: "2021-2022"
identifier: "SB 5235"
citation: "Washington SB 5235 (2021-2022)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["GROWTH MANAGEMENT", "HOMES AND HOUSING", "LOCAL GOVERNMENT"]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Liias"]
version_count: 3
action_count: 34
vote_count: 3
first_action: "2021-01-15T05:00:00+00:00"
last_action: "2021-05-13T04:00:00+00:00"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/595e76f1-0ac7-4e07-a06c-157558263426"
source_url: "http://apps.leg.wa.gov/billinfo/summary.aspx?bill=5235&year=2021"
source_hash: "504d5302ad50e980930d71f8af7d60d7e449d4a81d7d7bce13df1e9997809c1a"
vintage: "2026-07-01"
source_snapshot: "https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump"
retrieved_at: "2026-07-06"
confidence: "reported"
tags: ["legislation", "bill", "us-wa"]
---

# Washington SB 5235 (2021-2022) — Increasing housing unit inventory by removing arbitrary limits on housing options.

## Version chain

The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment.

1. **Bill** (committee substitute) — [source](http://lawfilesext.leg.wa.gov/Biennium/2021-22/Htm/Bills/Senate%20Bills/5235.htm)
2. **Engrossed Substitute Bill** (committee substitute) — [source](http://lawfilesext.leg.wa.gov/Biennium/2021-22/Htm/Bills/Senate%20Bills/5235-S.E.htm)
3. **Substitute Bill** (committee substitute) — [source](http://lawfilesext.leg.wa.gov/Biennium/2021-22/Htm/Bills/Senate%20Bills/5235-S.htm)

## Votes

- 3rd Reading & Final Passage (#3) — **43–6** (pass) · upper
- Final Passage as Amended by the House (#17) — **30–18** (pass) · upper
- Final Passage as Amended by the House (#14) — **57–40** (pass) · lower

## Sponsors

- Liias — primary (person)
- C. Wilson — cosponsor (person)
- Das — cosponsor (person)
- Nguyen — cosponsor (person)
- Nobles — cosponsor (person)
- Saldaña — cosponsor (person)

## Timeline

The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote.

- **2021-01-15T05:00:00+00:00** First reading, referred to Housing & Local Government. `reading-1`
- **2021-01-26T05:00:00+00:00** Public hearing in the Senate Committee on Housing & Local Government at 8:00 AM.
- **2021-02-04T05:00:00+00:00** Executive action taken in the Senate Committee on Housing & Local Government at 8:00 AM.
- **2021-02-04T05:00:00+00:00** HLG - Majority; 1st substitute bill be substituted, do pass. `passage`
- **2021-02-04T05:00:00+00:00** Minority; without recommendation. `committee-passage-unfavorable`
- **2021-02-05T05:00:00+00:00** Passed to Rules Committee for second reading.
- **2021-02-17T05:00:00+00:00** Placed on second reading by Rules Committee. `reading-2`
- **2021-02-24T05:00:00+00:00** 1st substitute bill substituted (HLG 21). `substitution`
- **2021-02-24T05:00:00+00:00** Floor amendment(s) adopted.
- **2021-02-24T05:00:00+00:00** Rules suspended. Placed on Third Reading. `reading-3`
- **2021-02-24T05:00:00+00:00** Third reading, passed; yeas, 43; nays, 6; absent, 0; excused, 0. `reading-3`
- **2021-02-26T05:00:00+00:00** First reading, referred to Local Government. `reading-1`
- **2021-03-10T05:00:00+00:00** Public hearing in the House Committee on Local Government at 10:00 AM.
- **2021-03-17T04:00:00+00:00** Executive session scheduled, but no action was taken in the House Committee on Local Government at 10:00 AM.
- **2021-03-19T04:00:00+00:00** Executive action taken in the House Committee on Local Government at 8:30 AM.
- **2021-03-19T04:00:00+00:00** LG - Majority; do pass with amendment(s). `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2021-03-23T04:00:00+00:00** Referred to Rules 2 Review. `referral-committee`
- **2021-03-26T04:00:00+00:00** Rules Committee relieved of further consideration. Placed on second reading. `reading-2`
- **2021-04-07T04:00:00+00:00** Committee amendment not adopted. `amendment-failure`
- **2021-04-07T04:00:00+00:00** Floor amendment(s) adopted.
- **2021-04-07T04:00:00+00:00** Rules suspended. Placed on Third Reading. `reading-3`
- **2021-04-07T04:00:00+00:00** Third reading, passed; yeas, 57; nays, 40; absent, 0; excused, 1. `reading-3`
- **2021-04-14T04:00:00+00:00** Senate concurred in House amendments.
- **2021-04-14T04:00:00+00:00** Passed final passage; yeas, 30; nays, 18; absent, 0; excused, 1. `passage`
- **2021-04-20T04:00:00+00:00** President signed. `passage`
- **2021-04-23T04:00:00+00:00** Speaker signed. `passage`
- **2021-04-26T04:00:00+00:00** Delivered to Governor. `executive-receipt`
- **2021-05-13T04:00:00+00:00** Governor partially vetoed. `executive-veto-line-item`
- **2021-05-13T04:00:00+00:00** Chapter 306, 2021 Laws PV. `became-law`
- **2021-05-13T04:00:00+00:00** Effective date 7/25/2021. `became-law`
- **2021-01-26T13:00:00+00:00** Scheduled for public hearing in the Senate Committee on Housing & Local Government at 08:00 AM
- **2021-02-04T13:00:00+00:00** Scheduled for public hearing in the Senate Committee on Housing & Local Government at 08:00 AM
- **2021-03-10T15:00:00+00:00** Scheduled for public hearing in the House Committee on Local Government at 10:00 AM
- **2021-03-19T12:30:00+00:00** Scheduled for public hearing in the House Committee on Local Government at 08:30 AM

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/595e76f1-0ac7-4e07-a06c-157558263426`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Washington legislature records).