Legislative session update: nearing the halfway point This year's 105-day legislative session has been a whirlwind. The House and Senate fiscal cutoff was Monday, Feb. 22. This means bills that have made it out of policy or fiscal committee are still in play and both houses will be spending time on the virtual floor leading to house of origin cutoff on March 9. Despite the challenges of a virtual session, our agency has stayed deeply engaged in the deliberations surrounding bills that aim to expand access to broadband, expand affordable housing options, bring a stronger equity focus to our economic and environmental work, strengthen our response to climate change and so much more. Most importantly, we're engaging with legislative leadership on critical investments through the capital and operating budgets. We expect the House and Senate to release their proposals in the first half of March and are sharing our vision to invest in broadband and digital equity, small business support, strengthening community capacity in underserved areas for development, and increasing housing availability and stability.   This week, Commerce announced $3.7 million in grants for nine solar energy projects that will bring a $6.1 million reduction in the energy burden of low-income households and nonprofits serving low-income communities over 25 years. The Low-Income Solar Deployment Program is part of Washington's Clean Energy Fund, established in 2013. These grants will result in 2.8 megawatts (MW) of nameplate generation from new solar installations - enough solar power to serve about 322 average households per year or over 12 million electric vehicle miles. Learn more about the projects we're funding which include low-income housing developments, community service centers and more. Housing and homelessness efforts strengthened thanks to $84.4 million federal grant The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) recently announced $84.4 million in grants to Washington state to continue helping an estimated 17,800 people in need. The grants renew funding for HUD's "Continuum of Care" — a program that supports community-based programs on the front lines of serving individuals and families experiencing homelessness. Here in Washington, these programs provide transitional housing rental assistance, supportive services such as outreach, and permanent supportive housing for people with disabilities. These services are crucial for helping people like Sandra, a mother of five who fled a domestic violence situation. One of our local partners provided ongoing support to help her keep her family safely housed. Read her story here and see how we're tracking data to learn what works best to make homelessness rare, brief and one time.  The COVID-19 pandemic has left thousands of families across the state struggling to stay current on their rent. We are grateful for incredible local partners who have helped Commerce distribute more than $110 million in rental assistance to communities throughout the state. The funding has helped an estimated 25,000 households with up to six months of rent. I recently had an opportunity to personally thank Spokane Neighborhood Action Partners (SNAP) and Spokane County for their incredible work distributing $6 million within 60 days. Our entire team at Commerce is so thankful for our dozens of partners like SNAP, who are on the frontlines of our pandemic response and helping families stay safe and healthy. | 
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