As the bottom of the economy fell out in late 2008, King County and Washington State revenue agencies considered increasing some property taxes as a means to bring in more revenue.
One proposal was the threat to charge excessive taxes on rural, horse-boarding facilities, a burden that would have put them all out of business.
In response, Roger introduced and passed HB 1733 (Chapter 255, Laws of 2009), which secured in perpetuity the favorable tax valuation for horse-boarding properties as agricultural land.
This helped to ensure the unique quality of our Eastside horse farms, an important part of our culture for many generations.
The economic crisis also put real estate brokers at risk, exposing them to extreme liability when dealing with so-called “distressed conveyances” as the housing market was crashing.
Roger sponsored and helped secure the emergency enactment of HB 1132 (Chapter 15, Laws of 2009, enacted as companion SB 5221), which shielded real estate brokers from liability as they handled the many transactions of homes that were “under water.” Roger-Goodman-Environment-2016_085
Roger has worked for many years with the Cascade Water Alliance, a unique partnership of local jurisdictions that have banded together to secure a safe water supply for the Eastside.
Roger sponsored and passed two important pieces of legislation (HB 1332, Chapter 504, Laws of 2009; and HB 1014, Chapter 97, Laws of 2011, enacted as companion SB 5241)to ensure that the Cascade Water Alliance has the proper authorities of a public utility to complete the construction and operation of the pipelines for this critical water supply.
Other important bills Roger has passed related to property rights include:
- HB 1214 (Chapter 36, Laws of 2011, enacted as companion SB 5115), prohibiting the charging of private transfer fees by out-of-state developers, who were secretly profiting from hidden fees on the resale of properties.
- HB 1078 (Chapter 168, Laws of 2011, enacted as companion SB 5035), ensuring proper documentation of rent payment transactions between mobile home tenants and mobile home park owners.
- HB 1663 (Chapter 165, Laws of 2009), requiring relocation assistance for long-term tenants of residential motels that are shut down through no fault of their own.