Residents Get a Say About New Halfway Houses Under Proposed State Law

A local lawmaker has proposed legislation that would provide greater state oversight for halfway houses including a requirement that neighbors can comment before such housing can come to their neighborhoods.

Senate bill 5105 would require the state to systematically track each of the state's halfway houses; It would give local law enforcement access to that data; And it would require neighbors to be informed before a halfway house was built or opened.

The bill's sponsor, Sen. Bruce Dammeier, R-Puyallup, told Fox news that the community feedback is a vital aspect of the proposed new law.

“They (would) have to come on a list," Dammeier said in an intervew. "They (would) have to coordinate the site with the local community who would perform a community impact statement."

The issue reached a flashpoint in Puyallup in January when the public packed city coucil meeting to protest a poposed halfway house for registered sex offenders.

Already through the state Senate, the bill awaits a vote in the House.