FROM THE AUDITOR

In May, Gov. Jay Inslee signed into law Second Substitute House Bill 1474 creating the covenant homeownership account and program.

The intent of this program is to address housing discrimination due to racially restrictive real estate covenants. This law will result in an increase of $100 in the recording fee for each document recorded by your Auditor's Office Recording Department. This fee is collected as an assessment for the covenant homeownership program. As part of the program, the state Department of Commerce will contract with the Washington state Housing & Finance Commission to design,...