Deal Means New Migrant Housing

The governor and Legislature have tentatively agreed to a proposal to ease building codes so farmers can build cheaper temporary housing for migrant workers, negotiators said Tuesday.

The Legislature is expected this week to send the measure to Gov. Gary Locke even as the United Farm Workers union and other farmworker advocates protest that the proposal falls short because it doesn’t come with enough money to provide significant amounts of state-funded farmworker housing.

The measure, SB6168, would include a one-time-only $2 million for housing, but the UFW and others argue that they need an ongoing appropriation of $2 million a year to finance bonds with which to build tens of millions of dollars in housing.

Locke “wanted $2 million, and he got it,” said his aide and chief negotiator, Rich Nafzinger. Barring unforeseen glitches, Locke would support the bill, he said. Last week, lawmakers were ready to appropriate just $600,000 for subsidized housing, about $1.4 million short of what the governor had sought.

Half of the $2 million will come from the general fund and half from the state Housing Trust Fund, which is used to finance low-income housing for poor people.