Washingtonians are being squeezed out of the housing market, and some state lawmakers want to see significant changes to cities' zoning laws to ensure more people with low and middle incomes can afford a place to live.

Alex Freeman-Smith, phlebotomist at the University of Washington Medical Center-Northwest, and union delegate for Service Employees International Union 1199 NW, said many people struggle to live in the community they serve, because the hospital is located in an area surrounded by single-family homes where prices have skyrocketed.

"Some of my coworkers even have to drive as far as from two hours away just to make it to work," Freeman-Smith observed. "And of course, in the event of an emergency, having your emergency staff two hours away isn't really effective for health care."

A measure in the Washington Legislature would lift restrictions on building houses for more than one family, such as duplexes and triplexes. It has bipartisan sponsors. However, at a public hearing on the bill, a spokesman for the Association of Washington Cities expressed concerns infrastructure costs could be passed down to cities.

Anna Fahey, senior director of communications and campaigns at the Northwest-based think tank Sightline Institute, said zoning restrictions drive urban sprawl, which ultimately hurts the environment.

"Most of our cities are zoned, primarily or almost exclusively, for only one kind of housing," Fahey stressed. "The biggest, most expensive kind. It's the kind that fits a single, detached house that sits on a big lot."

The bill proposes up to four homes on a single residential lot would be allowed in cities with populations of 6,000 or greater, or if they are located within the urban growth areas of major cities, like Seattle. It would also allow up to six homes on lots within a half-mile of frequent public transit stops.

Fahey argued it would be a major win, especially for workers.

"They're modest in size and shape, and are going to be available for people near jobs and available at prices that are more affordable to more people," Fahey explained.

The Senate version of the bill is scheduled for a public hearing on Wednesday.

Half of Nevada voters feel their political leaders are ignoring the housing crisis.

Recent polling conducted by the Center for Popular Democracy and the Right to the City Alliance showed voters are growing more concerned about the housing issues plaguing Nevada.

Cinthia Moore, a Democratic candidate for Nevada Assembly from East Las Vegas who previously led the Nevada Environmental Justice Coalition, said Nevada attracts investors because the state does not have adequate protections in place for renters.

"As I am knocking on doors, a lot of people are doing month to month leases as a way to get more money out of our hardworking families," Moore observed. "That needs to stop."

Moore pointed out many longtime renters no longer have year-leases and their landlords have transitioned them to month-to-month agreements. She argued the move has allowed landlords to raise prices considerably, a practice she has vowed to put an end to if elected.

The poll found almost half of Nevada voters in the survey said they would vote for a candidate supporting government funding for affordable housing. Just over half said they would support a candidate who supports rent stabilization practices.

Sen. Edgar Flores, D-Las Vegas, said when it comes to the cost of housing, many in Nevada are making the difficult decisions to pay rent or make a mortgage payment rather than buying groceries or putting gas in their car. Nevada has made progress, including the passage of a law allocating funds for rental assistance in Clark, Reno and Sparks counties.

Flores said more needs to be done and lawmakers leading these housing-related legislative efforts should better understand the burden it places on families.

"There are people that are making laws that revolve around housing every single day that don't understand what a week means for a family, don't understand what it is to have to go and talk to somebody to just give you a little bit of an extra break," Flores emphasized. "I'm not saying that their families are wrong for that."

Flores stressed because of the lack of lived experience, lawmakers could be shortsighted or disconnected from the effects of policies on the most vulnerable. Flores added it is unfair wages and salaries have not grown in proportion to housing costs, making it a tough issue for Nevadans to grapple with on a daily basis.

Colorado remains the eighth-least affordable state in the nation for housing, according to a new report from the National Low Income Housing Coalition.

Even as state and municipal minimum wages have increased, up to $18.29 an hour in Denver, Coloradans must earn nearly $38 an hour to afford a modest apartment.

Cathy Alderman, chief communications and public policy officer at the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless, said it is clear wages will not be able to keep up with rising housing costs.

"Colorado has a very robust minimum wage compared to the federal minimum wage, and many other states, and we're still falling behind in terms of housing costs," Alderman pointed out. "We have to think about policies that can bring the cost of housing down."

A full-time worker earning the state's minimum wage can only afford to pay $750 a month in rent. A Social Security recipient can only afford to pay $294. Boulder, Eagle and Summit counties top the list of the most expensive areas in Colorado, where service and other low-wage workers have to travel for hours each day because they cannot afford to live where they work.

Thousands of new housing units have been popping up along the Front Range for years but are offered at price points better suited for hedge funds and other investors than average working families. Alderman argued the housing crisis will not be resolved by market forces alone.

"In the Denver metro area, we have more than 20,000 units of luxury and market-rate housing sitting vacant because people can't afford it," Alderman observed. "There is no incentive to lower the rent to make it accessible."

The federal government stopped investing in housing decades ago, but the "Housing Crisis Response Act" working its way through Congress aims to create nearly 1.4 million affordable homes and help nearly 300,000 households afford their rent.

Alderman believes the federal government, which can tap many more revenue sources than state and local governments, needs to play a role.

"State and local governments have been trying to invest more in housing," Alderman acknowledged. "But if they can't leverage federal dollars, they just can't get very far. And so I think it's time for the federal government to see this as a nationwide crisis, not just as a local crisis."

New Mexico advocacy groups are calling on New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham to cancel next week's special session where lawmakers are scheduled to debate public safety legislation. The coalition, which includes progressive-leaning groups that support the governor on many issues, wants community experts consulted before laws are passed.

Marshall Martinez, Equality New Mexico's executive director, said the proposals on next week's agenda are rushed - and would present complicated policy changes to behavioral healthcare, addiction treatment and homelessness.

"We're talking about the ability of the state to force someone into an inpatient treatment center without their consent, and we're talking about things like criminalizing panhandling," Martinez said.

In addition to Equality New Mexico, the coalition that sent a letter to the governor on Tuesday includes the ACLU of New Mexico, the Center for Civic Policy, Common Cause New Mexico and the New Mexico Conference of Churches. On Wednesday, a spokesperson for the Governor said calling off the special session is not an option.

Martinez believes advice from community experts who provide mental health and other public safety-related services should have been sought by the governor's office prior to the session being scheduled to ensure legislation provides lasting solutions.

"You have to come to the table with community-based organizations, like those of us who've been working on these issues for years, and engage us in a conversation about what will work," he continued. "Good policy isn't made in a vacuum on the 4th floor of the State Capitol building."

He also noted an obvious lack of consensus between Democratic and Republican lawmakers on the legislative proposals, and said the short session does not include opportunities for community feedback.