As an attorney and member of the Washington State Bar, Jessica Fortescue is the principal of JF Consulting Services which has offered public policy advocacy and governmental affairs consulting since 2003. Jessica provides services in a broad array of policy areas, including lending issues, complicated tax issues, affordable housing, K-12 education, higher education, health care, and environmental issues.

Jessica is capable of providing a wide range of services for clients, including policy and legal analyses, advocacy, governmental affairs consulting, and fiscal analyses with an emphasis on tax issues.  Jessica holds a bachelor’s degree in Zoology from the University of Washington, and a Juris Doctor Cumlaude from Seattle University School of Law.

In the 2021-22 legislative session, Jessica’s work included the following:

• Actively worked with the Department of Financial Institutions to propose and pass agency request legislation authorizing mortgage loan originators to work from home (SB 5077).
• Advocated for passage of legislation that directs the Financial Education Public-Private Partnership (FEPPP) to establish a grant program for school districts to integrate financial literacy education into professional development for certificated teachers (SB 5720).
• Successfully advocated for the passage of legislation extending the multifamily tax exemption, which is an important tool for creating more affordable housing (SB 5287).
• Successfully ensured there was no additional funds swept from the Department of Financial Services account (funded by the industry) in the 2022 supplemental budget.
• Successfully opposed legislation that would have eliminated the first mortgage interest deduction for lenders to fund affordable housing projects (SB 5138).
• Active negotiator in proposals relating to consumer data privacy. Negotiated language that would recognize data held by financial institutions subject to Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (SB 5062) and successfully ensured a comprehensive data privacy legislation did not pass with a problematic private right of action.
• Active participant in Foreclosure Fairness Act stakeholder group, considering legislation to ensure a well-functioning foreclosure process in Washington state.
• Successfully advocated for clarification from Governor Inslee’s office to ensure the real estate and lending sector was deemed essential during the Governor’s 2020 “Stay home, stay healthy” order.