By: Cirien Saadeh

Rep. Michael Howard (DFL – District 51A) introduces House File 2335: the Housing Finance and Policy Omnibus bill 

• Thanks specific committee members including Vice Chair and Minority Lead for their work
• “I truly believe the bills and the discussions all committee long has produced the product of what is a strong bill.”
• “This is, in many ways, the products of our work together. And the product of our work here is the most comprehensive bill to address our affordable housing crisis that this Legislature has ever considered, as it should be, because Minnesotans have never faced an affordable housing crisis like this. It’s a crisis that’s deepening, worsening, and challenging families and communities like never before.”
• Says the bill “makes $1 billion in investments in housing across the housing continuum. With it we will build more homes to rent and to own, create housing stability for families who are on the brink of homelessness, and create pathways to homeownership and generational wealth for thousands of new Minnesotans.”
• “First, with this investment, we’re going to build a heck of a lot of homes. That’s been something that I think our committee has discussed in great detail. The need to address what is a significant supply & demand mismatch both in terms of affordable homes to own and affordable homes to rent.”
• “We’re also going to preserve the affordable homes we already have with our state’s first significant investment to preserve naturally occurring affordable housing. This is vital, it’s an issue we’ve heard about for years, and with our $150 million investment we’re going to preserve nearly 4000 affordable homes. It’s transformation to be able to move this forward.”
• “We’re preserving our state’s most ambitious agenda to create new pathways to homeownership, an issue we’ve heard a lot about this year.”
• “In addition, we’re going to create more homeowners.”
• “These big time investments will pay big time dividends in our work to narrow our racial gaps in homeownership.”
• “We’re also beginning our work to end children’s homelessness and ensure that families have the housing stability they need. This bill includes resources to meet the statewide needs of our families who are on the brink of homelessness and to create housing stability through state-based housing vouchers through the Bring It Home Bill. Nowhere near the full-time need but we begin down that path and this bill will create an estimated $6000 vouchers over the next 4 years for families. This will be life changing, helping those families succeed and creating a ripple of benefits for folks, by creating housing stability where it is not present otherwise.”
• “I also want to mention that we’re addressing unique challenges all across the state. I think that’s something that’s been reiterated over and over again, that every community in our state is facing a housing crisis but those challenges look differently, and this bill reflects that.”
  • Mentions Greater Minnesota workforce housing, as an example
• “This bill addresses the spectrum of needs all across the state and with significant resources to back it up.” 
• “We’re focusing on the long-term needs. This bill does include a billion dollars in one-time investments but we’re not going to solve our housing crisis with one-time resources.”
  • Says the bill also establishes new revenue models to support long-term housing work 
• “This is truly a bill that takes a yes/and approach, building new homes to rent and to own. Focusing on our Greater Minnesota and metro area housing crisis challenges, leveraging nonprofit and for-profit housing development, investing in proven programs and innovating with new ones. One-time infusion of resources and long-term investments to meet the needs. This is what the moment calls for and that’s what the bill will do.”

Chair Howard walks through the bill. 

• Refers members to the spreadsheet 
• Investments
  • $50 million in the Housing Challenge program, split over the two-year biennium 
  • $40 million Greater Minnesota Workforce Housing Development program, split over the two-year biennium 
  • $8.7 million for Local Housing Trust Fund (House File 950), in 2024
  • $35 million for manufactured housing (House File 814), in 2024, for loans and lending grants
  • $80 million for Homeownership Investment Grants (House File 1472) a one-time appropriation split over the biennium
  • $2 million for Bridges (House File 1696), split over the biennium
  • $125 million, total investment, in FHPAP including $50 million already passed and sent to the Governor to be signed
  • $100 million in one-time dollars for Bring It Home rental assistance, with $24 million in the tails
  • $5 million to “strengthen the Supportive Housing model” split over the biennium
    • “A priority of the Governor” 
  • $150 million for House File, “first generation down payment assistance program”
  • $2 million for Build Wealth MN, split over the two years of the biennium
  • $10 million for fee-based home purchasing program, split over the biennium
  • $10 million for High-Rise Sprinkler Grants in 2024
  • “Our state’s first-ever investment in NOAH Impact Fund, with House File 1412,” of $150 million
  • $2 million for Homebuyer Education, Counseling, and Training program, split over the biennium 
  • $8 million for capacity-building grants “to support organizations doing important work,” split over the biennium
    • A Governor priority
  • $500,000 additional for Build Wealth MN 
  • $4 million for Lead-Safe Homes (House File 1507), in 2024
  • $500,000 for the Landlord Risk Mitigation Fund, in 2024
  • $1.5 million for the Housing Mediation Grant Program (House File 1215), in 2024
  • $2 million for the Northland Initiative Fund (House File 2344), in 2024
  • $300,000 for the “delivery of the Emergency Rental Assistance Taskforce”
    • Says:  in other bills it was heard that “speed and delivery of rental assistance is taking too long,” and needs to be studied by stakeholders “to solve for the delivery of rental assistance.” 
  • $10 million for the Stable Housing Organization Relief Fund (House File 2632), in 2024
  • The creation of a “Greater Minnesota Housing Infrastructure Grant program,” originally part of House File 73 
  • $200 million for Housing Infrastructure Bonds, split over the biennium
• “This is largely a funding bill.”
  • Says the bill has only a few policy items
  • Says an “Omnibus Renter’s Rights” bill is already moving through committee
  • Says next year more policy decisions will be made