The House Appropriations Committee is due to consider the bill’s cross-file, HB 838, on March 14.
At a time when ready access to affordable housing is particularly scarce, counties are eager to use every means at their disposal to help displaced residents. The additional $5 million that SB 643 provides for the Community Development Program Fund (CDP) will enable counties to expand affordable housing opportunities, create jobs, stabilize neighborhoods, and improve their communities quality of life.
The economic reverberations from the COVID-19 pandemic are still felt in nearly all parts of the economy, but nowhere more so than in the housing market. Due to a variety of historic and economic factors, the production and preservation of affordable housing stock has lagged behind the growth of our society. Today, the cost of housing has become a significant line item in many household budgets, far exceeding the longtime standard of 30 percent of gross income. SB 643 would help to address this production and preservation deficit by providing additional resources to the CDP, which can be used for addressing affordable housing and neighborhood revitalization. Investing in these elements is critical to overcoming the current challenges of the housing market. Counties cannot solve the housing crisis alone and welcome any state support to further this effort.
The economic reverberations from the COVID-19 pandemic are still felt in nearly all parts of the economy, but nowhere more so than in the housing market. Due to a variety of historic and economic factors, the production and preservation of affordable housing stock has lagged behind the growth of our society. Today, the cost of housing has become a significant line item in many household budgets, far exceeding the longtime standard of 30 percent of gross income. SB 643 would help to address this production and preservation deficit by providing additional resources to the CDP, which can be used for addressing affordable housing and neighborhood revitalization. Investing in these elements is critical to overcoming the current challenges of the housing market. Counties cannot solve the housing crisis alone and welcome any state support to further this effort.
