After bonds for housing were left out of last summer’s bonding bill, housing and homeless organizations and the Minnesota Housing Finance Agency have been determined to work together to make bonding for housing a top priority at the Minnesota Legislature this year. As the end of session draws near, advocates are hopeful…
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From the Executive Director: Now Is the Time!
With just a few work days left this legislative session, now is our last shot to make sure that Minnesota’s legislative leadership and Governor Dayton commit substantial bonding funds to housing. With homelessness on the rise and one-quarter of the state’s renters paying over half of their income for housing, we…
Historical Significance of Minnesota’s 2012 Success in Bonds for Housing
This year, the state enacted $37.5 million in bonding to be used for housing and homeless programs through the Minnesota Housing Finance Agency. Both the amount of the bonding award and the scope of activities broke new ground in meeting the state’s growing housing needs.
Sen. Franken Bill Would Help Homeless Students
For many years Minnesota advocates have joined others across the country in trying to fix a policy which forces young, formerly homeless people to choose between a roof over their heads and devoting themselves full time to getting an education. Minnesota’s own Senator Al Franken has recently introduced a new…
Franken’s Homeless Students Bill Finds Powerful Co-Sponsor
U.S. Senator Olympia Snowe (R-ME) recently co-sponsored U.S. Senator Al Franken’s (D-MN) bill, “The Housing for Homeless Students Act of 2012,” which may bring us one step closer to a day when formerly homeless students may no longer have to choose between attending school full time or living with a…
Game Changes, and Doesn’t, for State Housing Policy after Elections
As a result of November’s election, state housing advocates in Minnesota are gearing up for the legislative session with a major change in the composition of the legislature. With Democrats to command control of the House and Senate next year, housing advocates will be working with a different set of legislative…
Mortgage Interest Reform: One Step Closer to Reality
Minnesota Rep. Keith Ellison recently introduced a bill to reform the Mortgage Interest Deduction to make it more equitable for middle and lower income homeowners and to use the billions saved from this reform to fund affordable housing programs. We recently reported on a poll that surveyed America’s attitudes toward the Mortgage Interest Deduction (MID). …
Congress Deal Means Both Housing Victories and Woes
While many were celebrating the coming of the New Year with friends and family, Congress was frantically trying to pass legislation to prevent the country from falling off the fiscal cliff. During the early hours of New Years, the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 was passed. While considered an imperfect…
Rep. Paulsen Tours Apartment for Formerly Homeless Youth
On February 22, U.S. Representative Erik Paulsen met with housing advocates, providers, and a formerly homeless young man to discuss an issue facing too many homeless students in Minnesota. This troubling issue stems from an unintended consequence of a well intended rule in the Low Income Housing Tax Credit program. The…
Sequestration Impacts Hit Home
Sequestration, automatic across-the-board cuts to federal defense and non-defense discretionary spending, was meant to be a disincentive for political gridlock. However, it apparently did not serve its intended purpose as federal lawmakers were not able to agree on a deficit reduction package by the March 1st deadline. Though advocates hoped Congress…