New Minnesota Legislature Gathers to Elect Leadership

Following the election, the House and Senate met quickly to elect their respective caucus leaderships. Committee chairs for the upcoming session have also been announced.  

Minnesota House

House members reelected Representative Melissa Hortman to Speaker of the House. Representative Jaime Long was elected Majority Leader and Representative Athena Hollins was elected Majority Whip. MHP has worked with all on a variety of issues, including emergency rental assistance (ERA), energy efficiency, and source of income protections. MHP is excited that Representative Mike Howard will chair the Housing Committee and Representative Aisha Gomez will chair the Tax Committee. Rep Howard was the Vice Chair of the Housing Committee for the last several years and worked closely with MHP on all our top priorities, including the Affordable Housing Tax Credit (AHTC), Local Housing Trust Fund State Matching Funds, ERA, funds for NOAH preservation, 4d tax reform, and Bring it Home, MN. Representative Gomez has championed housing issues as a member of the tax committee and chaired the House’s Subcommittee on Housing.  

Minnesota Senate

Senate members elected Senator Kari Dziedzic as Majority Leader. As the Minority Lead on the Senate Housing Committee, Majority Leader Dziedzic worked closely with MHP on housing issues. MHP is optimistic that her housing knowledge and passion will result in the prioritization of housing investments and policy this year. Senator Bobby Joe Champion was elected the President of the Senate. Senator Lindsey Port has been appointed Chair of the Housing Committee. Senator Port is a strong advocate for housing investments and critical policy changes to support low-income renters. Senator Anne Rest was appointed Chair of the Tax Committee. As a committee member, Senator Rest worked closely with MHP on AHTC and 4d tax reform. We are thrilled that all three minority members of the Senate Housing Committee serve in leadership and as chairs in positions that can uplift housing this session. Senator John Marty will serve as the Chair of the Finance Committee. Last session, he introduced an amendment to add dedicated housing revenue to a 2024 ballot initiative. 

Colorado Voters Approve $300 Million Annually for Housing

During the midterm elections earlier this month Colorado voters approved Prop 123, a constitutional amendment that dedicates .1 % of Colorado’s taxable income to housing. This will represent $300 million in new funding for housing. 

Advocates estimate this will help create 170,000 homes over the next two decades. Similarly, across the country voters considered 133 state-level, and dozens of local-level, ballot measures relating to housing. See this blog post from Enterprise for a more full rundown of housing measures on the ballot in 2022.

Register Now: Central Minnesota Housing Summit December 6-7!

Developed in partnership with the Initiative Foundation and Sourcewell, MHP is convening regional nonprofits, developers, and housing stakeholders for a peer-to-peer, in-person workshop on developing affordable housing. 

This free technical assistance workshop, hosted at Grand Casino Mille Lacs and beginning the afternoon of Tuesday December 6 will include meals, limited complimentary rooms, and:

• A comprehensive picture of the housing climate in Central Minnesota: Rose Surma, Oasis Central Minnesota; Anne Mavity, MHP
• Local Housing Solutions Panel with Eric Charpentier, Brainerd HRA; Dustin Goslin, Mille Lacs Corporate Ventures; Sara Bunn, Workforce Housing & Multifamily Engagement Manager, Minnesota Housing Finance Agency; Barbara Dolan, Community Development, MHP
• Housing Development 101 with Deanna Hemmesch, Central Minnesota Housing Partnership and Melissa Wyman, City of Staples
• Creating Impactful Partnerships in Affordable Housing Delivery: with John Rocker, Greater Minnesota Housing Fund; Vicky Kinney, My Neighbor to Love Coalition; Gary Dietrich, City of Hackensack
• Additional remarks from Melanie Benjamin, Chief Executive at Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe; Heather Worthington, the Center for Economic Inclusion, and Former Minnesota Housing Finance Agency Commissioners Mary Tingerthal and Tim Marx.
• The Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe Singers and more!

Contact harlan.buckalew@mhponline.org with event inquiries

Congress has returned to Capitol Hill, to complete business before the new Congress is sworn in on January 3. While we await some results, Democrats retain one vote majority in the U.S. Senate, while Republicans have a slim majority in the House. Still to complete in the lame duck session, Congress must pass a fiscal year 2023 budget or approve another continuing resolution. As well, there is potential that Congress will pass a tax extender package, which could impact the low-income housing tax credit.

All of MHP's past newsletters are now available on our website! Check them out here.

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