Minnesota is at a turning point. Our broken housing market is one of the most urgent and pressing issues facing our state. In order to address our housing affordability problem we must fundamentally reimagine housing policies at the local, regional and state levels.
Enter House File 1208 and Senate File 1294. These bills were each introduced in their respective chambers last week. HF 1208 is authored by Representative Andrew Carlson, (D, Bloomington) and SF 1294 is authored by Senator Rich Draheim (R, Madison Lake). This proposal would establish a legislative commission to do the following:
- Allow for affordability-centric review of existing housing policies.
- Review new housing policies and regulations.
- Investigate, address and recommend policies to address the homeownership equity gap.
- Support innovative approaches to affordable new housing.
- Create common language and transparency.
The conversation around the establishment of the legislative commission on housing affordability has been encouraging. Look for updates in the coming weeks.
Follow @HousingFirstMN for frequent updates from your Housing First Minnesota advocacy team. And make sure to register for Housing Day at the Capitol on March 4th.
