Starter Homes Act 2.0 Receives Bill Hearing
After many months of discussion with stakeholders, Senator Lindsey Port (DFL, Burnsville) and Senator Jordan Rasmusson (R, Fergus Falls) presented a watered-down version of the Minnesota Starter Homes Act to the Senate State and Local Government Committee late last week. The DE (Delete Everything) Amendment would end aesthetic mandates, right-size unnecessary HOA creation, limit local parking requirements and provide for a streamlined permitting process if a proposal met the local zoning requirements.
“On housing policy, the aspiration ought to be that Minnesotans choose what communities they live in, not let communities pick which Minnesotans get to live there,” said Senator Rasmusson when introducing the language.
Senator Port added, “We are open to feedback to make these concepts work, what we are not open to — and have gotten to that point with this bill, we are down to the very skin and bones of these policies — is just an answer of No.”
Former Housing First Minnesota President and current Bloomington City Council Member, Shawn Nelson, testified in favor of the language, saying, “We are using this to successfully build homes for people in our community and we encourage you to allow that to happen throughout the entire region because the reality is if we don’t do that everywhere and only do that in Bloomington, we are still impacted by having higher rents and lower-priced house get inflated because we can’t build entry-level house throughout other communities.”
Tony Wiener of Cardinal Homes and current board member also testified in favor saying, “Our industry builds safe, energy efficient, and durable homes and we know what our homeowners want on their homes and communities that fit their lifestyles.”
Dozens of additional proponents and opponents wrote letters and testified on the language before the committee, including Mark Foster, Vice President of Legislative Affairs, stating, “The homebuilding industry is working to meet the needs of Minnesotans, but we need your help. SF 2229 as amended would allow for greater affordability and more homebuyer choice.”
After more than an hour of discussion amongst the legislative committee members, a roll-call vote was taken. The amendment failed with five members (3 DFL and 2 GOP) voting for the bill and six members (4 DFL and 2 GOP) voting against the measure. One member passed.
“The unfortunate truth is that Minnesota’s housing shortage and affordability issues will likely only worsen because of the committee’s failure to act,” said Mark Foster. “Instead of choosing modest adjustments to our state’s housing policy, legislators sided with local government protectionists that are focused on hoarding all control.”
The ‘Yes to Homes’ coalition also released a statement on Friday, saying: “The Yes to Homes Coalition worked in partnership with cities for over a year on this effort to negotiate in good faith a new path forward that helps build more housing that Minnesotans can afford. We introduced a package of bills that incorporated input and feedback from these conversations. We have yet to see any proposals from these opponents that change the status quo.”
House Passes Housing Omnibus Bills
On Tuesday, the housing policy (HF 2309) and housing finance (SF 2298) omnibus bills passed the House floor.
Rep. Howard (DFL) asked members to vote in favor of the bills, saying, “If we listen to the people who are demanding that we take action to make the dream of home a reality, we can build a future in Minnesota where everyone has the ability to find a home that they can afford in a community where they want to thrive”
Rep. Igo also urged House members to take further action on ending the housing shortage and closing the homeownership gap in Minnesota. “Everyone in this chamber agrees that Minnesota is the best place to live, grow up, raise a family. But people can’t do that if they don’t have homes.” Igo said. “That’s why we need to continue to drive the message and work on policy that can get us there. Some of this policy that we’ve been working on can get us going in that direction with zero dollars.”
Senate Labor Bill Passes
The Senate took up the jobs and economic development and labor omnibus bill, SF 1832 (McEwen, DFL). Article 8 of the bill includes a fee alignment proposal for electrical and plumbing inspections that have not been increased in more than fifteen years. The bill also provides funding for initiatives to promote mental health in the construction industry.
Two Weeks Remain
The legislature has two weeks remaining until their constitutional deadline to adjourn. While many omnibus bills have passed off both the House and Senate floors, much conversation and work remain in conference committees to iron out the differences between both chambers and Governor Walz.
Sign up for Housing First Minnesota’s Legislative Wrap Virtual Town Hall on June 3rd to learn about the defense of the industry, the progress made on zoning initiatives, and the new laws that may impact your business.
