2020 Florida Legislative Session Turns Attention to Affordable Housing
by Hayley Michelle Clemmer | The Florida Free Press
TALLAHASSEE — Florida lawmakers are seeking solutions to the affordable housing shortage through various forms of legislation. These efforts are a response to mounting concerns over the availability of affordable housing in the state of Florida, which has the third largest homeless population in the nation.
During this year’s legislative session, state officials will address the misallocation of affordable housing funds, in particular the money raised by the Sadowski Trust Fund. In 2018 alone, the Sadowski Trust Fund raised approximately $182 million to be used by the State Housing Initiatives Partnership Program. Nearly $2.2 billion has been diverted to cover other deficient areas within the state’s budget — such as hurricane relief and school safety programs — over the past 15 years.
In response to this issue, Sens. Sam Killebrew (R) and Debbie Mayfield (R) are presenting two bills (HB 381 and SB 306 ) during this year’s Florida Legislative Session aimed at providing specific language to protect the funds from misuse. While the bills would still allow access to the funds for emergency circumstances, such as a recession, their goal is to ensure that the funding’s usage is consistent with its intended purpose, according to the Florida Phoenix.
Rent prices will also be discussed at this year’s session. Approximately 922,000 low-income Floridians are spending more than 50 percent of their earnings on housing, making them susceptible to homelessness if even one paycheck is missed, according to the Sadowski Housing Coalition.
To combat this, Orlando lawmakers, Rep. Anna Eskamani (D) and Sen. Victor Torres (D), have proposed a bill that would help local communities enact rent controls. Florida law has historically prohibited such controls unless local governments determine a housing emergency.
Sen. Jason Pizzo (D) has proposed a bill calling for certain property tax reductions for people building or renovating affordable housing facilities, in order to encourage the development of low-income housing options.
The 2020 Florida Legislative Session began on January 14 and will end on March 13.
This is part of an ongoing series investigating homelessness in Central Florida.
