Committee acknowledges housing department report showing spending lag and commitments

The Joint Committee on Ways and Means on April 3 acknowledged an agency report from the Housing and Community Services Department that compared 2023‑25 budgeted investments to expenditures and commitments through January 2025.

Representative Ben Gomberg told the committee that of $933,600,000 budgeted (from general fund or bond proceeds), $105,000,000 had been expended and a further $165,000,000 had been allocated or committed through signed grant agreements or contracts. Gomberg said some funding is reserved for pending bond sales, program calendars, special initiatives, or contingencies and that the agency expects to allocate the remaining amounts by the end of the biennium. He also said the department plans to advance funds for tribal housing support, shelter operations, and long‑term rental assistance prior to grantees meeting all contract deliverables to prevent operational funding gaps.

Representative Jason Drazen thanked the committee for the budget notes and flagged the home ownership production category under the LIFT home ownership division: of an $80,000,000 category, $16,000,000 had been expended and approximately $64,000,000 remained. Drazen expressed concern about the pace of achieving program goals and noted the role of bond financing and associated debt service in the program’s complexity.

The Transportation Economic Development Subcommittee recommended acknowledging receipt of the report; the full committee accepted the report with no recorded objections in the transcript. Committee members asked staff and the agency to continue monitoring expenditures and to report back as needed.