The House Appropriations Committee on March 21 decided to keep the emergency housing/shelter funding at the governor’s level ($30.5 million) and confirmed that program language must be reinserted into this year’s budget because it currently exists in session law.

Committee members said the additional $2,000,000 previously proposed would be removed and funding maintained at $30.5 million consistent with the governor’s recommendation. Chair said the language for the program “was in session law” and must be placed in the budget again to preserve the program authority for the coming year.

Why it matters: Emergency housing and shelter capacity funding supports temporary housing services for populations experiencing homelessness and affects provider budgets across the state. Reinstating program language in the budget rather than relying solely on prior session law keeps the program active in the fiscal package.

Outcome: Committee checked off the line at $30.5 million and instructed staff to include the session-law program language in the fiscal bill. The committee did not add the $2,000,000 augmentation that had been proposed earlier.