Committee advances bill to raise housing program cap by $10 million in later years

The Housing & Community Development Committee reported House Bill 643 as committed by a 17-9 roll call, advancing a bipartisan bill to continue permissible annual increases to the cap on a state housing funding program.

A presenter identified as Rev. Khan introduced the measure on behalf of prime sponsor Representative Dougherty and described the bill as bipartisan and aligned with the governor's priorities. Rev. Khan said the program addresses housing instability for older adults, veterans and people with disabilities and helps address blight. "When housing projects are built, they're not built sort of year by year. They're sort of built, in several years in advance," Rev. Khan said, arguing that increasing the cap helps developers plan multi-year projects.

A committee member raised caution about advancing the cap before the effects of the recent increase are fully evaluated, noting the cap had recently moved from $80 million to $100 million and expressing reluctance to raise it to $110 million immediately. The committee nevertheless voted to report the bill as committed by a 17-9 margin.

The committee record did not specify statutory citations or precise program names beyond references to the cap, nor did it specify floor scheduling or appropriation details. The bill’s sponsor said the change would allow the cap to continue to increase by $10 million in 2027–28 and beyond, improving planning certainty for developers and projects across all 67 counties.