Committee approves creation of housing and workforce commission; fiscal impact estimated at $175,000

Senator Kurt told the Senate Economic Development, Workforce and Tourism Committee that Senate Bill 275 would create a commission to coordinate housing strategy with workforce and economic development and to review accountability for prior housing investments.

Kurt said the commission would examine outcomes for investments such as the $215,000,000 committed to the housing stability program and would help communities plan housing to match workforce needs. "Our state has a huge housing shortage, estimated over 77,000 units for our current population," Kurt said, and the commission would "review outcomes and accountability for investments we've already made, like the $215,000,000 towards the housing stability program." He told members he had recently received a fiscal-impact estimate of $175,000 for establishing the commission.

Committee members asked how the commission would respect local decision-making and how it would set priorities across diverse communities. Kurt said the commission would not be a one-size-fits-all, and that local governments would "lead on what their priorities are." Senator Guthrie urged caution because of the fiscal impact and recommended assembling the commission and gathering input before committing funds; Guthrie said he would vote no today but might support a revised version later. After discussion, the committee recorded eight ayes and one nay; the chair declared the bill passed in committee.