Housing committee advances broad housing, homelessness concept as members press for details

The Connecticut Housing Committee conducted a roll-call on a concept titled “An act concerning housing, homelessness, and the rental assistance program,” and held votes open until after the committee’s public hearing, after committee members pressed leaders for more detail and said they would withhold final approval without fuller draft language.

Committee chair (unnamed) outlined potential provisions that could appear in the eventual draft, including creation and funding of an affordable-housing real estate investment trust; a housing grant program modeled on an Arizona program to help house people recently experiencing homelessness or formerly incarcerated people; funding for Habitat for Humanity and for sewer and water infrastructure grants to municipalities; a statewide one-acre minimum lot-size requirement for residential zoning; money for food-share programs; a “hundred-day housing challenge” modeled on an initiative during Governor Malloy’s administration; appraisal-gap proposals; Section 8 and related certificate reforms; and an auto-bonding or community investment fund for targeted affordable-housing projects.

Representative James Scott (Representative Scott) told the committee he was frustrated that the concept had not been screened and said, “We did not screen this concept at all,” adding the proposal read as “very generic” and that he was likely to vote no that day until members had a full draft to review. Senator Heather Sampson (Senator Sampson) echoed those concerns, saying a single concept “comes across a little bit like…10 concepts in one” and that the public should have the chance to comment on fully drafted language before votes.

The committee conducted a roll-call on the agenda item and several members cast recorded votes during the session; the committee chair said votes would remain open until the start of the public hearing and for one hour after the hearing so absent members could record their votes. The transcript records the following interim roll-call votes (as spoken during the session): Yes — Representative Felipe; Senator Marks; Representative Roberts; Senator Gaston; Senator Anwar; Representative Brown; Representative Butler; Representative Sweet; Representative Turco. No — Representative Scott; Senator Sampson; Representative Corpus; Representative Jensen; Representative Weir; Representative Zulu. The committee did not record mover or seconder names for the motion to raise the concept. The chair instructed staff to keep the vote open and allow members who were not present to submit their votes later.

Multiple members stressed timing concerns: Representative Scott noted the committee was “less than a month out from JF deadline,” and Senator Sampson said the committee already had “50 or 60 bills” pending this session and preferred narrower, fully drafted concepts for public hearings. Staff and legislative aides called into the committee during the session to confirm how absent members planned to cast votes at the conclusion of the public hearing.

Next steps: The committee will proceed with the scheduled public hearing on the concept; the committee chair said votes on the concept will remain open until the hearing begins and for one hour after it ends. Committee members who called for a fuller draft said they will reserve final support until they can review specific statutory language and funding details.