Senate committee backs $100 million bonding bill to rehabilitate public housing

Senators on the Minnesota Senate Committee on Housing and Homelessness Prevention voted to recommend Senate File 915, a $100 million general-obligation bonding request intended to rehabilitate and preserve publicly owned housing across Minnesota.

The measure, introduced by Senator Clare Mohammed, was moved and referred to the Senate Committee on Capital Investment after more than an hour of testimony on statewide public housing needs. "Hundred million dollars to rehabilitate and preserve public housing across Minnesota," Mohammed said in opening remarks, calling it a bid to "save what we have and ensure that it remains livable for future generations."

The day’s hearing featured a presentation from Minnesota NARO (the National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials) and housing authority officials who described a widening gap between the condition of public housing properties and available capital and operating funds. Melissa Taphorn, executive director of the Washington County Community Development Agency and legislative chair of Minnesota NARO, told the committee that federal and state resources…