Committee adopts technical fix to Olene Walker housing bill, then holds bill pending fiscal note

At a House Economic Development Workforce Services Committee meeting, members adopted House Amendment 2 to House Bill 286 (Olene Walker Housing Loan Fund Amendments) and then voted to hold the bill so staff could produce a corrected fiscal note.

The bill, sponsored by Representative Carol Moss, would dedicate 25% of the net profits from state liquor sales to the Olene Walker Housing Loan Fund, with 60% of that amount proposed for deeply affordable rental housing (targeted to roughly 40% of area median income) and the remainder for affordable homeownership programs (targeted to about 30–80% of AMI depending on location). Representative Moss told the committee that the bill needed a technical fix because the earlier draft mistakenly referenced “sales tax profits” rather than “net profits.” She and supporters asked the panel to adopt House Amendment 2 to correct that language; the committee adopted that amendment by voice vote.

The committee then voted to hold HB 286 until the corrected fiscal note is available. Representative Cutler moved to hold the bill “with the intent of bringing it back when we have the right fiscal impact.” Representative Moss supported the hold so the bill could proceed with an accurate fiscal estimate.

Supporters from housing organizations testified in favor of a dedicated revenue stream. Steve Erickson of Crossroads Urban Center and the Utah chapter of the National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials said combining single-family and multifamily programs in the Olene Walker fund would help both urban and rural needs. Corey Holdaway, representing five Utah Habitat for Humanity affiliates, told the committee the bill would remove the annual appropriation cycle by providing an ongoing revenue stream and urged lawmakers to treat the proposal as a policy choice about how to allocate existing liquor-related revenues. Sean McMillan, executive director of First Step House, described how Olene Walker loan funds form part of a financing “capital stack” used with low-income housing tax credits and other sources to build housing for people with serious behavioral-health conditions.

Advocates and witnesses supplied program-level estimates during testimony: committee testimony referenced approximately $113,000,000 in annual liquor profits currently allocated across multiple programs; a corrected fiscal estimate cited in committee discussion was $28,337,500 (the sponsor said that number reflected the corrected interpretation of “net profits” rather than “sales tax profits”). Testimony from sponsors and partners projected that dedicating 25% of available net profits could yield roughly $17,000,000 annually available for the rental portion (the 60% share), and proponents estimated leveraging that funding could support about 1,375 deeply affordable units per year and produce broader local economic benefits (testimony cited $160,000,000 in local income, $3,625,000 in local taxes and about 214 local jobs as illustrative calculations prepared by proponents).

Committee members asked multiple clarifying questions about whether liquor-related funds were already committed to other programs (witnesses said distributions currently include school lunch funds and alcohol prevention programs and that the remaining funds flow into the general fund) and about the rationale for using liquor profits for housing. Representative Schallenberg and others noted this would be a new dedicated revenue stream and asked how that choice fits among other budget priorities. Representative Cutler moved the hold so the panel could receive an accurate fiscal note before final action.

The committee accepted public comment from representatives of Habitat for Humanity, Crossroads Urban Center, First Step House, the Utah Housing Coalition and other nonprofits. Witnesses emphasized the Olene Walker fund’s track record of revolving loan repayments and the current annual shortfall that leaves the fund running out of money before year end in some years.

The committee adopted House Amendment 2 and then voted to hold HB 286 until a corrected fiscal note is prepared. The sponsor and supporters said they intend to bring the bill back once the fiscal impact is updated and that the corrected language clarifies the intended revenue stream.