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Committee advances $2 million proposal for statewide tenant education hotline (HF1385)
Summary
Vice Chair Kozlowski moved and the committee adopted an amendment to add $1 million per year for two years to fund a statewide tenant education and hotline service through the Minnesota Housing Finance Agency; the bill was laid over for possible inclusion.
The House Finance and Policy Committee on March 18 adopted an amendment to House File 13 85 that fills an appropriation blank with $1,000,000 per year for the next biennium — $2,000,000 total — for a statewide tenant education and hotline service administered through the Minnesota Housing Finance Agency.
Vice Chair Kozlowski said the funding request matches the size of need for a well‑promoted, responsive, multilingual hotline and tenant education effort. She cited stories from Duluth and other parts of the state about renters facing habitability problems, eviction notices and critical repairs that go unresolved.
Witnesses described the demand for expansion. Nicole Weiler, senior program manager for Greater Twin Cities United Way 2‑1‑1, said 2‑1‑1 handles hundreds of thousands of calls annually and that more than half of the statewide call volume relates to housing, utility and rental concerns. She said Homeline received 2,221 referrals last year, which she described as roughly 10% of HomeLine's direct call volume, and that referrals and call volume have grown.
Eric Hauge, executive director of Homeline, said HomeLine advised nearly 20,000 households last year from every county in Minnesota and that the organization’s contract with the state has not kept pace with an increased volume. Hauge said a fully funded hotline would allow competitive wages, expanded training and broader outreach, including multilingual support. He also described HomeLine’s eviction‑prevention work in which the organization mails multilingual notices to eviction defendants statewide and provides free legal advice; HomeLine reported it prevented over 2,258 evictions in the last year alone.
Committee members asked how the hotline helps prevent homelessness and reduces downstream costs; witnesses said timely legal advice and information increase the chances of repairs being made and evictions being avoided.
The committee adopted the A1 amendment and laid House File 13 85 over as amended for possible inclusion in omnibus appropriations.
