Senate File 2298, the Minnesota Housing Finance Agency budget bill, was presented to the Minnesota Senate Committee on Housing and Homelessness Prevention as the agency’s base budget. Agency staff walked through a spreadsheet of the governor’s recommendations showing base funding maintained across MHFA programs for the 2026–27 biennium.

The presentation listed appropriation amounts for multiple programs (for the 2026–27 biennium and the tails): Economic Development and Housing Challenge Program ($25,850,000); Workforce Housing Development Program ($4,000,000); Manufactured Home Park Infrastructure Grants ($2,000,000); Workforce Homeownership Program ($500,000); Rental Assistance program (Bring It Home) ($46,000,000); Housing Trust Fund for homelessness programs ($23,292,000); Homeownership Starts With Home ($5,500,000); Bridges Rental Assistance ($10,676,000); Family Homeless Prevention and Assistance Program ($20,538,000); Homeownership Assistance Fund ($1,770,000); Affordable Rental Investment Fund (preservation) ($8,400,000); Owner-Occupied Housing Rehabilitation ($5,500,000); Rental Housing Rehabilitation ($7,500,000); Homeownership Education Counseling and Training (HECAT) ($1,700,000); Capacity Building Grants ($1,290,000); and family stabilization/Build Wealth Minnesota ($1,000,000). The presenter said these transfers are structured from the general fund into the housing development fund and that the total appropriation presented in the package was approximately $165,596,000 in the 2026–27 biennium and the tails.

Staff also noted the governor’s recommendation to cancel a transfer to the housing support account (a separate budget jurisdiction) and that no additional Housing Infrastructure Bonds (HIBs) were recommended. Chair Port reminded members the budget bill establishes a base and that committee decisions about additions or cuts will depend on budget targets; the bill was laid over for continued work in the committee.