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Montana committee hears $2M plan to boost rapid‑rehousing with state ESG funds
Summary
The House Health and Human Services Committee heard testimony supporting House Bill 843, which would appropriate $2 million over the biennium ($1 million per fiscal year) to supplement the federal Emergency Solutions Grant for rapid rehousing and homelessness prevention. Advocates and providers said the funding would stretch federal dollars, enable up to 150% of HUD fair‑market rent in some places and speed placements.
Representative S. J. Howell introduced House Bill 843 to the House Health and Human Services Committee as a two‑year, $2,000,000 appropriation (about $1,000,000 per fiscal year) to supplement the federal Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG) program and expand rapid‑rehousing and homelessness‑prevention services. Howell told the committee Montana has experienced steep increases in homelessness and said state funds would help bridge gaps as federal funding and HUD fair‑market rents lag behind local markets.
Supporters from community action agencies, shelters and disability advocates urged lawmakers to pass the bill. Kathy Marks of Rocky Mountain Development Council described rapid rehousing as a low‑cost, upstream intervention that helps families stabilize and reduces trauma. Hannah Altman of HRDC District 9 said the bill would allow rental assistance up to 150% of HUD fair‑market rent in high‑cost areas and emphasized the program can be deployed quickly because existing providers already administer ESG funds.
Several witnesses offered examples of impact. Margie Secom of Action, Inc. described a rapid‑rehousing pilot in Butte that reduced the local homeless count from 98 to 40 in two years. John Rhoades of Catalyst Montana read submitted testimony from Chloe Carlson, who said, "HB 8 43 would save lives," describing the relief rental assistance can provide. NAMI Montana and other advocates described the funds as a practical way to keep people housed and reduce downstream expenditures on emergency health care and justice system costs.
Sarah Loewen, bureau chief for the Intergovernmental Human Services Bureau at the Department of Public Health and Human Services, appeared as an informational witness and confirmed the department manages the state's ESG allocation. Loewen told the committee the state's federal ESG awards for program year 2024 and 2025 are $744,418 and $741,906 respectively and that the proposed state appropriation would supplement—not replace—those federal dollars.
Representative Howell closed by saying state funds would be distributed through the existing HRDC network and DPHHS structures, not by creating a new program, and by emphasizing prevention as a cost‑effective investment that avoids higher shelter, emergency‑care and law‑enforcement costs later. The committee closed the HB 843 hearing without taking a vote at that time.
