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Lawmakers consider $50 million one‑time infusion to revive Housing Montana Fund for affordable housing loans
Summary
Sen. Dave Fern sponsored SB 405 to put a one‑time $50 million into the Housing Montana Fund to provide revolving low‑interest loans for affordable housing. Developers, student and nonprofit groups supported the measure; Department of Commerce provided implementation details and the sponsor asked the committee to greenlight the bill.
Sen. Dave Fern (SD‑2) opened the session on Senate Bill 405 by describing the Housing Montana Fund—a revolving loan account under the Department of Commerce created in 1999—as an underused tool for financing affordable rental and for‑sale housing. Fern said a one‑time injection would let the fund provide bridge loans and leverage federal and local dollars.
Multiple proponents urged passage. Becky Brandsborg, an affordable‑housing developer, said Montana faces a deficit of more than 10,000 homes and that SB 405 would leverage state dollars without creating a new entitlement. “This approach maximizes the impact of state funds without creating a new entitlement program,” she told the committee. Hope Morrison (Associated Students of the University of Montana) cited a student survey showing 65.2% of students found housing unaffordable and urged support for student access and retention.
Mandy Rambo (Deputy/Acting Director, Department of Commerce) and Bruce Brensdale (Housing Division) appeared as informational witnesses and said they would update rules and processes for the fund so it could accept and deploy state dollars. Rambo said rule updates were primarily procedural because the account has not had state‑funded dollars to expend in recent years.
Committee members asked about overlap with other pending appropriation proposals; Fern said the bill could be reconciled with larger end‑of‑session fiscal packages and that appropriations committees could coordinate allocation if needed. The sponsor closed asking members to give the bill a “green light” so it can move forward to appropriations.
What's next: The hearing closed with no vote; committee staff and members signaled interest in moving the bill forward and coordinating with appropriation processes.
Key figures cited: sponsor called for $50,000,000 one‑time funding to the Housing Montana Fund; proponents referenced a 15,044‑unit deficit at 50% AMI and widespread rent burden (46.6% of renters cost‑burdened, per one testimony).
