Committee redirects $9 million to backfill at‑risk Continuum of Care projects amid HUD funding uncertainty
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Summary
After presentations from Hearth Connection and the Housing Justice Center about a sudden HUD funding shift, the committee adopted amendments and recommended Senate File 3595 to pass, directing $9 million from a supportive housing fund to Continuum of Care projects at risk of losing federal renewals.
The Senate Housing and Homelessness Prevention Committee recommended Senate File 3595 for passage after adopting an author's amendment that adjusts amounts and timelines to meet provider needs. Chair Port said the bill would repurpose roughly $9 million remaining in a previously authorized supportive housing fund to make grants to Continuum of Care (CoC) properties that had already been through the federal screening process.
Presenters from Hearth Connection and the Housing Justice Center briefed the committee on national changes to HUD’s CoC funding process. Anne Smedick of the Housing Justice Center testified that HUD rescinded a 2024 two‑year NOFO and issued a new FY25 NOFO with changed priorities and a reduced emphasis on permanent supportive housing, leaving many CoC projects facing an uncertain funding outlook. Smedick said ongoing litigation and a temporary injunction have complicated which application process HUD may legally use for FY25 renewals.
Christine Davis of Hearth Connection told senators the CoC is not a single program but a network of 10 regional Continuums of Care in Minnesota that together supported nearly $50 million in CoC awards in FY2024, serving more than 5,400 people in over 3,000 housing units. Davis and Smedick said the combination of layered financing and federal changes creates an immediate funding cliff for some supportive housing projects; community foundations have established a short‑term emergency fund but it will last only months.
Chair Port said SF 3595 would be targeted to providers who have already been screened and approved by the CoC process so funds can act as bridge funding where federal renewals are delayed or disrupted. After brief member discussion about reporting and accounting, the committee adopted the amendment and moved the bill to the finance committee.
What happens next: SF 3595, as amended, was recommended to pass and referred to the committee on finance; members requested agency accounting on past expenditures and interest earned in prior cycles to be provided at a subsequent hearing.
