Panel hears bill to make housing mediation permanent with $2.2M appropriation
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Summary
Witnesses told the committee that statewide community mediation reduces evictions and stabilizes families; the bill would appropriate $2.2 million (A1 adopted) to expand and sustain mediation services statewide and was laid over for further consideration.
Representative Araceli Baje presented House File 497, which would appropriate $2,200,000 to expand community housing mediation services statewide. The committee adopted an A1 amendment moving the appropriation to fiscal year 2027 and then heard testimony from established mediation organizations.
Beth Bailey, executive director of Community Mediation and Restorative Services, said mediation emphasizes voluntary, community-based resolution and can prevent evictions by enabling landlord–tenant problem solving that a court order cannot achieve. Bailey described an early experience in Hennepin County and reported that when the program was made available under the COVID Housing Assistance Program (CHAP), 1,800 households from 77 counties sought mediation services within two weeks — evidence, she said, of unmet demand.
Katie Arnold, co-executive director of Community Mediation Minnesota (CMM), said CMM provides statewide infrastructure for certified community dispute resolution programs, manages compliance with the Minnesota Housing Finance Agency, and aggregates data to improve outcomes. Arnold said the current program operates on about $1,000,000 annually but the appropriation request is $2,200,000 to scale and stabilize services as a base program.
Members thanked witnesses and confirmed the bill would be laid over and discussed further as budget negotiations proceed.
The committee then adjourned.
