Get AI Briefings, Transcripts & Alerts on Local & National Government Meetings — Forever.
Senator Port seeks $200 million in Housing Infrastructure Bonds to expand affordable housing
Loading...
Summary
Senate File 38‑39 would authorize $200 million in Housing Infrastructure Bonds (HIBs) to finance affordable housing development and preservation; advocates told the committee HIBs leverage private funds and remain highly competitive, and urged attention to manufactured housing needs.
Senator Port presented Senate File 38‑39 to authorize $200 million in Housing Infrastructure Bonds (HIBs), calling HIBs the state's largest source of capital for developing and preserving affordable housing.
"When we invest dollars in HIBs, the results will be more people and families being able to live in a home that they can afford," Port said. He noted HIBs are highly regulated and distributed statewide and that demand outstrips available funding; the Minnesota Housing Finance Agency funds only about one in three applications, he said.
Kelly Law, senior policy and field building manager with the Minnesota Consortium of Community Developers, testified in support and described projects completed with prior HIBs funding, including the conversion of a 1920s office building into permanent supportive housing. Law cited rising operating costs, insurance pressures, and public‑safety challenges facing housing operators and said continued HIBs investment is necessary to preserve existing affordable housing and support new supply.
Senators discussed manufactured housing as an affordable option and whether HIBs could be structured to ensure a portion of awards support manufactured housing infrastructure and parks. The committee accepted testimony and laid SF 38‑39 over.
