Where did $1.3 billion for affordable housing go? Florida Legislature took it.

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TALLAHASSEE


Florida has an affordable housing problem, but you wouldn’t know it from the proposed budgets that emerged this week from state lawmakers.

For the 10th year in a row, the governor and legislature are proposing to sweep money from the affordable housing trust funds into the general revenue fund to spend on other purposes. Since the start of the Great Recession, that has added up to $1.3 billion.

This year, the trust funds will collect about $292 million for affordable housing from the documentary stamp taxes on real estate transactions. The draft Senate budget released last week allocates $162.4 million of the funds into affordable housing while the House and Gov. Rick Scott propose spending even less of the proceeds on housing — $44 million.

“Housing is definitely a problem, but the issue is we aren’t going to just throw more affordable housing into South Florida,” said Rep. Carlos Trujillo, R-Miami, chair of the House Appropriations Committee, adding that he believes the program couldn’t absorb more than the House will give it.

Besides, he adds, “the reality is there’s only a 60-day legislative session. There’s only so many issues you can tackle in 60 days.”


Read more here: Where did $1.3 billion for affordable housing go? Florida Legislature took it.

This is a don't wanna thing. There is a problem and we don't wanna take care of it.

 

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They are never happy. A 2014 successful ballot measure (75%) reduced the funds by 33%, to be used for land and water conservation.

Passage of a ballot measure in November 2014, known as Amendment 1, complicated efforts to obtain adequate funding for the Sadowski Trust Funds in this year’s budget. Amendment 1, which passed with a 75% majority, directed the Florida legislature to set up a 20-year funding pool for land and water conservation using 33% of the documentary stamp revenue.


2017-2018 Scott's budget

Affordable Housing
Since 2011, Florida has invested more than $1 billion to make Florida’s affordable housing among the best in the nation. The Fighting for Florida’s Future budget recommends $120.8 million for affordable housing including $90.8 million for the State Apartment Incentive Loan (SAIL) program and $30 million for the State Housing Initiative (SHIP) program. SAIL provides low interest loans to developers who build or rehabilitate affordable housing projects. The Fighting for Florida’s Future budget provides special consideration to properties that target demographics such as the elderly and those with special needs. SHIP funding will be focused on providing first-time home buyer down payment assistance for very low to low and moderate income families.