Today the House Ways and Means Committee passed several bills including:

• House File 1, authored by Representative Carlos Mariani (DFL-St. Paul), is the police reform and accountability legislation containing almost all of the original House provisions brought forth during the last special session.
• House File 3, authored by Representative Mary Murphy (DFL-Hermantown), is the bonding bill, which contains $1.35 billion in general obligation bonds, $300 million in trunk highway bonds, and $147.4 million in appropriation bonds. As negotiated by House DFL and Senate Republican leadership, the bill also contains tax provisions.
• House File 14, authored by Representative Lyndon Carlson (DFL-Crystal), is largely comprised of the governor’s $58 million supplemental budget proposal.

Republicans on the Ways and Committees warned that the combined bonding-and-tax bill does not have enough support to pass the House. Passing a bonding bill requires a three-fifths (60%) vote in support in each chamber. This means that with the DFL holding 75 of 134 House seats, at least six votes are needed from Republican members to pass a bonding bill in the House. House Minority Leader Kurt Daudt (R-Crown) tweeted yesterday “Just to be clear, there is no agreement on a bonding bill. Our caucus supports a bill and we look forward to negotiating one.”

Walz Announces $100 Million in Housing Assistance, Homelessness Prevention

At West Broadway Crescent Apartments today, Governor Tim Walz and Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan announced a $100 million housing assistance program to help prevent evictions, prevent homelessness, and maintain housing stability for individuals and families impacted by COVID-19. The $100 million investment will be funded with federal dollars through the Coronavirus Relief Fund, which was authorized by the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.

In conjunction with the Governor’s announcement today, the Minnesota Housing Finance Agency launched a COVID-19 Housing Assistance Program Request for Proposals to select local organizations to administer the housing assistance program. Grants will be made to local administrators to provide outreach; accept and process applications from households requesting assistance; validate household eligibility; and process payments for eligible expenses on behalf of households to help maintain housing stability.

Local grant administrators will be selected in the coming weeks, and Minnesota Housing anticipates Minnesotans can begin applying for assistance with local grant administrators in the first part of August. Additional information about the program can be found on the Minnesota Housing website at www.mnhousing.gov.

Amos A. Briggs | Government Relations
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