The June Minnesota Housing Board meeting included discussion on Minnesota Housing’s tribal nations consultation policy, the 2020 Qualified Allocation Plan, a legislative update, and more.

Commissioner Jennifer Ho reported that Minnesota Housing is hiring a Deputy General Counsel. The application process closes July 12. The position posting can be found here.

She also mentioned that the Board received 41 applications for two open seats on the board. Interviews have been held, and she anticipates that Gov. Walz will appoint that position in time for the July meeting.

Commissioner Ho attended a second Indian Council Affairs meeting in Morton with the Lower Sioux Community, and held the first tribal consultations with White Earth and Red Lake nations. Ho is scheduling consultations with Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe and the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe yet this summer, and consultations with other tribal nations will be scheduled through the end of the year.

The Commissioner hosted another regional Public Sector Leaders conversation with Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan chairing that effort, which focuses on bringing together leaders from all seven regional counties, Minneapolis and St. Paul, as well as numerous State Commissioners around ending homelessness. Recommendations are being developed even as emergency winter shelters have closed and encampments are expected to re-appear this year.

Updated MN Housing Tribal nations consultation policy

MN Housing updated the agency’s tribal nations consultation policy. The main update is the timeline. The agency wants to create timelines to better align with state budget development, and to ensure substantive involvement with tribes in a timely, meaningful way. This will also assist in developing budgets that reflect the needs of tribes.

Updating the 2020 Qualified Allocation Plan (QAP)

The typical process is: the MN Housing Board approves it and then sends to the governor for approval. But after the board approved the 2020 QAP in May 2018, legislation passed in 2018 at end of session that limited the agency’s ability to include certain items in the QAP. In MN Housing’s opinion, it conflicted with federal requirements with which the agency must comply.

The agency asked Governor Dayton to approve the part of the QAP that addressed the 9% credits (competitive side). The Governor signed it specific to the 9% credits and didn’t sign related to the 4% credits. This 2019 session, the legislature repealed the 2018 restrictive language with legislation that said that 4% credits should be given top preference to projects receiving tax exempt bond allocations.

The change to the 2020 QAP adds one sentence restating current law that MN Housing has to make 4% credits a strategic priority. Prior to the legislation, the Board had removed the requirement for 4% tax credits projects to meet a strategic priority.

The changes passed unanimously.  It will be presented to the governor for review and final approval. Further information on the change can be found in the board packet at page 15 (link).

Legislative Update

Ryan Baumtrog updated the board on the legislative session. In summary, MN Housing faced no cuts to agency programs, and the agency will see a 10% increase in funding. The legislature also approved $60 million in Housing Infrastructure Bonds, the last bill passed during the special legislative session. Page 138 of the board packet (link) outlines the programs that will see funding increases.

Board discussion involved reporting requirements for the agency including publicly posting the scoring methods for all RFPs after the 2020 competitive process. Staff indicated this could be onerous because the agency has six different funding products during a single selection process, and it’s not always just the lowest price or the highest scoring application because the agency has to consider multiple factors for the success of a project.

Further, while the agency strives to fairly distribute limited resources across the state, staff indicated that the legislature perceives an imbalance between metro and Greater Minnesota resource allocations, with Greater Minnesota not receiving enough attention and resources. And that was reflected in “reasonable balance of loans and grants” language in legislation. That imbalance perception is not accurate, in the view of the MN Housing, and the agency will work to educate legislators on the true balance of investments.

Serving Communities Most Impacted

John Patterson, Director of Planning, Research and Evaluation, led a presentation and discussion of people most impacted by housing instability. That presentation is in the board packet on page 145 (link).

Board members commented on the housing barriers facing seniors, the importance of listening to people with lived experiences with housing instability, mortgage discrimination and homeowner rates for people of color, and mortgage lending targets for underserved communities.

MHP is celebrating a $75,000 grant awarded by the Otto Bremer Trust! Announced in May, the grant will help MHP grow our impact through general operating support. 

We’re also excited to announce a $40,000 award from Minnesota Housing, which will support MHP’s technical and financial assistance in Greater Minnesota communities. 

“We’re thrilled and grateful for these investments in MHP,” said Anne Mavity, Executive Director. “Our team is ready and eager to expand our impact in Minnesota and beyond. The support we’ve received from the Otto Bremer Trust and Minnesota Housing will be essential to making that happen.” 

Learn more about MHP’s work to build capacity in rural communities.

MHP is pleased to announce the recipients of our 2019 Outstanding Advocate awards! These awards recognize community members and selected organizations for demonstrated dedication to affordable housing. During the 2019 session, these advocates engaged their elected officials, motivated others to advocate, and raised the public profile of affordable housing issues. They shared personal and professional experience to further MHP’s policy agenda and secure more resources for affordable housing.   

From left: MHP Policy Director Elizabeth Glidden with Outstanding Advocates Sarah Larson, Buffy Beranek, Jonathan Weinhagen (accepting the award on behalf of the Minneapolis Regional Chamber of Commerce), and MHP Executive Director Anne Mavity and Deputy Policy Director Libby Murphy. Not pictured: Sheila Kiscaden, Marie Rivers, and Linda Soderstrom

MHP’s work would be impossible without the partnership of these outstanding individuals. We’re incredibly grateful for all the ways in which they used their voices, ingenuity, talent, and resources to draw attention to housing as a critical public issue. These awards are a small gesture in appreciation of big contributions! 

2019 Outstanding Advocates 

• Buffy Beranek, Executive Director, Southeast Minnesota Multi-County Housing and Redevelopment Authority 
• Sheila Kiscaden, Olmsted County Commissioner
• Sarah Larson, Housing Development Specialist, Landon Group 
• Marie Rivers, President, Sven Clogs
• Linda Soderstrom, Community Organizer
• Minneapolis Regional Chamber of Commerce

Buffy Beranek, Southeast Minnesota Multi-County Housing and Redevelopment Authority 

Executive Director at Southeast Minnesota Multi-County Housing and Redevelopment Authority (SEMMCHRA), Buffy has spent her career fighting for access and funding for basic social needs – health, education and now housing.  

During the 2019 session and beyond, Buffy ardently supported MHP’s agenda. By engaging directly with legislators through multiple trips to the State Capitol, including a trip to testify on the Homes for All legislative agenda, Buffy drew attention to key solutions to address Minnesota’s need for affordable housing including local housing trust funds and the affordable #HousingTaxCredit.

Sheila Kiscaden, Olmsted County Commissioner 

Commissioner Kiscaden has spent her career finding solutions to complex problems through public service, consulting, and volunteer initiatives. She served four terms in the Minnesota Senate before beginning her service as an Olmsted County Commissioner in 2013. Commissioner Kiscaden served on the Governor’s Task Force on Housing in 2018, identifying strategies to address Minnesota’s housing need now and in the future. 

Throughout the 2019 session, Commissioner Kiscaden testified in committee, lobbied lawmakers, spoke at press conferences, wrote op-eds, and recruited endorsers for the affordable #HousingTaxCredit. As a former legislator, her relationships and insight were critical to MHP’s progress. Commissioner Kiscaden leveraged her political clout to advance affordable housing for all Minnesotans, urging key lawmakers and leadership in both parties to recognize the need and implement solutions. 

Sarah Larson, Landon Group 

Every single time MHP urged advocates to call or send a message to lawmakers, Sarah Larson took action. She went to bat, educating and challenging her representatives, in ways that went above and beyond what MHP asked of her. Her testimony in support of the affordable #HousingTaxCredit, articulated powerful messaging that was repeated and amplified by MHP and the Homes for All coalition throughout the 2019 legislative session. 

Sarah has nearly 20 years of experience working with for-profit and nonprofit developers pursuing affordable housing developments, with a particular focus on supportive housing for Minnesota’s most vulnerable populations. She’s tackled projects that range in size from single family homes to multi-family buildings with budgets in excess of $20 million. Recent projects include providing financial consulting for a project providing housing for young adults aging out of foster care and providing project management for a senior housing development in South Minneapolis. 

Marie Rivers, Sven Clogs 

Marie shared her personal story as a small business owner who has faced challenges recruiting and keeping employees because of the lack of housing in her community. Through videography, a major article published in the Star Tribune, and compelling testimony before the House Taxes Committee, Marie personalized a key theme articulated by housing advocates throughout the 2019 legislative session – Minnesota businesses and working people cannot thrive without more affordable housing.  

Marie has been making clogs for more than 25 years. Located in Chisago City, Sven Clogs produces thousands of pairs of wooden soled clogs each year. Highly skilled workers craft the clogs, utilizing wooden bases shipped from Austria and Sweden and leathers and Sheepskin from U.S. suppliers. 

Linda Soderstrom, Community Organizer 

By sharing her personal experience and her passion for public engagement, Linda has motivated elected officials at the local and state levels to bigger and bolder commitments to affordable housing and tenant protections. Linda is a relentless and consistent advocate for affordable homes and ensuring tenant voices are central to decision making processes. In 2019 alone, Linda helped motivate new advocates to participate, met with elected officials about affordable housing needs, spoke at Homes for All rallies, worked with a major media outlet on a short film about affordable housing, and raised the profile of affordable housing as a major public issue. 

Linda knew nothing of deeply affordable housing or lack thereof in Minnesota, until she herself was directly impacted.  She is a native of Elgin Illinois, attended Carleton College, St. Mary’s University and Southeast Technical College, with degrees in in Fine Arts, Human Development, Licensed Practical Nursing and Health Unit Coordination. 

Minneapolis Regional Chamber of Commerce  

The Minneapolis Regional Chamber of Commerce works to sustain and enhance the economic opportunity, growth, and prosperity of the 11-county Minneapolis-Saint Paul region. The Chamber has identified housing as one of three key advocacy priorities alongside transit and workforce, recognizing that housing is essential to the prosperity of the region and the success of people at all incomes. 

During the 2019 legislative session and beyond, the Chamber drew attention to affordable housing as a critical issue impacting Minnesota’s economic competitiveness. Chamber President & CEO Jonathan Weinhagen was a consistent and passionate advocate for housing investments. Through public events and commentary, engagement of its members, and strategic assistance on policy solutions, the Chamber used its influence to ensure that elected officials understood housing as an issue of importance to the business community. The Chamber lent momentum to the affordable #HousingTaxCredit by promoting it as a proven solution to address Minnesota’s pressing need for housing.  

MHP Executive Director Anne Mavity recognized these Outstanding Advocates through a formal presentation of awards on Wednesday, May 29. 

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With a divided legislature, Minnesotans anticipated a messy end to the 2019 session. Early on, pundits predicted gridlock. While we avoided a government shutdown, the end was messy, indeed. In a move that has almost become normal, Minnesota’s legislators finalized the State’s budget in a not-so-special, special session.

Partisan posturing caused much of the conflict between the Republican-controlled Senate and the DFL-controlled House. The need to invest in affordable housing, however, was practically undisputed. In the end, advocates worked with legislators and the Walz administration to secure $78 million in new investments for emergency shelter, rental assistance, and preservation and new production.

Photo: From left: MHP Deputy Policy Director Libby Murphy, Housing champion Rep. Alice Hausman (DFL-66A), Pam Johnson of Twin Cities Habitat, and Kari Johnson of Metropolitan Consortium of Community Developers pose with baby Frances in support of #Homes4AllMN in the final days of session.

The first bill to pass in special session was the bill to appropriate Minnesota Housing Finance Agency’s (MHFA) budget, which passed off the House and Senate (66-0) floors with overwhelming majorities. That bill increases MHFA’s budget by 12 percent this year and 9 percent in the following budget cycles – a huge increase compared to the 2017 budget cycle, which saw an increase of 0.04 percent. In the very last minutes of session, a standalone bill to allocate $60 million in Housing Infrastructure Bonds (HIB) passed 51-15 in the Senate and 103-23 in the House.

Below is a summary of some items that passed and some that did not:

Passed

• $60 million in Housing Infrastructure Bonds to build and preserve affordable housing.
• $5 million increase in one-time funding to the Economic Development & Housing Challenge Program, a key funding source to develop affordable multifamily and single-family homes.
• $10 million/biennium increase in ongoing funding to MHFA
  • $3.5 million/ biennium Homework Starts With Home
  • $3.5 million/biennium increase to Family Homeless Prevention and Assistance Program (FHPAP)
  • $2 million/biennium to Manufactured Home Grants
  • $500,000/biennium to Workforce Homeownership Program
  • $500,000/biennium increase to Bridges
• $3 million one-time funding to Emergency Services Program (Department of Health & Human Services)

Did not pass

• General Obligation (GO) Bonds. GO Bonds finance the rehabilitation of publicly-owned housing.
• Local Housing Trust Fund state match. While the match was included in the Governor’s budget, other programs were ultimately prioritized in the final budget.
• Housing initiatives in the tax bill, including the affordable #HousingTaxCredit. Between efforts to conform to federal tax changes and disputes over increasing the gas tax and repealing the sunset on the provider tax, there wasn’t enough to fund a new investment in housing.

These investments are significant – and historic. They demonstrate a growing recognition that housing is a key issue impacting Minnesota’s present and future in a range of areas – from education and health outcomes, to economic growth and caring for our rapidly aging population. That recognition has been hard-won. The Homes for All coalition and other advocates have worked together with housing champions at the legislature for years to raise awareness that housing investments impact everything. From rallies, action alerts and social media blitzes, to securing a Governor’s Task Force on Housing, advocates have worked hard to draw attention to the issue. More recently, through efforts like Prosperity’s Front Door, leaders from the business community have bolstered that effort.

Nevertheless, this was supposed to be the “year of housing.” On the tails of the Housing Task Force, Governor Walz proposed a 25 percent increase to MHFA’s budget this year and 15 percent in the following budget cycles, plus $150 million in bonds. Housing advocates have much to celebrate, and the outcomes of the 2019 session give us hope that our messages are gaining traction. And it is clear housing has a champion in Governor Walz and other leaders at the Capitol. However, in the face of Minnesota’s deep need for affordable housing, we’re also aware that there’s work left to be done. After a brief rest, we’ll get back to work, and with your help, we’ll continue to call for the housing investments Minnesota needs for strong communities and a strong state.

Stay tuned to MHP’s blog for future updates!

Thanks to all who joined us to Unite for Housing at the Homes for All rally on May 6! More than 200 people attended — including housing champions Governor Walz and Lieutenant Governor Flanagan! We can still feel the energy, and hear the voices, that filled the rotunda. We’re grateful to everyone who shared their stories and called for swift action on housing before the session ends.

Watch footage of the event and check out more photos.

Top: Governor Walz (left) poses with advocates including speaker, Christina Sayers (second from right), and Lt. Gov. Flanagan (right). Bottom: Resident advocates with the Minneapolis Highrise Representative Council, Street Voices of Change, and many other groups showed up in force to support affordable housing. Photos by Aaron Shaffer, Avivo

Watch the video below to see a speech by Mary McGovern, an active and involved resident of public housing and president of the Minneapolis Highrise Representative Council (MHRC). After the rally, she shared this call to action on the Capitol steps.

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We are down to the wire, with the final two weeks of the legislative session remaining. This past week, the legislature met its May 1 deadline to pass major finance bills off their respective floors and appoint conference committees.

The next significant deadline is May 6, when the governor, Senate majority leader and House speaker will provide fiscal targets to the conference committee chairs. These new targets will set the stage for final funding negotiations.

We are monitoring these committees for significant housing policy and finance items, including the Local Housing Trust Fund State Match, Challenge Fund, the affordable #HousingTaxCredit, and more.

HF2125/SF0005

Omnibus tax bill

Conferees include:

• House: Marquart; Loeffler; Lislegard; Gomez; Davids
• Senate: Chamberlain; Senjem; Dahms; Howe; Rest

SF2226/HF2200

Omnibus agriculture department, rural development, and housing finance bill

Conferees include:

• House: Poppe; Hausman; Pelowski; Vang; Gunther
• Senate: Westrom; Weber; Goggin; Draheim; Dziedzic

Please reach out to these conferees and encourage them to support the #Homes4AllMN agenda! Look out for more specific messages to these conference committee members next week, as we enter final legislative session negotiations. 

Have a great weekend!

We are in the final countdown of the last hours of session. Work has slowed as lawmakers and the public wait for more information on budget negotiations. 

A budget deal must be reached by the House, Senate, and Governor – and passed by both legislative bodies – before midnight May 20 to avoid a special session. 

The Senate Finance Committee moved an amended bill to its floor Thursday evening that would fund state government in the event of continued stalemate past June 30, the deadline for a state government budget to be approved. No such bill has moved in the House.

Housing advocates continue to monitor the conference committees for housing finance, housing policy, taxes, and health and human services. Advocates have continued to push lawmakers for action on housing this session, with final messages focused on securing bonds for housing, increased funds for shelter, and an affordable housing tax credit.

Thank you for your work this session; we continue to fight for affordable housing resources!

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