Dear ,
Greetings! Here are a few quick updates on policy and politics related to ending homelessness in Minnesota:
Long-Term Homeless Supportive Services Fund Not Fully Restored in HHS Omnibus Bill
The Long-Term Homeless Supportive Services Fund (LTHSSF) is still tucked away in the House and Senate omnibus health and human services finance bill (SF760) at base funding of $9.8 million. This represents over a 20 percent decrease in our current operating funds; in FY2010-2011 the LTHSSF received $12.8 million in funding.
On Tuesday, April 12, a Conference Committee was held between the House and Senate (House Chair Jim Abeler with Senate Chair David Hann). The Conference Committee gives us a glimpse into the possible committee leaders who will determine last minute negotiations. Members of the Conference Committee include the following:
Senate:
Sen. David Hann (R)
Sen. Gretchen Hoffman (R)
Sen. Sean Nienow (R)
Sen. Scott Newman (R)
Sen. Michelle Benson (R)
House:
Rep. Jim Abeler (R)
Rep. Steve Gottwalt (R)
Rep. Mary Kiffmeyer (R)
Rep. Kathy Lohmer (R)
Rep. Thomas Huntley (DFL)
As Hearth Connection and its partners continue to raise awareness concerning the good work being done with the regional service collaboratives and the LTHSSF, these Legislative leaders may be pivotal in securing additional resources or determining future losses.
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Community Gathering Held in Suburbs
On Saturday, April 9, 2011, over 60 community members from Southern Hennepin County suburban communities gathered at Colonial Church in Edina to hear about homeless programs. A panel of local experts spoke about the ongoing work to end long-term homelessness and to develop affordable housing. Speakers included Mike Manhard from MESH, Laura Kadwell from Heading Home Minnesota, Daryl Coppoletti from Hennepin South Services Collaborative, Alan Arthur from Aeon, Inc., Rich Hooks Wayman from Hearth Connection, and Patrick Ness from the Minnesota Coalition for the Homeless. The Legislative Committee Administrator for the Senate Jobs and Economic Development Committee (oversees Minnesota Housing, affordable housing, and the Housing Trust Fund) also attended to provide an overview of current appropriation levels in various House and Senate bills.
Those in attendance asked very thoughtful questions regarding community needs and local capacity to build sufficient support to address the housing and homeless needs in suburban Hennepin County. Additionally, a participant receiving services from Lutheran Social Services' Family Roots Alliance Team spoke about her family's experience with homelessness. Please click here for footage of the event from the Minnesota Coalition for the Homeless, or click on the speakers' names above to hear their remarks.
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Minnesota Housing Trust Fund: Critical Support for Rental Assistance to End Homelessness
The Housing Trust Fund offers grants to program administrators to fund rental assistance programs, including Tenant and Sponsor-Based rental assistance program funding and Project-Based rental assistance funding. Additionally, the Housing Trust Fund (HTF) offers deferred loans without interest for the development, construction, acquisition, preservation and rehabilitation of low income rental housing, limited equity cooperative housing and homes for ownership. The funds for this program are generated by interest earnings on trust accounts kept by real estate brokers. Requests for proposals are issued twice a year.
History of funding:
Year |
Housing Trust Fund portion of base budget |
FY 2008-09 |
$17.1 million |
FY 2010-11 |
$21.1 million
($17.1 million base +
$4 million in one time funding) |
FY 2012-13 (Governor's proposal) |
$19.1 million |
Minnesota Housing made an agency commitment to increase revenues to the HTF to meet the goals of the State's Business Plan to End Long-Term Homelessness (established under
Governor Pawlenty). Minnesota Housing intended these increases to be permanent, since the Business Plan foresaw the need to create and maintain 4,000 units of supportive housing to assist families, single adults, and youth. Investing in rental assistance and providing stable housing for individuals and families who have experienced long-term homelessness is a priority for the agency.
Governor Dayton restored $2 million to the base appropriations for the HTF under his FY 2012-13 budget. Minnesota Housing ensures us that at this funding level no one would lose assistance, but no progress will be made in serving families still staying in shelters or sleeping in cars.
Under the Senate proposal, the HTF remains at its base amount of $17.11 million ($2m less than Governor's proposal). Since the base amount is less than the current funding, as many as 300 families, veterans and disabled persons may lose their rental assistance this year and will be at risk of returning to homelessness.
Under the House proposal, the HTF appropriation would be reduced to $16.61 million ($2.5m less than Governor's proposal), and as many as 370 families, veterans and disabled persons may lose their rental assistance.
The House and Senate bills need to be reconciled; the bill to watch is Senate File 887. The Minnesota Senate just announced Conference Committee members for Jobs and Economic Development (the Committee that oversees Minnesota Housing and the HTF). The Conference Committee members are:
Senate:
Sen. Geoff Michel (R- Edina)
Sen. Ted Lillie (R - Lake Elmo)
Sen. Ted Daley (R- Eagan)
Sen. Jeremy Miller (R- Winona)
Sen. John Pederson (R- St. Cloud)
House:
Rep. Joe Hoppe (R -Chaska)
Rep. Andrea Kieffer (R- Woodbury)
Rep. Carol McFarlane (R- White Bear Lake)
Rep. Bob Gunther (R- Cedar)
Rep. Tim Sanders (R- Blaine)
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Pending State Bills
Please continue watching the HHS Finance omnibus bill SF 760. The HHS omnibus bill has been passed in both the MN House and Senate, but final appropriation levels will be determined by a Conference Committee (members listed in top article).
- See the side-by side comparison of HHS appropriations in the Governor's budget and SF 760 here.
- Find budget details in the HHS Finance Committee spreadsheet (posted April 12) here.
No legislative committee meetings will be held after Monday of next week, April 19-25, due to the legislative Spring Break.
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Federal Policy Update
A federal government shutdown was avoided last Friday, as the President and top Congressional leaders reached a last-minute agreement on a proposal to continue funding the federal government through the following week. The full budget bill for FY2011 was released earlier this week, which was reported to cut spending by $38 billion. After several stop-gap measures and continuing resolutions were passed to keep the federal government running, this bill would finally set federal government budgets for the rest of the fiscal year - through September 2011. Once considered likely to be passed quickly by Congress, new opposition to the bill is brewing as analyses of the budget details revealed the spending cuts may be much lower than initially reported. Check out the latest news here.
Following is a quick breakdown of the current FY2011 budget bill's impact on homeless programs compared to last year's funding levels, based on an analysis by the National Alliance to End Homelessness:
Increased
- $1.9 billion for HUD's McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Grants program
- $50 million for new HUD-VA Supportive Housing (HUD-VASH) program vouchers (housing approximately 7,690 additional homeless veterans)
Stable/Equal
- $116 million for Runaway and Homeless Youth Act (RHYA) programs
- $18.4 billion for Section 8 Tenant-Based Rental Assistance
- No funding for Housing and Services for Homeless Persons Demonstration vouchers (a 2011 initiative)
Decreased
$3.3 billion for the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG)
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