Affordable housing not a major issue in '07 for lawmakers
 

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – March 5, 2007 – Florida lawmakers say the Legislature will spend too much time on issues related to property insurance and taxes this year to tackle major affordable housing bills.

Instead, they will focus their efforts on little fixes to affordable housing legislation passed in 2006, which earmarked $50 million to help municipalities meet the needs of teachers, firefighters, police officers and other public servants, and contributed about $500 million to the state's affordable housing finance corporation, half of which was reserved for hurricane-proofing older dwellings.

Rep. Mike Davis (R-Naples), for example, plans to introduce new legislation that will spell out details in county housing assistance plans, lower property taxes on rental properties, and prevent the state from denying grant requests from public-private partnerships without allowing them to revise their proposals, among other things.

However, Sen. David Aronberg (D-Greenacres) could make some waves with a bill that would revamp the Sadowski Affordable Housing Act, eliminating the $243 million cap on annual distributions and keeping surplus revenue out of the general fund. More than $600 million goes into the fund each year, and the general fund receives everything above the $243 million ceiling.

Source: Naples Daily News (FL) (03/03/07) Hannan, Larry
 

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