NEWS
Sentinel spotlights ORRA’s view of aff ordable housing
Editorial published during the Florida Legislative Session calls on legislators to fully fund the housing trust funds
ORRA President Jeff rey
M. Fagan took Florida legislators
to task on aff ordable
housing issues with an
opinion piece that appeared
in the April 7, 2019
edition of the Orlando Sentinel. In case you
missed it, here it is:
ANOTHER RAID ON LOW-INCOME
HOUSING FUND BY THE STATE
LEGISLATURE
Yet again, the Florida Legislature is
poised to raid the Aff ordable Housing Trust
Funds.
Recently we learned that Central Florida
– which ranks as worst in the nation
for aff ordable rental housing – will receive
literally no housing assistance money
according to the spending plan put forth
Tuesday by the Florida House. While we
fully support sending housing assistance
money to the Panhandle as proposed,
REALTORS® believe that Central Florida’s
economic development is dependant on
the funding of programs that increase the
availability and aff ordability of housing for
our workforce.
Further, we learned that the House is
proposing to provide only $123 million
from the Sadowski Aff ordable Housing
Trust Fund to actual housing programs.
The fund’s remaining $208 million would
be diverted, yet again, to non-housing line
items. In the past 10 years nearly $2 billion
has been syphoned out of the trust fund.
We strongly support the Florida Senate’s
and Gov. DeSantis’ proposed spending
of the full amount in the Sadowski fund
on housing. We laud the Senate’s priorities
and strongly encourage eff orts to maintain
full funding throughout the budget negotiation
process.
The Sadowski Aff ordable Housing Trust
Fund is funded through doc stamp fees
paid when a home changes ownership.
REALTORS® supported the creation of this
fee for the specific purpose of funding
housing programs, a need that is reaching
a critical point throughout the state and a
crisis level here in Central Florida.
Money in the Sadowski fund — all of
it —simply MUST go toward addressing
our dire housing situation. It is time put
the trust back in the Sadowski Aff ordable
Housing Trust Fund.
> Jeff rey M. Fagan
President, Orlando Regional REALTOR® Association
Fagan
10 Orlando REALTOR® Summer 2019
/coronado