An amendment approved at midnight last Friday to the House appropriations bill increased funding for the Texas housing trust fund by $20 million over the biennium.
While we have not seen the final bill, it appears that these funds will be added to the $24 million already recommended by House appropriators for the housing trust fund. This would bring the total to almost $50 million for the biennium. Funding for the current biennium stands at approximately $12 million.
The amendment was offered by House Urban Affairs chairwoman Yvonne Davis of Dallas. In a meeting last Wednesday with representatives of Housing Texas Representative Davis pledged to identify additional funding for the housing trust fund and to attempt to identify a new dedicated funding source.
In January 100 housing organizations and advocates met in Austin to call upon the legislature to provide a dedicated funding source for the housing trust fund which would provide $40 million per year. Representative Davis’ amendment this week represents a huge step forward in funding for affordable housing in Texas.
