HB21-1117 (Lontine & Gonzales-Gutierrez/Gonzales & Rodriguez) Local Government Authority Promote Affordable Housing Units
Summary
This bill would clarify existing statute to provide that local governments may promote the development of affordable housing by requiring the inclusion of affordable units in new or redeveloped housing, as long as the local government provides a choice of alternatives to the developer to meet this requirement.
Position
The Children’s Campaign supports this bill. In Colorado, there is a shortage of 114,940 rental homes that are affordable and available for extremely low-income renters, and only 50 affordable and available homes per 100 renter households living at 50 percent of the area median income. Families who must pay excessive amounts of their income for housing often have insufficient resources to meet other basic needs, including food, insurance, and health care. These tradeoffs can threaten the health of all family members, particularly children. Local governments need to be able to use all the tools available to them to promote the development of affordable housing in their communities. This bill is one necessary step to help mitigate the housing crisis in Colorado.
Current Status
Sent to the Governor for signature.
Previous Statuses
April 30, 2021
Passed out of the Senate State, Veterans, & Military Affairs Committee as amended on a vote of 3-2 and now heads to the Senate floor for debate. Sarah Barnes, Manager of Special Policy Initiatives, submitted written testimony in support.
April 2, 2021
Passed the out of the House on a vote of 41-23 as amended and now heads to the Senate.
February 26, 2021
Introduced in the House and assigned to the House Transportation & Local Government Committee.
March 5, 2021
Assigned to the House Transportation and Local Government Committee where it is scheduled to be heard on Wed. March 10th at 1:30pm. You can listen online here.
March 12, 2021
Passed the House Transportation & Local Government Committee on a 7-3 vote and now heads to the House floor for debate. Sarah Barnes, our Manager of Special Policy Initiatives, submitted testimony in support.
