We are quickly approaching the end of the legislative session, and the Legislature has made significant progress in our work on a number of issues. One of the most significant challenges we are working to address is housing.
Marc Malon Courtesy photo
In February’s column, I wrote about how Maine’s housing crisis is impacting folks from all walks of life: people who can’t find stable housing, workers who can’t find an apartment near their jobs, young families that are being priced out of purchasing their first home, older Mainers on fixed incomes who cannot afford rising rents and so many more. In that column, I identified three policy goals to help alleviate the crisis: investing in affordable housing, addressing homelessness and easing zoning barriers to housing development.
As of this writing, the Legislature is still deliberating a supplemental budget proposal that would make some necessary investments in affordable housing construction.
Among these proposals is an initiative from Gov. Mills that would invest $30 million to expand affordable rental housing options for workers and their families through equal funding to the Rural Affordable Rental Housing Program and the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit Program.
Another proposal invests $35 million in the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit, the central financing mechanism for affordable housing development. These state funds would be matched with federal and private funding to accelerate affordable housing development. They are estimated to support up to 350 new housing units in the coming two years, which must remain affordable for 45 years. I strongly support these proposals, but the status of many budget initiatives is still in flux, so stay tuned.
To meaningfully address the current crisis levels of chronic homelessness in Maine, Speaker of the House Rachel Talbot Ross introduced a bill that would establish a “housing first” policy. Housing first prioritizes safe and secure housing for individuals before working with them to provide other necessary support, such as behavioral health care and substance use disorder treatment. This bill, supported by Gov. Mills, has been enacted by the House and is awaiting decisions on funding by the Appropriations Committee.
Finally, we are making progress on amending state laws around zoning to better enable community density and sustainable affordable housing. In 2022, the Legislature passed a landmark bill sponsored by my predecessor, former Speaker of the House Ryan Fecteau, to empower municipalities to more easily build multi-unit housing and accessory dwelling units (ADUs).
This session, I sponsored legislation to make some necessary technical and practical changes to that law, which will provide greater clarity and make it easier for municipalities to implement. Among these changes was a revision to ensure that the definition of “affordable” housing was based on real data, not just the definitions of developers. No family should have to spend more than 30 percent of its income on housing costs. Over the last year, we also recognized that many municipalities needed more time to implement these changes thoughtfully, and my bill contains a reasonable compromise to give them that time.
Our current housing crisis is impacting the entire state. It is not only a Portland problem or a southern Maine problem. It has become far too difficult for Mainers across the state to afford to live in communities close to where they work and where they want to raise their families. This problem contributes to sprawl and poor community planning, leading to increased transportation costs and more fossil fuel emissions, worsening our climate crisis.
We all have a role to play in addressing this housing crisis, no matter what town we live in, what type of housing we live in or what our socioeconomic status is. I will continue to work as hard as I can to make housing more available and affordable for everyone.
If you have any questions about this or about anything going on in the Maine Legislature, please feel free to reach out to me at marc.malon@legislature.maine.gov.
Marc Malon is serving his first term in the Maine House, representing District 133, which includes a portion of Biddeford. He serves as a member of the Veterans and Legal Affairs Committee and the Labor and Housing Committee. He can be reached at marc.malon@legislature.maine.gov.
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