A Maine legislative committee voted Tuesday to transform a bill that would have created a new rental assistance program into a measure that would instead establish a commission to study the idea.

The decision came on the same day the Maine People’s Alliance, a liberal advocacy group, presented hundreds of petitions in favor of the bill to Gov. Janet Mills.

But lawmakers decided – in a 6-2 vote – that the topic needs more research. The bill had previously been carried over from the spring 2023 legislative session.

If L.D. 1710 is approved, a 15-member commission will be tasked during the next year with studying a number of issues related to the lack of affordable housing, such as the proposed rental assistance program and discrimination by landlords against tenants who use housing vouchers.

The rental assistance program would have cost $76 million per year, paid for with an increase in real estate transfer taxes when higher-end properties are sold. Under the measure, renters who earn 30% or less of the median income would be required to pay no more than 30% of their income toward rent, with the balance paid for by the state rental assistance program. To qualify, renters first would have to apply for federal housing assistance, such as Section 8 vouchers.

Rep. Grayson Lookner, D-Portland, was disappointed that rental assistance will have to wait for the commission to do its work, but nevertheless voted in favor of establishing the commission.

“Housing is such a fundamental human need. We rely almost entirely on private sector landlords to provide such a critical human need,” Lookner said.

Rep. Cheryl Golek, D-Harpswell, one of the bill’s sponsors, said during a news conference on Tuesday that low-income renters are having a difficult time affording rent and basic necessities

“As legislators, in this session, we must pass meaningful rental assistance for people struggling to afford their homes, and we must pass meaningful tenant protections from discrimination,” Golek said. “More than half of Maine’s lowest-income renters spend more than 50% on housing.”

Spencer Jacob, a South Portland renter and housing advocate, said during the news conference that it’s “exhausting” trying to keep up with bills.

“I pay my rent. I pay my taxes. I have a wife, a kid and I work 40 hours a week,” Jacob said. “I’m doing everything I’m supposed to and it’s not enough.”

But during a May 2023 public hearing on the bill, J. Andrew Cashman of the Maine Association of Realtors, testified against the bill, arguing that the increase in real estate transfer taxes would be counterproductive.

“As we know, the housing market is fluid, and creating policy based on market ebb and flow should be rejected for a number of reasons,” Cashman said. “First, the numbers are arbitrary and illogical. Housing should, in part, incorporate consideration to first-time homebuyers and incentivize their attainment of home ownership. With prices at historic highs and limited inventory, we should be incentivizing homeownership in creative ways, not creating additional barriers.”

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