Affordable-housing advocates tire of begging the Utah Legislature for money each year.
"It's difficult to continually go back to the Legislature hat in hand for unsecured funds," said Steve Erickson, executive director of the Utah Housing Coalition.
They still might have to do it in the future since the House killed a bill Tuesday to create a permanent revenue stream for the Olene Walker Housing Trust Fund. The legislation would have automatically set aside up to $5 million of any budget surplus for the program. Lawmakers, however, later revived HB54 in slightly different form. The Legislature would appropriate $3 million to $5 million next year under the new version.
"I think it will go through," Rep. Duane Bourdeaux, D-Salt Lake. "I don't know how much more funding will be attached to it."
Gov. Mike Leavitt has recommended a $2 million appropriation. "I think we need much more," Bourdeaux said.
The low-income housing fund currently has $34 million; it needs to reach $100 million to be self sustaining. The program provides money to developers and communities for housing projects.
Housing advocates support two other bills that could benefit low-income residents: SB256 proposes to permit counties to double document-recording fees to establish local housing trust funds; SJR3 encourages property owners to limit rental increases, allow long-term lease renewals and not evict tenants in the months preceding the 2002 Winter Games.
The waiting list for public housing numbers 4,000 people, many of whom must wait as long as two years for two-bedroom units. And with more people moving off the welfare rolls as their 36-month lifetime limits expire, the demand for livable apartments and homes will grow, said Heather Tritten, housing advocate for Utah Issues.
"Affordable housing is good for the economy, is good for people," Sen. Pete Suazo, D-Salt Lake, said during a news conference Wednesday at mixed-income housing project under construction on Salt Lake City's west side.
A Montana study showed a $5 million investment in housing created 1,496 new jobs, generating $23.3 million in wages, he said. Studies also show, Suazo said, that decent housing leads to children doing better academically.
Housing advocates also are watching SB42, which would prevent local governments from banning rental application fees. Salt Lake City and Salt Lake County prohibited the fees after apartment owners would accept 15 to 20 applications for one vacancy and not seriously consider each one.
Landlords say the charges are necessary to check a prospective tenant's background and credit.
Linda Hilton, director of the Coalition of Religious Communities, said credit checks are just the cost of doing business. To make low-income tenants pay a nonrefundable application fee for an apartment they may or may not get makes it harder for a homeless family to get out of the shelter.
"You save all that money for first and last month's rent," she said. "It's hard enough as it is."
The Utah Apartment Association is lobbying hard for Sen. Michael Waddoups' bill, which was held up in committee, that proposes a "reasonable" fee.
Jim Deans, apartment association attorney, told the Senate Republican Caucus, the industry is doing what other businesses do.
"Can you imagine the hue and cry if you told banks and credit unions they can't charge application fees?"