Yesterday I shared the defensive response from the Department of Commerce which argued that the Housing Trust Fund (HTF) is having statewide impact and that data showing a disparity between rural and urban Washington should be ignored. Don’t worry, the Department says, all that money is going a long way. As they suggest, many rural projects are entirely funded with HTF while urban projects “leverage” many other sources. Looked at another way this suggests that the money is more effectively and efficiently used in rural counties, while in urban areas it is a lengthy and pricey proposition requirement lots of sources of cash, each coming with requirements and limitations.

So what would a Housing Supply Fund look like if it turned the Department of Commerce’s telescope around the right way and used the funds fairly and efficiently to increase housing supply and opportunity in the state. Here’s a very high level take on that idea, updated and repaired (typos in the original). All of this needs digging into, but the basic idea is no more capital expenditure in places like Seattle but, instead, cash subsidies. Counties would get money directly rather than through a process run, in essence, by bureaucrats and non-profits in a figurative “smoke filled room.”

Housing Trust Fund Reform Proposal for the 2019 Legislative Session

• Change the name to the Housing Supply Fund (HSF)
• Block grant funds to county housing authorities
• Base grant allocation based on need demonstrated by,
  • Income levels
  • Poverty levels
  • Vacancy rates
  • Age of existing housing stock
  • Health status
  • Education attainment and literacy
• Funding can be used for the following outside of King County,
  • Direct cash rental assistance
  • Construction of new housing
  • Homeownership assistance
  • Rehabilitation of existing, older housing
  • H2A housing for Farmworkers
  • Teacher housing
  • Other worker housing
  • Manufactured housing for long or short term use
  • Reimbursement for portable vouchers used in King County
• In King County funding may be used only for,
  • Direct cash rental assistance
  • Homeownership assistance
  • Manufactured housing for long or short term use
  • Support for people transitioning out of jail or prison
  • Support for people transitioning out of jail or prison
  • No funds may be used for capital or operating costs
• Statewide funds for
  • Expansion of the Earned Release Housing Voucher program
  • A risk reduction pool for the benefit of renters leaving the criminal justice system (e.g. deposit insurance, replacement costs, lost rent)
  • Creation of a program administered by the Department of Corrections for housing transition for people leaving the all levels (federal, state, and local) of the criminal justice system
  • Permanent ongoing quantitative review and audit of the HSF by the Joint Legislative Review and Audit Committee (JLARC)
• Establish and Fund a Farm Labor Housing Authority
  • Support a small farmer program to permit and build housing for workers
  • Provide technical support for housing financing
  • Allocate more tax credits for farm labor housing
  • Provide authority to issue bonds
  • Develop and build housing for aquacultural workers (e.g. oysters, fishing)