Bonding 101: Learning and Advocating with Twin Cities Habitat

Today, Twin Cities Habitat and other housing/homeless partners hosted a training session with the purpose of tackling some of the hardest topics regarding affordable housing. With the legislative session starting in just a week, it is important that advocates are able to talk to their legislators about bonding, tax increment financing and other issues with as much ease as possible.

Twin Cities Habitat and its partners are making bonding for housing a priority this legislative session. There are two different types of bonding: general obligation (GO) bonds and appropriations (revenue) bonds. General obligation bonds are how we do most of the bonding in our state and must be paid by general fund dollars through the debt service, while appropriations bonds do not.

Why is this important for affordable housing? Money in appropriations bonds can help preserve existing federally subsidized rental housing and help with rehabilitation of permanent supportive housing. Ultimately, these bonds would provide affordable housing to 31,000 low- and moderate-income Minnesota households. Currently, most public housing is between 25 and 35 years old. Money in GO bonds would help to preserve this housing and provide an affordable to home to 36,000 Minnesotans.

Ultimately, it was a fitting day to discuss bonding due to the fact that Gov. Dayton held a press conference outlining his bonding requests, including $25 million in appropriation bonds and $7 million in General Obligation (GO) bonds. Please take the time to call Gov. Dayton’s office and thank them for the money they requested for affordable housing. This is great news, but we must continue to speak with our state lawmakers and make sure they put adequate money for affordable housing in their bonding bill!

By Brittany Richardson, Government Relations Intern, Twin Cities Habitat