HF 1340

as introduced - 94th Legislature (2025 - 2026) Posted on 02/24/2025 03:23pm

A bill for an act
relating to housing; allowing use of housing infrastructure bonds on adaptive reuse
to develop supportive housing and permanent housing for households at or below
50 percent of the area median income; amending Minnesota Statutes 2024, section
462A.37, subdivision 2.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

Section 1.

Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 462A.37, subdivision 2, is amended to read:

Subd. 2.

Authorization.

(a) The agency may issue up to $30,000,000 in aggregate
principal amount of housing infrastructure bonds in one or more series to which the payment
made under this section may be pledged. The housing infrastructure bonds authorized in
this subdivision may be issued to fund loans, or grants for the purposes of clauses (4) and
(7), on terms and conditions the agency deems appropriate, made for one or more of the
following purposes:

(1) to finance the costs of the construction, acquisition, new text begin adaptive reuse, new text end and rehabilitation
of supportive housing where at least 50 percent of units are set aside for individuals and
families who are without a permanent residence;

(2) to finance the costs of the acquisition and rehabilitation of foreclosed or abandoned
housing to be used for affordable rental housing or for affordable home ownership and the
costs of new construction of rental housing on abandoned or foreclosed property where the
existing structures will be demolished or removed;

(3) to finance that portion of the costs of acquisition of property that is attributable to
the land to be leased by community land trusts to low- and moderate-income home buyers;

(4) to finance the acquisition, improvement, and infrastructure of manufactured home
parks under section 462A.2035, subdivision 1b;

(5) to finance the costs of acquisition, rehabilitation, adaptive reuse, or new construction
of senior housing;

(6) to finance the costs of acquisition, rehabilitation, and replacement of federally assisted
rental housing and for the refinancing of costs of the construction, acquisition, and
rehabilitation of federally assisted rental housing, including providing funds to refund, in
whole or in part, outstanding bonds previously issued by the agency or another government
unit to finance or refinance such costs;

(7) to finance the costs of acquisition, rehabilitation, adaptive reuse, or new construction
of single-family housing;

(8) to finance the costs of construction, acquisition, new text begin adaptive reuse, new text end and rehabilitation
of permanent housing that is affordable to households with incomes at or below 50 percent
of the area median income for the applicable county or metropolitan area as published by
the Department of Housing and Urban Development, as adjusted for household size; and

(9) to finance the costs of construction, acquisition, rehabilitation, conversion, and
development of cooperatively owned housing created under chapter 308A, 308B, or 308C
that is affordable to low- and moderate-income households.

(b) Among comparable proposals for permanent supportive housing, preference shall
be given to permanent supportive housing for veterans and other individuals or families
who:

(1) either have been without a permanent residence for at least 12 months or at least four
times in the last three years; or

(2) are at significant risk of lacking a permanent residence for 12 months or at least four
times in the last three years.

(c) Among comparable proposals for senior housing, the agency must give priority to
requests for projects that:

(1) demonstrate a commitment to maintaining the housing financed as affordable to
senior households;

(2) leverage other sources of funding to finance the project, including the use of
low-income housing tax credits;

(3) provide access to services to residents and demonstrate the ability to increase physical
supports and support services as residents age and experience increasing levels of disability;
and

(4) include households with incomes that do not exceed 30 percent of the median
household income for the metropolitan area.

(d) To the extent practicable, the agency shall balance the loans made between projects
in the metropolitan area and projects outside the metropolitan area. Of the loans made to
projects outside the metropolitan area, the agency shall, to the extent practicable, balance
the loans made between projects in counties or cities with a population of 20,000 or less,
as established by the most recent decennial census, and projects in counties or cities with
populations in excess of 20,000.

(e) Among comparable proposals for permanent housing, the agency must give preference
to projects that will provide housing that is affordable to households at or below 30 percent
of the area median income.

(f) If a loan recipient uses the loan for new construction as defined by the agency on a
building containing more than four units, the loan recipient must construct, convert, or
otherwise adapt the building to include:

(1) the greater of: (i) at least one unit; or (ii) at least five percent of units that are
accessible units, and each accessible unit includes at least one roll-in shower, water closet,
and kitchen work surface meeting the requirements of section 1002 of the current State
Building Code Accessibility Provisions for Dwelling Units in Minnesota; and

(2) the greater of: (i) at least one unit; or (ii) at least five percent of units that are
sensory-accessible units that include:

(A) soundproofing between shared walls for first and second floor units;

(B) no florescent lighting in units and common areas;

(C) low-fume paint;

(D) low-chemical carpet; and

(E) low-chemical carpet glue in units and common areas.

Nothing in this paragraph relieves a project funded by the agency from meeting other
applicable accessibility requirements.