Michigan Legislature OKs Affordable Housing Fund

Concerned that rising housing costs are harming state residents and the cities they live in, the Michigan Legislature earlier this month approved two bills that expand home-owning opportunities for low- and moderate-income families. Support for the new laws was so strong that the Legislature also appropriated an initial $2 million for the program despite the state’s severe budget problems. Passage of the two-bill package on December 9 capped a long drive by housing activists and some state legislators to establish a state-funded affordable housing trust fund. It also marked another victory for a bipartisan group of Lansing lawmakers intent on enacting recommendations made by the Michigan Land Use Leadership Council.