Tallahassee, Fla. – The Sadowski Coalition – a nonpartisan collection of 32 statewide organizations – today issued the following statement attributed to Jaimie Ross, facilitator of the Sadowski Coalition and president and CEO of the Florida Housing Coalition, regarding the announcement that the Florida House agreed to the Florida Senate’s budget position to use all affordable housing trust fund monies for affordable housing during the 2020-2021 Fiscal Year.
“Today is a momentous day for Florida and all those around the state who are affected by the housing crisis. Governor DeSantis has been a stalwart for affordable housing since taking office, recommending last session and this session that all the housing trust funds are used to create affordable housing in the State of Florida. We also thank Senate President Bill Galvano, Senate Appropriations Chair Rob Bradley and the rest of the Senate for its steadfast support of using all the housing trust fund monies. And this year, we thank House Speaker Oliva and House Appropriations Chair Travis Cummings for agreeing to this position, as well as all the House members who have been so supportive.
“We also owe a great debt of gratitude to all members of the 32 statewide organizations that comprise the Sadowski Coalition, including the Florida Chamber of Commerce, the Florida Realtors, Associated Industries of Florida, and most especially, the efforts of the Florida League of Cities and the Florida Association of Counties and the thousands of Sadowski affiliates around the state who never stopped urging the Legislature to address the housing crisis by funding Florida’s tried-and-true SHIP and SAIL programs.
“We are relieved to have the Sadowski program funding put to use for Florida’s lower-paid workforce, seniors and special needs populations living on fixed incomes. Most importantly, this should usher in the end of housing trust fund sweeps. Restoring the Sadowski Trust funds to normal operations, where the monies dedicated to affordable housing are appropriated for affordable housing is in Florida’s best interest. In just this year, full appropriation will mean more than 30,000 jobs and more than $4.4 billion in positive economic impact.”
For more information on the Sadowski Coalition, please visit SadowskiCoalition.org or follow @SadowskiFL.