MONTGOMERY, Ala. — While the Alabama Legislature created the Alabama Housing Trust Fund more than a decade ago, lawmakers have yet to allocate a single dollar to the fund.
Rep. Debbie Wood, R-Valley, along with Sen. Linda Coleman-Madison, D-Birmingham, is hoping to change that and find funds to support affordable housing projects for low-income Alabamians.
“People that buy homes, they stay there, they take interest, they take responsibility for their community,” Wood told Alabama Daily News on Thursday, speaking to the positive impact she argued funding the AHTF could have.
“They’re not just transit, they want the wealth of the whole community to grow.”
Rex Reynolds, chairman of the House General Fund committee, told ADN Thursday that while he was supportive of Wood’s and Coleman-Madison’s efforts, it was too late in the current budget process to include the request in fiscal 2025 spending plans. He did say that he was open to funding the AHTF in fiscal 2026, however, and that he would prefer to do so with a dedicated, recurring revenue source, rather than create a new line item in the budget.
“The request came a little late obviously; we’re wrapping up the budget now, but I absolutely agree with what they’re trying to do,” Reynolds told ADN.
“I understand the need and they’ve involved me in several conversations about the need for affordable housing. My commitment to them was that I would get with Rep. Wood and talk with leadership about a dedicated revenue source for that funding.”
Coleman-Madison’s effort to generate revenue for the AHTF came in the form of Senate Bill 233, a bill she filed in March that would increase the state’s mortgage record tax – a fee Alabamians pay when purchasing a home – from $.15 cents per $100 of indebtedness, to $.30 cents.
The bill would generate $28.1 million a year for the AHTF, which could be used to support the construction, renovation and maintenance of affordable housing for Alabamians whose incomes are below 60% of their area’s median family income.
Both Wood and Coleman-Madison also participated in a rally in front of the State House in Montgomery on Tuesday where, in partnership with the Low Income Housing Coalition of Alabama, urged those attending to advocate to lawmakers to fund the AHTF.
“Everybody deserves to have a home; they tell you this is the American dream,” Coleman-Madison said at the rally, speaking to the few dozen in attendance.
“As you know, we have been pushing for many years for a funding source for our Alabama Housing Trust Fund, which was passed years ago but never funded. For some reason, we constantly come up against obstacles.”
Rusty Bennett, executive director of the LIHCA, spoke to what he called a “critical housing shortage” in Alabama, and said that the state was short of more than 94,000 affordable housing units for veterans, seniors, and those with disabilities or low incomes.
“For over a decade, you’ve heard that we’ve had legislation that has approved a housing trust fund in this state… we have the mechanism, what we don’t have is the investment,” Bennett said.
“We’ve come closer than ever this year to get a dedicated revenue resource for the AHTF to ensure the vision that we have that all Alabamians deserve a safe place to call home. This $25 million investment seems like a lot, but that investment is estimated to bring nearly $300 million in a return, and that’s significant.”
According to U.S. Census data compiled by the LIHCA, 186,962 Alabamians who rent homes in the state have what are considered extremely low incomes, which is defined as being at or below the federal poverty threshold, or 70% below their area’s median income.
Of those 186,962 extremely low-income renters, 33% are employed, 24% are disabled, and 22% are seniors.
Advocates for funding the AHTF say that funding the fund with $25 million would, in its first year, create 500 new affordable homes. Funding the AHTF with $25 million a year for ten years would create an estimated 5,000 new affordable homes, preserve 3,000 homes, and generate an estimated $1.2 billion in economic activity, according to the LIHCA.
Speaking at the rally, Wood called funding the AHTF the “most important thing that needs to happen in Alabama,” and pledged to not stop her efforts until the AHTF is funded.
“Communities that have home ownership, those people generally have better health, better mental stability, and they acquire wealth because they build equity in their largest investment, which is typically their home,” Wood said.
“We’re not going to give up; we have a trust fund that is not funded. The line item was created, (and) when a line item is created, that typically means that there’s a need. There’s just never been money placed in the fund, and that’s what we’ve got to do.”