The 1997 Legislature appropriated about $58.4 million for the Housing Finance Agency (MHFA), including these new appropriations:

• $3.1 million for a rental housing assistance program for persons with mental illness;

• About $5.8 million for family homeless prevention;

• About $1.2 million for foreclosure prevention and assistance;

• $5.5 million for rent assistance for the family stabilization program;

• Almost $4.7 million for the housing trust fund, with $1 million dedicated to transitional housing;

• About $14.6 million for the affordable rental investment fund, and $125,000 for housing for persons with HIV or AIDS outside of the metropolitan area;

• A rider on the affordable rental investment program to provide an equal number of housing units in the metropolitan and non-metropolitan areas and out-state loans must be funded with the cooperation of the initiative fund regions; in the metropolitan area, the Commissioner must collaborate with the Metropolitan Council;

• $374,000 for the urban Indian housing program;

• About $3.4 million for the tribal Indian housing program;

• $372,000 for the rural and urban homesteading program;

• $580,000 for nonprofit capacity-building grants, of which $80,000 is for a grant to the Minnesota Housing Partnership and $150,000 is for grants to the six rural initiative funds;

• A little more than $7.9 million for the community rehabilitation program, with $500,000 for full-cycle home ownership and purchase rehabilitation lending; $750,000 for grants to acquire, demolish, rehabilitate, acquire, and reconfigure multiple-unit residential rental property; $250,000 for a grant to an organization or a consortium of organizations to develop affordable and life-cycle housing in Minneapolis and St. Paul; and $550,000 for a grant to the city of Landfall to purchase real property owned by the Washington County Housing and Redevelopment Authority, once the agency has the balance of the money to make the purchase;

• Nearly $8.6 million for the housing rehabilitation and accessibility program;

• Almost $2.2 million for the home ownership assistance fund;

• $50,000 for home equity conversion counseling for senior citizens;

• $50,000 for the newly created advisory task force on lead; and

• $80,000 for the affordable neighborhood design and development initiative.

The Legislature also created a lead hazard reduction task force to certify lead-safe residential property, to study appropriate maintenance practices to keep residences lead safe, and to study and clarify legal responsibilities of tenants and landlords in lead safety issues.

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