Fighting for Homes, Pushing for Change: Habitat Takes Action in Tallahassee
This month, Habitat for Humanity of Lake-Sumter joined forces with Habitat affiliates across Florida for Habitat Florida State Lobby Day.
We met with our Lake and Sumter County members of Congress, including Rep. John Temple, Sen. Blaise Ingolia’s office, Sen. Keith Truenow, Rep. Nan Cobb, and Rep. Taylor Yarkowsky’s office, to discuss four key topics on affordable housing in our community and across the state. Additionally, we met with the Chair of the Appropriations Committee on Transportation, Tourism, and Economic Development, Sen. Nick DiCeglie’s office, to share the impact of an important appropriations request this year.
Appropriations offer key funding sources for infrastructure needs in affordable housing projects. We are asking that members of Congress support Habitat Lake-Sumter’s Appropriations Request, sponsored by Rep. Nan Cobb and Sen. Keith Truenow, for Magnolia Landing—an 8-unit project that creates homeownership opportunities and builds the construction workforce with Leesburg High School.
We also urge support for comprehensive legislation like SB556 and HB1425, sponsored by Sen. Tom Wright and Rep. Anne Gerwig. This newly proposed legislation will assist property appraisers in making uniform determinations for affordable housing properties. Currently, affordable homes with resale restrictions are often assessed at market value, even though deed restrictions limit their resale values. This results in inflated property tax bills, making homeownership less affordable for low-income families.
Additionally, we advocate for continued funding of critical resources for housing and community development programs, including The Sadowski Housing Trust Fund and the Community Contribution Tax Credit Program. Both play a significant role in Habitat Lake-Sumter’s ability to build homes that are affordable for the families who live here.
Habitat homeownership would not be possible without public sector investment. State funding is often the first source of funding for a Habitat project and leverages a significant return on investment through private support from individual donors, congregations, foundations, and corporations.
We extend our heartfelt gratitude to our legislators for their support of Habitat for Humanity Lake-Sumter and their commitment to affordable housing. Their partnership helps make the dream of homeownership a reality for families in our community.