A BILL for an Act to provide an appropriation to the department of commerce for a housing for opportunity, mobility, and empowerment program; to provide for a legislative management report; and to declare an emergency.
SB2225 would appropriate $25 million from North Dakota’s strategic investment and improvements fund to the Department of Commerce for a new Housing for Opportunity, Mobility, and Empowerment (HOME) grant program. The program is designed to help political subdivisions build the infrastructure needed to support affordable and market-rate housing, with an emphasis on lowering development costs, removing slum and blight conditions, and encouraging locally tailored housing solutions. Communities could work through political subdivisions, tribal entities, or economic development corporations to identify housing needs and apply for grants.
The bill sets out how the money would be distributed among community size categories, including dedicated amounts for small towns, mid-sized communities, larger cities, and rural metropolitan areas near larger cities. It also caps the maximum grant for communities over 20,000 people at $1 million and allows any uncommitted funds after December 31, 2026, to be redirected to viable projects regardless of size or location. The Department of Commerce would be required to issue program guidelines and report to legislative management and the governor by June 30, 2026, on expenditures, housing units supported, applicants, and matching funds raised. The bill is also declared an emergency measure, meaning it would take effect immediately if enacted.
If enacted, SB2225 would create a new one-time state grant program and direct a substantial appropriation from the strategic investment and improvements fund to local housing infrastructure projects. It would not directly change landlord-tenant law or zoning statutes, but it would affect how state economic development funds are administered and how political subdivisions, tribal entities, and local developers finance housing-related infrastructure and remediation. The bill also imposes a matching-funds requirement, limiting state participation to no more than one-third of total project costs unless two-thirds in nonstate funds are secured.
The available record shows no committee transcript or recorded vote details, so there is no documented floor or committee debate to gauge support or opposition. The bill’s structure suggests a policy focus on housing supply and local development assistance, but its final status as failed indicates it did not advance to enactment. Overall sentiment in the text itself is pragmatic and programmatic, with an emphasis on targeted investment and accountability through reporting.
The main potential points of contention are the size and source of the appropriation, the use of state funds for housing infrastructure rather than direct housing construction, and the requirement that communities secure substantial matching funds from nonstate sources. The population-based allocation formula could also be debated by communities over whether it fairly distributes resources between small towns, larger cities, and rural areas near metropolitan centers. Another possible issue is the bill’s allowance for funding projects involving existing residential lots only after a certificate of occupancy is issued for a newly constructed home, which may affect how flexible the program is for redevelopment projects.