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Florida Trust Funds for Housing Programs Initiative (2022)
| Florida Trust Funds for Housing Programs Initiative | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Election date November 8, 2022 | |
| Topic Housing | |
| Status Not on the ballot | |
| Type Constitutional amendment | Origin Citizens |
The Florida Trust Funds for Housing Programs Initiative (Initiative #21-11) was not on the ballot in Florida as an initiated constitutional amendment on November 8, 2022.[1]
The initiative would have amended the Florida Constitution to create state and local government housing trust funds that would have been able to expend money to "address affordable housing access and availability, including funding of programs addressing new construction, down payment and closing cost assistance, rehabilitation, and financing for affordable housing development."[1]
On September 7, sponsors announced they were suspending their signature gathering campaign and would instead work with the state legislature on compromise legislation.[2]
Text of measure
Ballot title
The proposed title would have been as follows:[1]
| “ | Affordable Housing - Protects affordable housing funds from being used for non-housing purposes.[3] | ” |
Ballot summary
The proposed ballot summary would have been as follows:[1]
| “ | Establishes State and Local Government Housing Trust Funds in Florida Constitution. Dedicates 25 percent of net revenues from the existing excise tax on documents to those Trust Funds. Protects moneys deposited in those Trust Funds from being used for non-housing purposes. Funds may be expended only to address affordable housing access and availability, including funding of programs addressing new construction, down payment and closing cost assistance, rehabilitation, and financing for affordable housing development.[3] | ” |
Support
Floridians for Housing (Housing Funds for Housing) led the campaign in support of the initiative.[1]
Supporters
- Florida Association of Realtors[4]
Arguments
Floridians for Housing said, "Over the last 10 years, Florida government has diverted over $2 billion out of existing affordable housing trust funds, and spent it on other unrelated projects. To make the process more accountable, Floridians are proposing a constitutional amendment that would put affordable housing funds in a lock box so they are used for affordable housing, and nothing else. This amendment would guarantee that the portion of the taxes charged on documents like deeds and mortgages will only be used to make homes and apartments safer and more affordable for seniors, low-income, and moderate-income Florida residents. The intended purpose of these funds is that they be used for housing programs, but for nearly two decades the legislative process has resulted in billions of these dollars being used for non-housing projects. Voting YES for the amendment would make sure these funds only go to affordable housing projects."[5]
Opposition
Opponents
- Florida Sen. Kathleen Passidomo (R), a real estate lawyer[6]
Arguments
- Florida Sen. Kathleen Passidomo (R) said, "I was taken aback and by surprise when this initiative popped out because they didn't reach out to me. I said, 'why didn't you reach out to me, and one of them looked and me and said, 'Because you don't listen.' I was speechless. ... I don't want to question the motives of the Realtors. I really don't. But many of my colleagues are saying the reason they are doing this is they get commissions out of all of the sales. That's why they're doing it."[7]
Campaign finance
Floridians for Housing registered to support the initiative. The committee reported $13 million in contributions from the Florida Realtors and $2.75 million in expenditures.[8]
| Cash Contributions | In-Kind Contributions | Total Contributions | Cash Expenditures | Total Expenditures | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Support | $13,001,960.72 | $453.07 | $13,002,413.79 | $2,749,496.88 | $2,749,949.95 |
| Oppose | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Total | $13,001,960.72 | $453.07 | $13,002,413.79 | $2,749,496.88 | $2,749,949.95 |
Support
The following table includes contribution and expenditure totals for the committee in support of the initiative.[8]
| Committees in support of Florida Trust Funds for Housing Programs Initiative (2022) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Committee | Cash Contributions | In-Kind Contributions | Total Contributions | Cash Expenditures | Total Expenditures |
| Floridians for Housing | $13,001,960.72 | $453.07 | $13,002,413.79 | $2,749,496.88 | $2,749,949.95 |
| Total | $13,001,960.72 | $453.07 | $13,002,413.79 | $2,749,496.88 | $2,749,949.95 |
Donors
Florida Realtors gave $13 million to the support committee.[8]
| Donor | Cash Contributions | In-Kind Contributions | Total Contributions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florida Realtors | $13,000,000.00 | $453.07 | $13,000,453.07 |
Methodology
To read Ballotpedia's methodology for covering ballot measure campaign finance information, click here.
Path to the ballot
The state process
In Florida, the number of signatures required for an initiated constitutional amendment is equal to 8% of the votes cast in the preceding presidential election. Florida also has a signature distribution requirement, which requires that signatures equaling at least 8% of the district-wide vote in the last presidential election be collected from at least half (14) of the state's 28 congressional districts. Signatures remain valid until February 1 of an even-numbered year.[9] Signatures must be verified by February 1 of the general election year the initiative aims to appear on the ballot.
Proposed measures are reviewed by the state attorney general and state supreme court after proponents collect 25% of the required signatures across the state in each of one-half of the state's congressional districts (222,898 signatures for 2024 ballot measures). After these preliminary signatures have been collected, the secretary of state must submit the proposal to the Florida Attorney General and the Financial Impact Estimating Conference (FIEC). The attorney general is required to petition the Florida Supreme Court for an advisory opinion on the measure's compliance with the single-subject rule, the appropriateness of the title and summary, and whether or not the measure "is facially invalid under the United States Constitution."[10]
The requirements to get an initiative certified for the 2022 ballot:
- Signatures: 891,589 valid signatures
- Deadline: The deadline for signature verification was February 1, 2022. As election officials have 30 days to check signatures, petitions should be submitted at least one month before the verification deadline.
In Florida, proponents of an initiative file signatures with local elections supervisors, who are responsible for verifying signatures. Supervisors are permitted to use random sampling if the process can estimate the number of valid signatures with 99.5% accuracy. Enough signatures are considered valid if the random sample estimates that at least 115% of the required number of signatures are valid.
Details about the initiative
- The initiative was sponsored by Floridians for Housing (Florida Realtors). It was approved for circulation on June 11, 2021.[1]
- On September 7, the Florida Realtors announced they were suspending their signature gathering campaign and would instead work with the state legislature on compromise legislation. At the time, the group had gathered 65,018 valid signatures. To qualify for the ballot, 891,589 valid signatures would have been required. Sen. Kathleen Passidomo (R) said, "We agree that affordable housing is absolutely essential to our state — for our families, for our workforce and for our economy. We must ensure that the state’s investment in affordable housing is spent judiciously, and that our first responders, health care workers, teachers and other critical professions are able to benefit from the opportunities available. I look forward to continuing our work with the realtors, property owners, affordable housing advocates and other key stakeholders across the state toward our shared mission of providing safe, accessible and affordable places for Floridians to live, work and raise a family."[11]
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Florida Department of Elections, "Initiative 21-11," accessed June 12, 2021
- ↑ Florida Politics, "Florida Realtors scrap plans for affordable housing ballot initiative in 2022," accessed September 8, 2021
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ The Capitolist, "Florida Realtors pump $5 million into push for affordable housing constitutional amendment," accessed June 16, 2021
- ↑ Housing Funds for Housing, "Home," accessed July 12, 2021
- ↑ 'WFSU, "Florida Realtors Ballot Initiative Raises Ire Of State Leaders," accessed July 12, 2021
- ↑ 'WFSU, "Florida Realtors Ballot Initiative Raises Ire Of State Leaders," accessed July 12, 2021
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Florida Division of Elections, "Campaign finance database," accessed July 14, 2021
- ↑ Before the passage of Florida Senate Bill 1794 of 2020, signatures remained valid for a period of two years
- ↑ Florida State Senate, "Florida Senate Bill 1794," accessed April 13, 2020
- ↑ Florida Politics, "Florida Realtors scrap plans for affordable housing ballot initiative in 2022," accessed September 8, 2021
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