Legislators on Tuesday considered Senate Bill 68 during a hearing for the Committee on Revenue and Economic Development. The bill, if passed, would help develop supportive housing and housing stability for Nevadans.
Details in the bill explain that SB68 would create a stable source of revenue using the Real Property Transfer Tax that would be used to create a critical needs fund to be used in different housing opportunities.
The distribution of these funds would develop supporting housing statewide and be an extra source of income for current housing programs.
“What I do think is a positive from this hearing is that they all acknowledged the importance of addressing these critical needs,” said Sarah Adler, a volunteer National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) policy specialist who helped draft the bill. “They all acknowledged the importance of addressing these challenges but they didn’t put any solutions on the table.
“So my question to the real estate community is, what revenue stream would they suggest? Because the reason we can’t do this with a one-shot appropriation is unless we have guaranteed revenue for 15 years, we can’t finance the actual building,” Adler added. “The governor would have to appropriate $300 million this year to be spent over the next 15 years to make sure that we could make these supportive housing projects possible.”
The bill is targeted to use the funds generated to offer supportive housing and supportive services, which would save many from the risk of homelessness. The benefits would include fewer people living on the street by giving them a place to stay as well as the opportunity to help those battling addiction and mental illness.
By introducing this tax, there would be more resources available that wouldn’t strain the current funds and would only affect individuals and businesses purchasing a property. The tax rate would be the equivalent of 20 cents per $500 of purchase price, which looks like $160 on a property worth $400,000.
The funds will be used for both supportive housing and housing stability by offering rental assistance, home repair, and supportive services. This would give many the opportunity to find housing and continue or start working, which many people experiencing housing instability wish to do.
After a 20-minute presentation by Adler, committee chair Sen. Dina Neal opened the hearing to testimonies in favor of the bill. Many who spoke in favor highlighted the need for supportive housing to help those who suffer from mental illness and addiction.
People also spoke on the role supportive housing has in limiting homelessness by offering services such as counseling, life skills and affordable rent. Many who testified in favor shared personal stories of family members who benefitted from similar programs and how it increased the quality of life for those individuals.
An example of supportive housing in Reno is both the Empowerment Center on South Virginia as well as the Complex on Marvel Way. These both offer sober living quarters to those who require it as well as an affordable option that keeps many from living on the street.
After an hour of testimony in favor of the bill, the committee asked that any remaining statements be submitted and the rest of the time be used for testimony against the bill. Many of those who spoke against the bill, cited the increased tax as regressive and argued that the bill would be acceptable as long as there was no tax increase.
Some of those against the bill were either Realtors or represented realty organizations and were worried about the impact this bill would have on the future of the real estate market.
“We are going to reach out to Realtors and see if they have a proposed means of raising sufficient funds that they would get behind,” Adler said. “And if they will get behind another source of ongoing revenue, we’ll be glad to discuss it.”
For this bill to succeed in the State Senate, it would need to pass out of committee and be approved by a two-thirds majority, which means 14 of the 21 senators. From there, Gov. Joe Lombardo would have to sign the bill into law.
