How Much of the Affordable Housing Trust Funds Have Been Swept?
After not having raided either the Local Government Housing Trust Fund or the State Housing Trust Fund for three years from 2005-06 to 2007-08, the Florida Legislature has consistently swept both affordable housing trust funds in every annual state budget since. From 2008-09 to the current State Fiscal Year, the amount in funds swept total $1.6 Billion with $1.2 Billion (or 77 percent) coming from the Local Government Housing Trust Fund.
In his first recommended budget to the state legislature, Governor Ron DeSantis proposed a break from this long-running practice of sweeping affordable housing trust funds. The Governor’s recommended budget would appropriate a total of $352 million out of these trust funds to support affordable housing—an increase of more than $180 million compared to the current year funding and an amount nearly identical to the most recent sweep of the trust funds.
The Florida Association of Counties has long supported appropriating the full amount of dedicated revenues from the Local Government Housing Trust Fund and State Housing Trust Fund toward affordable housing and opposes the Legislature transferring these funds other areas of the State Budget.