How Minnesota lawmakers defied expectations to pass a bipartisan affordable housing law in the session’s final week

Despite beginning the session with seemingly irreconcilable positions, state DFL and Republican lawmakers found a path last week to agreeing on a $165 million housing policy bill.

Given tight margins and the parties’ disagreement over the state’s priorities in a year that saw economic and social disruptions due to Operation Metro Surge, there was no guarantee that the final product would include tens of millions of dollars in rental assistance, affordable home construction, and improvements to manufactured homes.

“It seemed highly improbable at the start of the session that anything would pass” that dedicated significant resources towards affordable housing, said Margaret Kaplan, associate director of the Center for Urban and Rural Affairs at the University of Minnesota.

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