Use Sadowski money for its intended purpose
The Sadowski Act was passed in 1992 to create a dedicated revenue source to fund Florida’s affordable-housing programs. Funds are gathered when real estate is purchased in Florida. A documentarystamp tax is collected on the transaction, with a portion of this tax set aside to be used to develop affordable housing.
Sounds virtuous, doesn’t it?
But for years, according to the Sadowski Coalition, a nonpartisan group of more than 30 statewide organizations, Florida lawmakers have raided the fund for general revenue purposes. We are not talking about a few leftover dollars but, rather, of the nearly $297 million collected in 2016-2017, $117 million was “reallocated” for general use.
Maybe the affordable-housing situation has been resolved, and there is no need for this money? The Legislature’s recently approved budget for 2018 will move $185 million out of this year’s nearly $300 million trust fund for other spending priorities, leaving $109 million for affordable housing. It’s shocking to see how easily targeted funds can be siphoned off for other purposes.
The trust fund provides down payments for first-time home buyers, pays for repairs for low-income homeowners, repairs damage following natural disasters and builds rental housing. Now, will the governor’s veto pen impact this allocation of funds in the weeks ahead? Margie Sloane Oviedo