Drew Wilson
The Sadowski Coalition praised Gov. Ron DeSantis for preserving affordable housing funds in the newly signed budget.
The spending plan passed by the Legislature earlier this month includes full allocations for the State Housing Initiatives Partnership and the State Apartment Incentive Loan programs — known as SHIP and SAIL, respectively — which are key cogs in the state’s housing strategy.
SHIP routes funding to local governments that they may use to secure partnerships that produce and preserve affordable homeownership and multifamily housing. It is designed to serve very low-, low-, and moderate-income families. SAIL offers low-interest loans to developers who reserve at least 20% of units for families earning below 50% of the area median income.
“Governor DeSantis has been a longtime supporter of housing that is affordable and has always understood the importance of fully funding both of Florida’s successful housing programs — SHIP and SAIL,” said Mark Hendrickson, facilitator of the Sadowski Coalition and Executive Director of the Florida Association of Local Housing Finance Authorities.
“The budget the Governor signed today includes full funding and once again prioritizes housing that is affordable for Floridians. We thank him for signing a budget that includes this funding and will help to create and rehabilitate housing across the state. Our state’s seniors, veterans, and working families and individuals stand to benefit immensely from this continued investment in Florida’s SHIP and SAIL programs.”
The Sadowski Coalition is a nonpartisan consortium of nonpartisan of more than 40 statewide organizations. It advocates for the use of dedicated state and local housing trust funds for their intended purpose — a cause that has seen renewed success in recent years after previous Legislatures diverted those dollars to other priorities, a practice colloquially known as the “Sadowski Sweep.”
