Legislators across the country are addressing housing shortages at a state level, drafting budgets to devote funds for emergency housing and short-term options as well as proposing legislations that encourage housing development as quickly as possible. In addition to tackling hurdles to creating more affordable housing options at a local level, legislators are also pushing to allow a faster pace of construction to combat the growing shortages many states are experiencing, according to an analysis by The Pew Trusts.
Governors from Oregon to New York are taking action by writing budgets that devote millions of dollars toward emergency housing and other short-term options. And in Oregon, the legislature is poised to pass a $200 million emergency package to help shelter people experiencing homelessness and those at greatest threat of losing their homes.
States also are developing legislation that boosts new housing development as quickly as possible, sometimes by tweaking what have long been sacrosanct zoning and land use policies.
New laws that aim to quantify the shortage have made it easier for some states to understand how dire their housing needs are. For example, Washington state needs to build 1.1 million new homes over the next two decades, according to projections released this month by the state Department of Commerce. The estimates emerged from 2021 legislation that requires the state to compile the numbers for cities, which must “plan for and accommodate” housing for all income levels.
That’s a change from previous state planning laws, which merely encouraged affordable housing. Washington state’s assessment found that more than half of the new homes, apartments and emergency shelters must be affordable for people with lower incomes.
