Latest news with #AliRabe
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
New Idaho legislative committee aims to identify barriers – and solutions
The Idaho Legislatures Land Use and Housing Study Committee conducts its first meeting May 14 at the Idaho State Capitol in Boise. (Clark Corbin/Idaho Capital Sun) The Idaho Legislature's Interim Land Use and Housing Study Committee began discussing housing inventory, prices, building codes, permitting and zoning at its first meeting held Wednesday at the Idaho State Capitol in Boise. Sen. Ali Rabe, D-Boise, pushed for the creation of the housing study committee during the recent 2025 legislative session by co-sponsoring Senate Concurrent Resolution 103. 'Housing is one of the most important topics Idahoans across the state recognized as something they want to see addressed,' Rabe said. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX The purpose of the committee is to undertake a study of state and local land use regulations and how they impact the housing supply. In addition to the study, the committee can make recommendations to the Idaho Legislature during the 2026 legislative session. Committee members did not make any recommendations on Wednesday. Instead, members received briefings on affordable housing issues in the Gem State. The committee identified some of the barriers and problems, including high costs of mortgages and rent, a low inventory of housing that doesn't meet demand, vacation homes and short-term rentals, infrastructure needs like water and sewer, emergency services and more. CONTACT US Committee may discuss economic incentives, zoning changes or streamlining permits as potential solutions to Idaho's housing affordability crisis [/subhed] Without affordable housing available, more Idahoans are living on public lands, living in unsafe spaces that aren't designed to be homes or moving elsewhere, housing and development experts told the committee Wednesday. Without getting into specific proposals, committee members began discussing potential solutions to discuss at future meetings, including economic and tax incentives, streamlining approval and permitting processes, zoning or density changes, infrastructure upgrades and the potential use of a local option tax or resort tax to incentivize housing construction. After adjourning Wednesday, the housing study committee plans to meet three more times around the state before the 2026 legislative session begins in January. Future meeting dates include June 27 in Idaho Falls, Aug. 14 in Sandpoint and Sept. 26 in Boise. Sen. Jim Woodward, R-Sagle, committee co-chair Rep. Jordan Redman, R-Coeur d'Alene, co-chair Sen. Ben Toews, R-Coeur d'Alene Sen. Ali Rabe, D-Boise Rep. Kyle Harris, R-Lewiston Rep. Todd Achilles, D-Boise Ad hoc (non legislative) members of the Land Use and Housing Study Committee Jason Blais, City of Boise Bobbi Jo Meuleman, Boise Metro Chamber of Commerce Ken Burgess, Idaho Home N=Builders Association Max Pond, Idaho REALTORS Star Mayor Trevor Chadwick, Association of Idaho Cities Caleb Roope, Pacific Co. Andy Erstad, American Institute of Architects Sean Schupack, Idaho Association of General Contractors Sandpoint Mayor Jeremy Grimm Jonathan Spendlove, American Planning Association Jerri Henry, Idaho Department of Environmental Quality Valley County Commissioner Sherry Maupin, Idaho Association of Counties SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
19-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Idaho Senate calls for limits to rental application fees
Sen. Ali Rabe, D-Boise, works on the Senate floor at the State Capitol building on January 8, 2024. (Otto Kitsinger for Idaho Capital Sun) The Idaho Senate passed a bill Wednesday that limits the application fees that landlords may charge to prospective tenants. Sen. Ali Rabe, D-Boise, co-sponsored Senate Bill 1042aa, which Rabe said is designed to address affordability and availability of rental properties and take on dishonest landlords seeking to profit off of charging application fees to tenants who have no realistic shot of being considered for rental housing. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX If passed into law, the bill would limit landlords to charging rental application fees to two applying households at a time. Rabe said the point of the bill is to ensure applying tenants are only charged application fees for a unit that they have a likelihood of being considered. Additionally, landlords can only charge application fees for units that are available or expected to be available within 60 days. Finally, in order to charge a fee for a background check, landlords must actually follow through and complete the background check. 'What this bill does is simply it makes a change where it only allows landlords to charge rental applicants two fees at a time, rather than charging everyone who applies, which is the case happening in a lot of situations,' Rabe said. 'The unit must also be available with some exceptions, and landlords have to be transparent about any criteria they require of tenants when considering them for the rental.' Rabe works professionally as the executive director of the Boise-based nonprofit organization Jesse Tree, which provides financial assistance to families in danger of being evicted. Since pandemic, Montana, Idaho have surpassed California as most unaffordable states for homebuyers 'Idaho is now considered one of the least affordable housing markets in the United States,' Rabe said. 'That means that getting into a rental is highly competitive and very challenging. In speaking with nonprofits from across the state of Idaho, abuse of rental application fees has been cited as one of the biggest challenges with their clients. Veterans, seniors, young people, single moms are dealing with (this). It's one of the top recognized issues with exploitation and consumer protection by nonprofits in Idaho.' Sens. Dan Foreman, R-Moscow, and Todd Lakey, R-Nampa, were among the 12 Republican senators who voted against the bill. Both debated against the bill Wednesday, arguing it inserts government interference into the private sector. 'This bill, although well intended, in my opinion, represents overreach by government,' Foreman said. 'It's the government stepping into the private sector and telling private business owners who have invested their own time, their own labor, their own effort, their own money into running a business, how to run that business.' 'Things like fees should be set by the free market, not by the government, not by Idaho Code,' Foreman added. After a short debate, the Idaho Senate voted 23-12 to pass the bill. Senate Bill 1042aa heads next to the Idaho House of Representatives for consideration. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
05-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
New resolution calls for working group to study Idaho's housing and land use regulations
Sen. Ali Rabe, D-Boise, works on the Senate floor at the State Capitol building on January 8, 2024. (Otto Kitsinger for Idaho Capital Sun) A new resolution introduced in the Idaho Legislature on Tuesday afternoon calls for the creation of a bipartisan working group to study housing availability and affordability, and land use regulations that affect housing. Sen. Ali Rabe, D-Boise, cosponsored the new resolution and presented it Tuesday to the Senate Local Government and Taxation Committee. Rabe told legislators serving on the committee that the resolution is modeled after a 2023 Montana working group that came up with bipartisan proposals to address housing affordability and remove regulatory barriers to building new housing. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX 'A better understanding of the effects of land use regulations on housing can guide policymakers, developers, and community leaders in identifying practical and effective strategies to improve housing affordability while maintaining local control and regulatory integrity,' the resolution states. Rabe works as executive director of the Boise-based nonprofit organization Jesse Tree, which provides financial assistance and case management services to families in danger of being evicted. The Senate Local Government and Taxation Committee voted to introduce the new resolution Tuesday without any opposition. Introducing the new resolution on Tuesday clears the way for it to return to the committee for a full public hearing. The resolution will be assigned a number and posted publicly to the Idaho Legislature's website after it is read across the desk of the Senate floor, likely late Wednesday morning. Rabe told legislators that the availability of housing is necessary to support the state's economic growth, support Idaho's workforce and strengthen communities. Since pandemic, Montana, Idaho have surpassed California as most unaffordable states for homebuyers This is the second housing bill that Rabe has worked on this session. The first housing bill is Senate Bill 1042, which seeks to ensure that tenants are charged fewer rental application fees, and that application fees can only be charged for rentals that tenants have a likelihood of being considered for. Under Senate Bill 1042, landlords would only be able to charge application fees to two applying tenant households at a time. Senate Bill 1042 was introduced on Jan. 30 and referred to the Senate Judiciary and Rules Committee. 'The biggest issue there is the cost of housing and Idaho is now considered one of the least affordable housing markets in the United States, and I think it's incumbent on us as state government to try to provide solutions to those problems,' Rabe said in an interview at the Idaho State Capitol in Boise. 'It's what people want us to focus on, and it's one of those kitchen table issues that is affecting everyday Idahoans in really big ways. Rising housing costs are causing more people to lose housing. It's causing workforce challenges. It's causing challenges for young people who want to stay in our state and older people who want to age in place. It's affecting everyone in different ways.' SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
