After being approved by the Senate last week, a proposal to remake the state’s troubled affordable housing system was endorsed by its first House committee today.
House Bill 997, sponsored by Rep. Janice Arnold-Jones, R-Albuquerque, was approved unanimously this morning by members of the House Health and Governmental Affairs Committee. It must be approved by two additional committees before the House votes on it.
“This bill is on track,” Arnold-Jones said.
The proposal, which has the endorsement of the governor, would, over a period of several months, shut down the state’s scandal-plagued regional housing authorities and replace them with a system overseen by the New Mexico Mortgage Finance Authority.
The bill would also provide for audits of each of the seven housing authority regions to determine the extent of the mismanagement first revealed last year when Frances Williams, a member of the Las Cruces-based Region VII board, complained about problems. Several weeks after she went public, the Region III authority, based in
At today’s committee hearing, Rep. Lucky Varela, D-Santa Fe, expressed concerns about whether the MFA is becoming too powerful, since it’s exempt from following the procurement code. It’s an issue lawmakers will likely address in the next session.
Lt. Gov. Diane Denish expressed appreciation to the House committee in a news release.
“I want to express my appreciation to the House of Representatives for moving forward with this legislation,” she said.
The bill is a companion to Senate Bill 519, sponsored by Sen. Mary Kay Papen, D-Las Cruces, which passed the Senate on a 36-1 vote last week. Papen said she believes her bill will be heard by the same House committee next week.
“I am very pleased that these bills are making progress,” Papen said.