ST. PAUL — DFL-backed efforts to help people struggling with the cost of rent and avoid eviction stalled in a House committee in the first week of this year’s legislative session.
Tied votes in the Housing Finance and Policy Committee on Wednesday, Feb. 18, blocked two Democratic proposals. The first would have provided $50 million in one-time rental aid to counties and tribal nations. The second measure aimed to expand nonprofits’ authority to promise landlords rent payments on behalf of tenants with overdue balances.
Under current law, nonprofits may issue such a promise only when using government funds. The proposed bill would have allowed nonprofits to back certificates with privately raised dollars, such as community mutual aid funds.
All the Democrats on the committee voted to advance the bills, while all Republican legislators were opposed to them. Some Republicans said they were open to further discussion later in the session.
In the Senate on Thursday, the Committee on Housing and Homelessness Prevention advanced a separate DFL-backed bill that would provide $75 million in rent relief. That measure now heads to the Senate Taxes Committee.
More than a dozen advocates, community members and Hennepin County officials testified in support of the bills in the House committee, describing what they called an urgent housing crisis. Several said housing instability has intensified in recent months amid the presence of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Minnesota.
Stephannie L. Lewis, associate vice president of Greater Twin Cities United Way, which connects people to rental assistance, spoke in support of the one-time aid. She said during the week of Jan. 12, staff received more than 3,200 aid requests, a 230% increase compared to the last few months of 2025.
Annie Harala, a St. Louis County commissioner, said counties are facing mounting strain from federal and state funding cuts while community needs continue to grow.
“Counties cannot do this alone. Our community cannot do this alone. We really need the state's support,” Harala said.
Rep. Jim Nash, R-Waconia, said it is too early in the session to advance the proposal and urged the committee to wait until state finance officials update lawmakers on Minnesota’s budget situation.
Some Republican lawmakers questioned whether ICE’s presence should be framed as a housing emergency, arguing that housing challenges are longstanding systemic issues rather than a sudden crisis.
Minnesota saw more than 25,000 eviction filings in 2025, an all-time high, according to HOME Line, a nonprofit law firm that provides free rental advice statewide. State court data shows more than 2,000 evictions were filed in Minnesota this January, said Rep. Liish Kozlowski, DFL-Duluth.
The tied committee votes reflect the broader split in the House, which is evenly divided between Republicans and Democrats. Bipartisan support will be required to pass legislation this session.
Several Democratic legislators and city officials who testified praised Minnesotans for raising millions of dollars in rental aid over the past few months. Committee co-chair Rep. Michael Howard, DFL-Richfield, said residents have not waited to help, and neither should the Legislature.
“They have shown us the way,” Howard said. “We have a choice. We can choose inaction or action, to be helpers or ignore suffering, to use our power or surrender it.”
Report for Minnesota is a project of the University of Minnesota’s Hubbard School of Journalism and Mass Communication to support local news across the state.
