The Utah Senate passed a bill Wednesday that would encourage cities to plan for affordable housing, even though senators raised worries the measure doesn't do enough and that it spends too much money.
After seeing several major revisions, SB34 — the 2019 Utah Legislature’s most significant attempt thus far to address a statewide shortage of moderately priced homes — advanced on a Senate vote of 20-9 and now moves to the House.
Sponsored by Sen. Jake Anderegg, R-Lehi, the bill would make a one-time $20 million contribution in 2020 to the state’s Olene Walker Housing Loan Fund, which provides low-interest lending to affordable residential construction, and then would contribute $4 million to the fund each year thereafter.