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AFFORDABLE HOUSING <br />In 1992, the Florida Legislature created the William <br />E. Sadowski Affordable Housing Act ("the Act"). This <br />created a dedicated revenue source by increasing the <br />documentary stamp tax paid on the purchase price <br />of all residential and commercial deeds. The monies <br />from the documentary stamp are split between all <br />counties and entitlement municipalities and the <br />Florida Housing Finance Corporation. Overall, the <br />monies are split approximately 70-30 between local <br />governments and the State, respectively. <br />Pursuant to section 420.9067 of the Florida Statutes, <br />local governments receive annual allocations for <br />affordable housing based on population. These funds <br />are to be used to implement the housing element of <br />a counties local comprehensive plan, consistent with <br />the State Housing Initiatives Partnership Program <br />(SHIP) plan adopted by all local governments. <br />Over the past decade, the Florida Legislature has <br />transferred nearly $2 billion in Sadowski funds to <br />different areas of the state's annual budget. This <br />leaves a decreased amount of state funding available <br />for local governments seeking to combat affordable <br />housing issues, which has elevated itself as an <br />increasingly problematic area of concern for many <br />counties throughout the state. <br />Support a prohibition on the ability of the Florida <br />Legislature to transfer Sadowski Trust funds to <br />different areas of the state's annual budget. <br />180 <br />