Committee advances bill letting DCA use Housing Trust Fund for homelessness prevention

Representative Katie Carpenter introduced House Bill 689 to the State Planning and Community Affairs Committee as a measure to authorize the Georgia Department of Community Affairs (DCA) to use the existing Housing Trust Fund for homelessness prevention.

Carpenter told the committee the bill "does exactly the same thing as last year" and "allows DCA to add prevention to the homeless trust fund," stressing that the measure itself does not put additional money into the fund. She argued prevention is cost‑effective: "It's a whole lot more affordable to deal with things on the front side than after the fact."

Why it matters: advocates and committee members said federal emergency funds that supported rental-assistance pilots have ended and local providers cannot meet current demand. Elizabeth Apley, an attorney and public-policy advocate representing a coalition of more than 35 groups, told the committee that a DCA pilot paired emergency rental assistance with legal services, used the final $55,000,000 of COVID-era federal aid, and that proponents would seek a $25,000,000 state appropriation to replicate the pilot if funding is provided: "we're asking for $25,000,000 to the Department of Community Affairs which would mirror the amount that the pilot program set up with the COVID dollars used."

Witnesses described small amounts of aid resolving many cases. Katie Herring of the Atlanta Volunteer Lawyers Foundation said AVLF's average rental assistance was about $1,800 per household and that modest payments plus legal help often salvage tenancies by enabling attorneys to negotiate with property managers. Audrea Reese of STAR Communities and landlord Margie Stagmire described nonprofit and private landlord programs that used small grants to prevent eviction and stabilize families.

Committee members pressed the sponsor on program design: how DCA would work with nonprofits, whether qualification standards and audits would be used, and how often a household could receive assistance. Carpenter said community-based organizations would set eligibility and vet applicants and that DCA's existing audit and contract oversight would apply; she added that organizations should red‑flag habitual applicants to stretch limited funds.

Procedure and next steps: the committee moved and approved technical amendments to update date references in the bill and then voted to report the bill favorably. Representative McLean moved to "do pass," a motion that received a recorded second and a voice vote in favor; the chair announced "the ayes have it." The bill will be processed further with the technical edits identified in committee.

The committee record shows the discussion centered on creating a prevention pathway (not an immediate infusion of state general‑fund dollars), coordinating with local nonprofit providers, and preserving program oversight under DCA.