ACTION ALERT

***ACTION ALERT: SUPPORT NEEDED FOR THE HOUSING TRUST FUND AND T8 HOMELESS SERVICE FUNDING***

The House-Senate appropriations conference committee will determine funding for the Housing Trust Fund and the Homelessness Service Funding Initiative as early as TODAY, TUESDAY, MAY 5!

CALLS OR FAXES TO CONFEREES’ OFFICES NEEDED BY 12:30 TODAY!

T8 (Big City Mayors’) HOMELESS INITIATIVE
House Appropriations put $1 million annually in Article 7 (TDHCA budget) and $8 million annually in Article 11 for homeless funding and Senate Appropriations put $25 million annually in Article 11 “wish list”. We need to encourage appropriations conferees to put the $25M Senate amount in Article 7. The legislative affairs offices of Dallas and San Antonio have been working hard to secure conferees’ support; we need final phone calls/faxes to conferees TODAY! This funding will be shared between the eight largest cities, with a percentage set aside for rural Texas.

HOUSING TRUST FUND (info from TxLIHIS)
The House has approved approx. $50 million over the biennium, plus $20 million in the Article 11 "wish list." The Senate has approved just a $5 million increase, plus $20 million in the "wish list." We need to encourage the conference committee to support the House appropriations, PLUS the $20 million in the wish list.

WE URGENTLY NEED CALLS/FAXES IN THE NEXT 2 to 3 HOURS – followup to other delegation members will be requested later this week.

House-Senate Appropriations Conference Committee

Senate Chair: Senator Steve Ogden (Brazos, Burleson, Freestone, Grimes, Houston, Lee, Leon, Limestone, Madison, Milam, Robertson, Trinity, Walker, Williamson)
Phone: 512-463-0105, or 512-463-0370 to speak to Senate Finance aide Laura Kolstad

Senator charged with Article 7 (Housing Trust Fund):Florence Shapiro(Collin, Dallas)
Phone: 512-463-0108 (aide is Mike Kamerlander)

Senator Juan "Chuy" Hinojosa
(Brooks, Hidalgo, Jim Wells, Nueces)
Phone: 512-463-0120 (aide is Jerry Haddican)

Senator Royce West (Dallas)
Phone: 512-463-0123 (aide is Tim Thetford)

Senator Tommy Williams (Chambers, Harris, Jefferson, Liberty,Montgomery, Orange)
Phone: 512-463-0104 (aide is Jason Baxter)

House Chair: Jim Pitts (Ellis, Hill)
Phone: 512-463-0516 (aide is Todd Kercheval)

Rep. charged with Article 7: Ruth Jones
McClendon (Bexar)
Phone: 512-463-0708 (aide is Janis Reinken)

Rep. Richard Raymond (Webb)
Phone: 512-463-0558 (aide is Jesus "Chuy" Gonzalez)

Rep. John Otto (Liberty, Montgomery, Polk)
Phone: 512-463-0570 (aide is Nikki Dawson)

Rep. John Zerwas (Fort Bend, Waller, Wharton)
Phone: 512-463-0657 (aide is Brad Westmoreland)


Action Items:
· If your Representative or Senator is on the conference committee, please call that member and encourage their support of the Housing Trust Fund. Ask them to support the House appropriations for the Housing Trust Fund, as well as the $20 million in the Article 11 "wish list," or at least $35 million per year in funding.

Talking Points for Callers:
· Introduce yourself and your organization
· Highlight that your organization serves the Senator’s/ Representative's constituents
· State that limited funding for Homeless Service Initiative and the Housing Trust Fund are in Article 7, but the bulk of needed funding is in Article 11.
· Homeless Service Initiative: Encourage the Senator’s/ Representative's support for moving the $25M in Senate Appropriations from Article 11 to Article 7 (there is currently $1M in the House version of Article 7, plus $8M in Article 11).
· Housing Trust Fund: Encourage support for the House appropriations bill's funding for the Housing Trust Fund. Ask them to also support the $20 million from the Article 11 "wish list" that is in both the House and Senate versions.
· Thank the staffer for their time and for passing this message along to the Senator / Representative