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The Minnesota Senate on Wednesday voted 35-32 to send one-time money out to counties and tribal governments to help Minnesotans cover their rent.

would redirect unused funds from a court settlement dealing with tax-forfeited lands. The state created a fund after the United States Supreme Court sided with a 94-year old Minneapolis woman who said her home was improperly seized because she owed taxes on it. The state fund was designated to 

 who lost property in similar circumstances. 

Democrats said roughly $40 million of that funding could help cover rent costs for people who were afraid to leave home during the surge of federal immigration enforcement actions over the last several months, as well as those struggling with higher prices. It could also help those affected by cuts to nutrition assistance and supportive housing. One Republican — Sen. Jim Abeler, of Anoka, voted with Democrats.

It would also temporarily extend the timeframe to correct delinquent rent. The bill’s path forward at the Capitol could be a bumpy one.

Outside the Senate chamber, dozens of people crowded hallways early in the debate with signs that read, “emergency assistance now,” as the debate went on inside. 

The bill’s sponsors said the available money wouldn’t fully cover the cost of missed rent payments during the federal surge operation but that it could help make a dent. Estimates on just how broad the impact was to renters and landlords vary. Local governments and mutual aid organizations approved new emergency funding and crowdfunded to cover some of the costs.

“The funds in this bill are available thanks to Ms. Geraldine Tyler, a 94-year-old Black woman from north Minneapolis who successfully sued Hennepin County after it wrongfully seized and sold her home,” Sen. Lindsey Port, DFL-Burnsville, said Wednesday. 

“Using this money to keep families housed honors her fight for justice, just as she stood up to a government in the wrong, so too today we have the chance to rewrite history for thousands of Minnesota families across this state,” she continued.

Port urged her peers to pass the bill to offer a “$40 million lifeline to families.”

Emergency funding allocations would be based on the existing formula for Local Homeless Prevention Aid. If approved, it wouldn’t require lawmakers to tap new funding streams. That could be a key selling point as lawmakers grapple with dozens of asks and limited financial resources to spread around this year.

Senate Democrats voted to advance the bill while most Republicans opposed it, raising concerns about people receiving the funding who aren’t authorized to live in the United States. They also raised concerns about fraud.

Sen. Rich Draheim, R-Madison Lake, and several others in his caucus said they’d not heard from local governments about the need for emergency rent assistance.

“We are not in a crisis, according to the data,” Draheim said.  “I appreciate the debate. I always appreciate the topic of housing, everybody knows that, but this $40 million could be spent in better ways.”

They brought forward amendments that would prohibit those charged or convicted of defrauding a government program or stealing public funds from accessing the aid, as well as those required to register as predatory offenders, among others. The amendments failed. 

Democrats who voted against them said children shouldn’t face homelessness over the actions or allegations against their parents or guardians.

Lawmakers from areas especially hard hit by the immigration enforcement actions raised anecdotes about families unable to work due to fear of detention and of American citizens caught up in the surge.

“It's very clear that not only our immigrant community has been impacted, but our allies also have been targeted, and we've seen two United States citizens that have been murdered,” said Sen. Omar Fateh, DFL-Minneapolis. “We've seen the president speak out of both sides of his mouth as to why this was necessary, targeting criminals, saying that we want to target fraud, also saying, ‘We don't want the Somali community here.’”

At times the debate became tense, with Republicans calling points of order when Democrats invoked the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement operations in Minnesota and the damage they’d caused, arguing they weren’t germane to the debate.

Some Republicans said the legislation should only go to support people in the country with legal authorization. And they said the assistance rewarded bad behavior.

“I rise to oppose this ‘rent for riots’ bill, at least that's what I call it up in my district,” Sen. Nathan Wesenberg, R-Little Falls, said. 

“This is opposite of compassionate, at least for the hardworking people of my district who will be forced to pay for it,” Wesenberg continued, “because when you create a giant pot of taxpayer money to pay people's rent with loose definitions and very little accountability, you're sending a signal across the state: Don't worry about the consequences. Someone else will pick up the tab.”

The bill could face a steeper climb in the tied House of Representatives. GOP leaders in that chamber have said they’re not willing to support it.

“When we have other things that are popping up, assistance due to people making choices to either not go to work or do other things, there is not an appetite in the House Republican Caucus for that,” House Speaker Lisa Demuth, R-Cold Spring, said on Tuesday.

With the House of Representatives in a tie, any measure needs bipartisan backing to pass through committee and off of the floor. The House companion bill stalled in the House Housing Finance and Policy Committee Wednesday afternoon.

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The measure would reallocate unused money designated for a court settlement to pay emergency rent relief to households in need. Its prospects in the House are murky.

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