The Assembly today approved a bill to create a grant program to convert multifamily housing into condos, rejecting a Dem amendment to expand the program to include housing cooperatives despite past bipartisan support.
The legislation, which passed 54-41, was part of a series of housing-related bills that cleared the chamber today.
Four Republicans voted in support of Milwaukee Rep. Ryan Clancy’s amendment to AB 455 when it passed 9-5 in the Housing and Real Estate Committee last week: GOP Reps. Scott Allen, of Waukesha; Jim Piwowarczyk, of Hubertus; Rob Kreibich, of New Richmond; and Dave Armstrong, of Rice Lake, voted in favor of the amendment in committee.
The move drew backlash from Sen. Steve Nass, R-Whitewater, who sent an email to lawmakers criticizing them for supporting an amendment “offered by an avowed communist Representative” and asking “What the Hell is going on.”
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All four Republicans voted to table Clancy’s amendment today.
Clancy in a floor speech today praised what he called a “brief” and “awesome” bipartisan moment.
“In all earnestness, I was here excited today to thank my colleagues for trying something new. Yet you’ve listened to the most extreme parts of your own party. You listened to an email written in all red that ended with ‘what the Hell is going on’,” Clancy said.
Clancy also read from a speech he had planned for his amendment’s approval on the floor, in which he thanked his “Assembly comrades,” prompting laughter from lawmakers.
GOP state Rep. Rob Brooks, a co-author of the bill, said ahead of today’s floor session that Republicans decided to drop Clancy’s amendment after doing more research on the proposal. He said the co-op model the amendment addressed “is very difficult to manage because of the financing.” He said Republicans may consider the idea again in separate legislation.
“But right now it just doesn’t fit the supply side and how we can finance that,” Brooks said.
The Assembly today also:
* Approved by voice vote AB 194, to make various changes to application and eligibility requirements for three housing loan programs created last session as part of an affordable housing package.
* Approved by voice vote AB 424, to clarify requirements in state law around rental of homes or sites in mobile or manufactured home communities by updating the definitions of “resident,” “occupant” and “renter.” It would also require 90 days’ notice before a community or site is shut down.
*Approved by voice vote AB 450, to delay the enforcement of the new commercial building code until April 2026.
* Voted 88-7 to pass AB 451, to allow municipalities to create residential tax increment districts. Reps. Clancy, Francesca Hong, D-Madison, Darrin Madison, D-Milwaukee, Rep. Vincent Miresse, D-Stevens Point, Christian Phelps, D-Eau Claire, Priscilla Prado, D-Milwaukee, and Chuck Wichgers, R-Muskego, voted against it.
* Approved by voice vote AB 452, which aims to create a consistent process for counties and municipalities by establishing various requirements for the approval of subdivisions and plats of land.
* Voted 55-38 to pass AB 453, to require political subdivisions to approve requests to change a zoning classification that is required to proceed with a residential housing development if certain requirements are met, among other things. Rep. Lisa Subeck, D-Madison, joined Republicans in favor.
