Wendy Rhodes | Palm Beach Post
Florida Realtors, the state’s largest trade organization and the third-largest Realtor organization in the country, is taking on Gov. Ron DeSantis and state GOP lawmakers over recent legislation that permanently pillages a critical affordable housing trust fund.
The move comes as the prices of homes — and rents — skyrocket across Florida. The surge in costs has aggravated a chronic problem in the state: many lower- and middle-income residents cannot afford the cost of housing. On top of that, state leaders again this year siphoned away dollars from a pot of money specifically created to help ease the home price crunch.
Supported by the state’s Republican-led Legislature, DeSantis in June signed a bill to divert permanently half of Florida’s affordable housing trust fund — called the Sadowski fund — to pay for wastewater systems and sea level rise projects.
Not OK, said Florida Realtors, which boasts more than 200,000 members. Beginning June 28, the group kicked off a ballot initiative to override DeSantis’ bill and protect the housing fund from ever being swept again.