3 weeks Ago By MIKE SMITH [email protected]
Gov. Greg Gianforte visited a group of soon-to-be-occupied Habitat for Humanity houses in Butte on Wednesday to tout recent Montana investments in affordable housing initiatives and plug his request for more funding. Gianforte commended state lawmakers for enacting pro-housing reforms in the 2023 session and investing more than $175 million to increase the supply of affordable workforce housing.
He’s seeking another $100 million in one-time funds this legislative session. Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte address the media outside of newly constructed Habitat for Humanity homes on Wednesday, April 16, 2025 in Butte.
Gianforte is flanked by Dan Villa, executive director of the Montana Board of Investments, and Barbara Miller, executive director of Habitat for Humanity of Southwest Montana. With just 14 possible days left in the session, several affordable housing bills remain in play despite some of the larger priorities – especially from Democrats – being voted down along the way. But the Republican governor focused mostly on funding initiatives during a news conference Wednesday outside of five new houses and one duplex built along Iron Street in Butte with help from the Habitat for Humanity program.
Gianforte said the project benefited from a $100 million, low-interest revolving fund established in 2023 as part of his Home Ownership Means Economic Security program, or HOMES for short. According to the Montana Board of Investments, the nearly completed houses on Iron Street are among about 1,000 new homes being built across the state made possible by the HOMES Program. Newly constructed Habitat for Humanity homes are seen on Iron Street during a news conference with state officials on Wednesday, April 16, 2025.
“We’re hopeful in this Legislature we can expand on that program with additional funding,” Gianforte told reporters. “That’s money that gets loaned out to do projects like this. It gets paid back and we can loan it out again.
It’s the gift that keeps on giving.” A bill sponsored by Republican Rep. Mike Vinton of Billings includes Gianforte’s requested $100 million in new funding for the HOMES program.
The bill passed with bipartisan support in the House last week and was heard in the Senate Finance Committee this week. Gianforte said Montana’s population has grown by more than 10% over the past 12 years but “new doorknobs” have only increased 7%. Montana Gov.
Greg Gianforte attends a press conference outside of newly built Habitat for Humanity homes on Wednesday, April 16, 2025 in Butte. “We have a supply program and that’s why this project is so important,” Gianforte said. He was joined by Barbara Miller, executive director of Habitat for Humanity of Southwest Montana, and Dan Villa, executive director of the Montana Board of Investments, which participates in financing for the HOMES program.
Habitat for Humanity partnered with the National Affordable Housing Network on the Iron Street project and also received support from local building suppliers, contractors and volunteers. Executive Director of Habitat for Humanity of Southwest Montana Barbara Miller addresses the press outside of newly built Habitat for Humanity homes on Wednesday, April 16, 2025 in Butte. Miller said the Board of Investments used money from the 2023 initiative to provide interest deductions to banks, making it more palatable for them to loan money to housing programs.
She hopes the Legislature takes additional steps this session. “In my more than 30 years of working on these projects, I have to say, they take a great deal of courage, faith and gratitude because they’re so hard to do,” Miller said. “Anything that makes it easier is a lifesaver.
” Villa said the HOMES program has helped fund 1,000 new housing units across the state, including in Butte, Helena, Billings, Hamilton, Libby, Havre, Great Falls and Missoula. There are numerous other bills related to affordable housing that are still alive this session. They include: • House Bill 931 from Rep.
Curtis Schomer, R-Billings, would allow single-family or multi-family homes to be built on leased state trust lands if they are built as workforce housing for nonprofits. The bill is awaiting a vote on the Senate floor after it passed the House and its initial committee in the upper chamber. • Rep.
Julie Darling, R-Helena, is advancing a resolution so the Legislature studies ways to increase both housing density and affordability during the interim. • Whitefish Democratic Sen. Dave Fern’s Senate Bill 252 is on the way to the governor’s desk to treat manufactured and factory-built homes the same as other types of residential property in zoning regulations.
• House Bill 311, sponsored by Rep. Kelly Kortum, a Bozeman Democrat, passed a final vote Tuesday in the House and is now on the way to the governor’s desk. The bill would require landlords to refund any rental application fees they charge for prospective renters.
• Senate Bill 405, also from Fern, is awaiting a vote in a House committee but cleared the Senate 30-20. The proposal would send an additional $50 million toward a state fund to provide housing loans, with some of the fund allocated directly toward rural housing initiatives. The Lee Montana State News Bureau contributed to this story.
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