Housing affordability in Kansas is out of control. Working class Kansans are being priced out of their rental units. Younger generations have no hope of one day owning a home. The most visible consequence of this crisis is the growing homeless population in our cities. Sadly, many municipalities respond by punishing and displacing homeless people rather than addressing the root cause - housing affordability.

To bring housing costs down and to help the homeless population, I’m calling for legislation to:

• Repeal preemptive laws banning municipalities from enacting rent control and rent freezes.

• Require municipalities that give economic incentives to housing developers to include investments in affordable housing and related infrastructure.

• Establish an affordable housing land trust to buy abandoned, condemned, foreclosed, and empty residential plots to be used for public housing initiatives.

• Establish a state board to manage public housing initiatives, including managing rental properties at low rents, working with developers to lease land trust properties to build low-cost housing for homebuyers.

• Fund homeless shelters and housing-first rehoming programs.

• Fund mental health and drug counseling for people in crisis with the aim of helping them re-establish stable housing and employment.