AARP Ohio — House Bill 3, House Economic and Workforce Development Committee

Summary

Written testimony dated March 21, 2023, from Holly Holtzen, State Director of AARP Ohio, to the House Economic and Workforce Development Committee in support of House Bill 3. The testimony says AARP has 1.5 million members in Ohio and cites an AARP survey from 2021 reporting that 77% of adults want to stay in their homes and 79% in their communities. It cites a National Low-Income Housing Coalition report on the shortage of affordable, available rental homes for extremely low-income households in Ohio. It says more than 5,000 older adults (aged 55+) were evicted and nearly 7,000 experienced homelessness during 2021, and it asks the committee to pass House Bill 3.

Summary drafted by a model from the document's text below and checked by script against that text before publication. It is a navigation aid, not a reading of what the document proves. Where AI is used

Cite this document

“AARP Ohio — House Bill 3, House Economic and Workforce Development Committee.” Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/2023-03-21-econ-workforce-dev-testimony-testimony-1444-efc4d769f9/, SHA-256 a69463a22657342ceabffaf45c3b2986ff5392150fa49ed0860b39da11ee7b6d.

Full text

Written Testimony on House Bill 3
House Economic and Workforce Development Committee
March 21, 2023
Holly Holtzen, State Director, AARP Ohio

Good afternoon, Chairman Swearingen, Vice Chair Santucci, Ranking Member Upchurch and
distinguished members of the House Economic and Workforce Development Committee.

My name is Holly Holtzen, and I serve as the State Director for AARP, Ohio. AARP, with 1.5
million members in Ohio, is a nonpartisan, nonprofit, nationwide organization that helps
empower people to choose how they live as they age, strengthens communities, and fights for the
issues that matter most to families, such as healthcare, employment and income security,
retirement planning, affordable utilities, livable communities, and protection from financial
abuse.

AARP is here today to support House Bill 3. According to AARP’s 2021 Home and
Community Preferences survey, more than three-quarters of adults ages 50 and older want to
stay in their homes (77%) and communities (79%). However, households with low- and fixed
incomes find that paying for shelter can be challenging. Affordable housing is critical to
allowing older adults to live in their homes as they age, helping them maintain their
independence. According to the National Low-Income Housing Coalition’s March 2023 housing
gap report, there is a shortage of affordable, available rental homes for extremely low-income
households (ELI) in Ohio. ELI households are those whose incomes are at or below the poverty
guideline or 30% of their area median income (AMI).

Many of these households are severely cost burdened, spending more than half of their income
on housing. Severely cost burdened, poor households are more likely than other renters to
experience unstable housing situations like evictions and sacrifice necessities like healthy food
and healthcare to pay the rent. Twenty-three percent of the extremely low-income households
have seniors living in the home. According to the Statista/AARP analysis of United States
Census Bureau (USCB) data, more than 5,000 older adults (aged 55+) were evicted, and nearly
7,000 experienced homelessness during 2021. Unfortunately, if the status quo is maintained,
more than 20,000 older adults (55+) are expected to be evicted, and more than 9,500 are
expected to experience homelessness.

Ohio’s 50+ population wants to live in vibrant communities, and housing affordability is a
crucial building block for strong communities. Designing affordable housing with community
building in mind means it meets the needs of people of all ages. For example, young adults
beginning their careers need low-maintenance, affordable housing options, as do seniors on fixed
incomes as well as people with disabilities. The proposed tax credit under House Bill 3 would
increase opportunities for much-needed economical housing developments. The jobs created
from these projects will have a ripple effect in our communities and drive social and economic
activity. Additionally, improving the manner in which subsidized residential rental property is
valued for property tax purposes will help maintain financial stability for thousands of units of
affordable housing, thereby stabilizing housing for families, older adults, and children.

AARP supports House Bill 3 and policies to advance a thriving community that allows our
state’s 50+ population to age in place. I appreciate the opportunity to speak on behalf of AARP
today and encourage the House Economic and Workforce Development Committee to pass
House Bill 3 to move Ohio forward on this vital issue.

File and source

File: 2023-03-21_econ-workforce-dev_testimony_testimony-1444.pdf
Size: 102,053 bytes
SHA-256: a69463a22657342ceabffaf45c3b2986ff5392150fa49ed0860b39da11ee7b6d
Our copy: 2023-03-21_econ-workforce-dev_testimony_testimony-1444.pdf
Original: No public link identified.