PRINTER'S NO. 2850
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE RESOLUTION
No.
368
Session of
2024
INTRODUCED BY IRVIN, BENNINGHOFF, HEFFLEY, JOZWIAK, KUTZ, KUZMA,
R. MACKENZIE, MAJOR, E. NELSON AND STAATS, APRIL 3, 2024
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS, APRIL 3, 2024
A RESOLUTION
Urging the Auditor General to conduct an audit of the Whole-Home
Repairs Program.
WHEREAS, Act 1A of 2022 appropriated $125,000,000 in Federal
State Fiscal Recovery Fund money from the COVID-19 Response
Restricted Account to the Department of Community and Economic
Development for disbursement to one home repair program in each
county to address home repair needs of residential homes and
buildings in each county; and
WHEREAS, As provided in Act 54 of 2022, the Whole-Home
Repairs Program is administered through these county programs to
allocate money to eligible homeowners who have applicable home
repair programs; and
WHEREAS, The Whole-Home Repairs Program has faced some
roadblocks, including contractor shortages, which has resulted
in county programs being unable to find contractors willing to
take on repair projects, thus causing significant delays for
homeowners to have the repair work done; and
WHEREAS, The money allocated to the Whole-Home Repairs
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
Program is subject to the prevailing wage, forcing many counties
to cap the money available well-below the amount authorized by
State law in order to allow the money to stretch further; and
WHEREAS, Some counties have excluded landlords and many
landlords are hesitant or unwilling to utilize the Whole-Home
Repairs Program due to the rent control provisions included in
the Whole-Home Repairs Program; and
WHEREAS, Some counties are also hesitant to take on the
administrative burden of tracking rents for extended periods of
time under Whole-Home Repairs Program; and
WHEREAS, Other counties have felt overwhelmed with the amount
of grant programs and funding they are responsible to manage
under the post-COVID stimulus programs and other assistance
programs and have opted not to utilize the Whole-Home Repairs
Program; and
WHEREAS, There are other more established programs that could
be capable of providing home repair solutions to the residents
of this Commonwealth, such as the Pennsylvania Housing
Affordability and Rehabilitation Enhancement Program (PHARE),
that could potentially be a better fit for additional State
funding; and
WHEREAS, Act 1A of 2023 appropriated $50,000,000 of General
Fund money to the Department of Community and Economic
Development for the Whole-Home Repairs Program, but that
appropriation lapsed and the Whole-Home Repairs Program received
no additional funding for the 2023-2024 fiscal year; and
WHEREAS, A comprehensive audit of the Whole-Home Repairs
Program's utilization, successes and failures is necessary to
assess the health of the Whole-Home Repairs Program prior to the
additional allocation of State money, and adequate feedback from
20240HR0368PN2850 - 2 -
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
each county and the Department of Community and Economic
Development is necessary to provide further clarity on the
impact of the Whole-Home Repairs Program; therefore be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives urge the Auditor
General to conduct an audit of the Whole-Home Repairs Program;
and be it further
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives urge the Auditor
General to submit a report on the audit's findings to all of the
following:
(1) The President pro tempore of the Senate.
(2) The Speaker of the House of Representatives.
(3) The Urban Affairs and Housing Committee of the
Senate.
(4) The Housing and Community Development Committee of
the House of Representatives.
20240HR0368PN2850 - 3 -
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15