The Florida Housing Finance Corporation (FHFC) has scheduled a public hearing for February 17 to solicit comments regarding the implementation of the directives in state Senate Bill 2A, which cuts, redirects, and sweeps housing trust fund monies. The new special session budget measure requires FHFC to transfer funds originally appropriated in the areas of down payment assistance, farmworker, special needs housing, and certain other programs, to the corporation’s State Housing Initiative Partnership (SHIP) program. The net result is an increase in SHIP funding of nearly $30 million. The legislation also requires FHFC to return $190 million in unexpended funds.  read more…