AUGUSTA - The Maine House of Representatives voted Wednesday to advance LD 830, sponsored by Rep. Daniel J. Hobbs, D-Wells, which would direct the Maine Community College System to study providing more housing on its campuses.
"This bill will aid the Maine Community College System in their efforts to ensure campus housing is more accessible for students across Maine," said Hobbs. "In a tight housing market, on-campus housing should be more available to all students, so that finding off-campus housing is not added to the list of challenges students already face."
The bill would direct the system to study housing construction costs, the cost to students, the availability of space on campuses, other infrastructure and staff necessary to support housing, alternate housing options and any other issues the system feels are appropriate.
At colleges across the country, students are experiencing housing insecurity amid a shortage of available on-campus housing and affordable off-campus options. A 2020 annual basic-needs survey from The Hope Center for College, Community, and Justice found that half of the respondents attending two-year colleges experienced housing insecurity.
The bill faces further votes in the House and Senate.
Hobbs is serving his second non-consecutive term in the Maine House, representing a portion of Wells. He serves as a member of the Environment and Natural Resources Committee.
Contact:
Brian Lee [Hobbs], c. 305-965-2744