News

Yesterday the House of Representatives voted to approve federal funding for the remainder of FY 2020, which will provide $738 billion to the military and $632 billion to non-defense agencies. The Senate is expected to pass the measures before the current continuing resolution expires on December 20, and the White House has indicated President Trump will sign them into law.

Last week the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) released a proposed rule that would modernize the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) Regulations. The proposal would overhaul CRA assessment boundaries, criteria for eligible CRA activities, and how banks are scored overall for their performance.

Senators Michael Bennet (D-CO) and Rob Portman (R-OH) introduced the Eviction Crisis Act of 2019 to shed light on the root causes of the eviction crisis, reduce preventable evictions and limit the devastation to families when eviction is unavoidable.

Governor Ralph Northam (D-VA) announced his proposed budget will include $92 million in new funding to address housing affordability, eviction rates and supportive housing throughout the Commonwealth. The Governor’s proposed budget invests $63 million in the Virginia Housing Trust Fund (VHTF), bringing the total amount to $84 million over three years.

The United States Conference of Mayors has issued a new report “Mayor’s Vision For America: A 2020 Call To Action” which calls for new investments in infrastructure, innovation and inclusion.  The report outlines 12 priorities including to “make housing more affordable and end homelessness.”  The report specifically calls for increased funding for the Community Development Block Grant and HOME Program as well as the creation of a new program for blighted neighborhood restoration.  Additionally, the report calls for the expansion of rental housing supply noting, “There is an increased need for rental housing. The nation needs to create and pursue policies to develop more rental housing.

On November 20, 2019 Legislation introduced in the South Carolina Legislature  that would create a state low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) for properties in opportunity zones. Analysis of the legislation by Novogradac & Company finds that the measure “would create a 25 percent tax credit for investment in the state’s OZs and add OZs to other state incentive programs.

U.S. Senator Tim Scott (R-SC) was joined today by Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Senators Marco Rubio (R-FL), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Todd Young (R-IN), Joni Ernst (R-IA), Bill Cassidy (R-LA), and Cory Gardner (R-CO) in the introduction the IMPACT Act, which would reinstate and expand reporting requirements to determine the impact of the more than 8,700 Opportunity Zones across the country.

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has issued a final regulation on the implementation of the the base erosion and anti-abuse (“BEAT”) tax, which was part of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and was designed to prevent the reduction of tax liability by certain large corporate taxpayers through certain payments made to foreign related parties and certain tax credits.  The BEAT Tax impacts certain LIHTC, NMTC and Historic Credit investors that are either foreign owned or have significant foreign operations. It has the potential to erode an investor’s benefit from tax credits and losses over time.  The final regulations retain the basic approach and structure of the proposed regulations, with certain revisions.

Lei Ding and Peter Birke of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia have published a report on Opportunity Zones, “How Are Cities Leveraging Opportunity Zones for Community Development? Philadelphia as a Case Study.”  Using Philadelphia as a case study, this study intends to reflect on the selection of Opportunity Zones in major cities and to explore real estate market trends and residential mobility in designated zones in Philadelphia.

Due to the city’s ongoing budget crunch, newly-elected Nashville Mayor John Cooper has proposed to cut funding in half for the Barnes Fund for Affordable Housing.  The city faces an estimated budget shortfall of $41.5 million.  Mayor Cooper indicated the city would only award $5 million in Barnes Fund Grants this year.  The Barnes Fund […]

The California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) is seeking feedback on the NOFA and program guidelines for the next round of its Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) program. Thanks to new, voter-approved housing bonds, the TOD program will be releasing a new NOFA in 2020. In preparation, HCD invites you to help shape Round 4 Guidelines by reviewing the Round 3 Guidelines from Fiscal Year 2013-2014 and providing feedback.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) published a Request for Information (RFI) seeking public comment on Federal, State, local, and Tribal laws, regulations, land use requirements, and administrative practices that artificially raise the costs of affordable housing development and contribute to shortages in America’s housing supply.