News

Rutgers University in partnership with the Historic Tax Credit Coalition has released its third annual study on the economic impact realized by the federal Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credit (HTC).

Maine State Senate President Kevin Raye (R-Perry) and Senator Doug Thomas (R-Ripley) recently succeeded in passing an amendment to the state’s FY 2013 budget which increases the individual tax credit cap for the state’s New Markets Capital Investment Program (NMCIP) program from $10 million to $40 million.

The Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (TDHCA) has posted the following documents related to the 2012 Competitive 9% Housing Tax Credit Program to the Department’s website.

Congress recently reauthorized federal surface transportation programs in the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century (MAP-21) legislation (H.R.4348). In addition to other transportation-related funding, the now Public Law (PL) No: 112-141 also includes funding for a new transit-oriented development (TOD) pilot program to provide grant funding for TOD-related activities.

The Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) has scheduled two public hearings to solicit comments on the Amended 2012 Qualified Allocation Plan (QAP) for the Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC).

Extension to Spend Affordable Housing Money
The New Jersey Senate recently passed a bill (S. 2011) which extends the amount of time municipalities have to commit fees and payments-in-lieu of constructing affordable units from four to six years.

The Michigan State Housing Development Authority (MSHDA) has released its draft 2013 Qualified Allocation Plan (QAP) for the distribution of Low-Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTCs).

California Governor Jerry Brown recently signed into law AB 1484, which is a trailer bill to the state’s budget and modifies certain provisions within AB 26x, which dissolved the activities of California’s redevelopment agencies (RDA) effective February 1, 2012. Specifically, AB 1481 modifies policies relating to the transfer of housing responsibilities associated with dissolved RDAs and redefines the term “housing asset”.

U.S. Representative Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) recently introduced the Wind Powering American Jobs Act (HR 6031) which would extend the production tax credit for wind energy through 2013. The bill would also extend the option for wind project developers to choose a 30 percent investment tax credit until 2014.

The Louisiana Housing Corporation (LHC) has begun operating as the State of Louisiana’s new housing finance agency. The new agency consolidates previous activities from the Louisiana Housing Finance Agency and the Office of Community Development, Department of Health and Hospitals, and the Department of Children and Family Services and will be responsible for the administration of the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program and other state and federal housing and community development programs.

The White House Council on Strong Cities, Strong Communities (SC2) will hold a conference call on Thursday, July 12 to gather input on how the new SC2 National Resource Network program (SC2 Network) ““ a critical component of the SC2 initiative ““ can assist economically distressed communities. HUD plans to make approximately $5 million available for the SC2 Network to help strengthen local communities and spur economic growth.

The latest Metro Monitor report from the Brookings Institution finds that from January to March 2012, employment growth accelerated across most of the nation’s 100 largest metro areas, while output growth weakened.