News

Recently, the Oregon Legislative Fiscal Office requested that all state agencies that receive General Fund and Lottery funds prepare reduction scenarios and impacts before the 2012 supplemental session. Each agency must prepare 10.5 percent reductions occurring in three increments of 3.5 percent. These budget cuts affect the Oregon Housing and Community Services (OHCS) agency in several ways, including the Lottery funds that are allocated to OHCS for debt service on both past and future lottery-backed bonds.

Committees in the House and Senate recently approved FY-2012 funding bills that would make deep cuts in the budget for HUD programs. And while both houses have expressed a firm commitment to preserving federal rental assistance for the low-income families, neither funding bill achieves this goal, according to a new report released by the Center on Budget & Policy Priorities (CBPP).

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has issued Notice 2011-87 to announce the temporary suspension of certain requirements for low-income housing tax credit projects in order to provide emergency housing relief to individuals affected by Hurricane Irene and/or Tropical Storm Lee in New York.

In Revenue Procedure 2011-52, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) set the inflation-adjusted State credit ceiling for the low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) program and private activity bond caps for calendar year 2012.

The Minnesota Housing Finance Agency (MHFA) has announced Barb Sporlein as its new Deputy Commissioner.

A new Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) report entitled “2010 Annual Report on Multifamily Lending” finds that the multifamily mortgage industry grew significantly between the years 2009 and 2010.

New financing techniques, advances in technology and expected increases in water and energy costs will spur the growth of the commercial building and public facility retrofit market to as much as $12 billion a year in the near future, according to a new publication called Efficient Buildings Today.

HUD’s Office of Policy Development & Research is in the process of formulating it’s research agenda for the next 5-10 years and is soliciting input from the public.

Senators Jim Webb (D-VA) and Mark Warner (D-VA) today introduced “The Rehabilitation of Historic Schools Act of 2011,” which provides a tax credit for communities to partner with private sector developers to rehabilitate the nation’s older school buildings.

The Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) last week released a report entitled, “Economic Impact of Extending the Section 1603 Treasury Program.”

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued Notice 2011-83 to grant certain low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) properties relief from certain requirements to provide emergency housing relief needed as a result of the devastation caused by Hurricane Irene or Tropical Storm Lee in Pennsylvania.

U.S. Housing and Urban Development recently contracted with Abt Associates Inc. and released a two-part study examining the housing recovery efforts in the Gulf Coast after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.