June 22, 2009

Summer is here and right away it reminded me why humidity changes everything when it comes to heat! 

Thanks to the advocacy efforts of the Together NC and HKonJ coalitions, the House passed their budget with nearly $800,000 in increased revenue.  This will help reduce some of the drastic cuts posed to vital programs. 

The House and Senate will now go into conference to negotiate the final budget.  Interestingly, the Governor, who had been fairly silent on the budget issues since she released her version back in the early spring, suddenly jumped out with a recommendation to increase revenues by $1.5 Billion to avoid drastic cuts to education and human services in particular.  This has shocked some legislators, and it will be interesting to see how the next few weeks play out as they struggle to find a compromise. 

One thing to remember, these budget cuts will result in the loss of thousands of jobs in addition to cuts in services for those in need.  Legislators will have to grapple with increasing unemployment at a very difficult time in our state’s economy. 

Under the current proposed budgets, the $7 million from the Housing Trust Fund that serves the Housing 400 program would be eliminated.  This program builds housing for the most vulnerable populations. It has been a national model, along with the Key program, for providing independent living opportunities for persons with disabilities.  The NC Housing Coalition will stay involved in this discussion and continue to support progressive reform to NC’s tax code.

NC Recovery Funds

Today, I met with nonprofit advocacy groups who are interested in providing oversight on how recovery funds are spent.  We will be looking to ensure that housing funds are spent well on those who need them most as well as highlighting the successes happening in local communities with the funds.  We will be posting this information on www.ncrecovery.net once funding becomes available.  Right now, we are anticipating the weatherization and homeless prevention funds to be rolled out later this summer.

Fair Housing Trainings
Please note that John Niffenegger, on our staff, is resuming the Fair Housing Trainings. These are offered to property managers and landlords. The next one is scheduled for Raleigh on July 1.  See the Announcements section for more information. 

Thanks again for being a member of the NC Housing Coalition. Your support is vital to our success.

Chris Estes
Executive Director
 

Legislative Update

Three of the bills we are working on are expected to come up in the legislature this week.

On Thursday of last week, I met with bill drafting staff at the NC General Assembly about House Bill 1586, which will change the way property tax assessments are made on homes placed in land trusts.  Meeting with me were Andrew Foster and Matt Lipsky from the Duke Law Clinic, Selina Mack from the Durham Community Land Trust, as well as our lobby team from the Policygroup.  We have been told that the bill will come up in House Finance on Wednesday.  Thanks to all of these folks for their work on this.

We are expecting House Bill 1050 to be introduced in the House Energy Efficiency Committee this week.  This bill will create a third party energy efficiency administrator that will award $60-$70M in housing rehab funds to reduce energy consumption of low income households across our state.  We hope the bill will pass out of this committee this week and move to House Finance next week.  We will send out a separate Action Alert when the bill is ready for House Finance.

Finally, we are awaiting House Bill 148 to be calendared in the Senate Finance Committee.  The bill has been held up over the sales tax referendum components that will fund increases in public transportation.  We hope this will move this week and that some compromise can be reached that will keep it moving forward.

Federal Housing News
You can see the obvious connections to our work on the state level and what is happening in Washington DC below.

HUD, DOT, EPA Announce Joint Effort to Improve Community ‘Livability’
HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson have announced an interagency effort to improve “livability” within communities.  The announcement was part of a June 16th Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs hearing called “Greener Communities, Greater Opportunities: New Ideas for Sustainable Development and Economic Growth.”

GREEN Act Hearing Continues with Ron Sims Testimony
The Housing and Community Opportunity Subcommittee of the House Financial Services committee held a second hearing on June 16 on H.R. 2336, the Green Resources for Energy Efficient Neighborhoods (GREEN) Act of 2009.  The GREEN Act is a comprehensive bill that encourages energy efficiency and conservation in the building industry and includes various provisions to increase energy efficiency in low income communities.

Mr. Sims noted that HUD, as the largest provider of affordable housing in the nation, is severely affected by high energy costs. According to Mr. Sims, an estimated $5 billion, roughly 10% of HUD’s annual budget, is spent on energy, either directly in the form of public housing operating subsidies, or indirectly through utility allowances and Section 8 contracts in assisted multi-family housing.  “A modest savings of just 5% per year could generate a savings of $1 billion over the next five years,” Mr. Sims noted.  In 2006, the overall cost of utilities in public housing totaled $1.85 billion. Currently, the average tenant-based Section 8 utility allowance is $1,467 a year.

Mr. Sims said that in order to help with these expenditures, HUD has proposed a new Energy Innovation Fund in its FY10 budget that would provide financing for energy efficiency in the residential sector. Later this year, HUD will award nearly $250 million to fund green energy retrofits in multifamily housing with project-based assistance as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).  HUD is also currently conducting a study to better understand the costs and savings of various energy-efficient improvements, according to Mr. Sims.

For the latest on Federal Housing News, courtesy of NLIHC and the Housing Assistance Council, click here. 

To view NC Housing Coalition's Quarterly Newsletter, click here.