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Legislative Updates - Unprecedented Potential for Funding
This has been another very busy week in Augusta for housing related bills. MAHC testified on three bills (see testimony below) for a $100 million bond to support housing production in front of the Appropriations and Financial Affairs Committee; and two land use bills that support and expand LD2003 for housing production with the Housing Committee.

This legislative session, MAHC has been heavily involved in advocating for an unprecedented level of funding for affordable housing development - $380 million in total.

Up to $80 million over two years from the General Fund in the Budget. The Governor proposed $30 million, but the Housing Committee unanimously supported a recommendation to increase this to $80 million.
$200 million over two years from the General Fund with Rep. Millet's LD226
$100 million from a bond with Sen. Daughtry's LD1074

All three of these proposals/bills will be evaluated by the Appropriations and Financial Affairs Committee later this spring (potentially June). Maine Housing has said that they can put the $380 million to work in Maine, but we are realistic about the many demands on funding. That's why we want to keep our message strong, and consistent. Talking points here.

If you have a chance to talk with your local legislator or know any of the committee members below, please share the dire need for affordable housing and the fact that funding is the barrier to building 2,500 units of housing already in the pipeline from local developers just waiting for state subsidy. As you know, affordable housing won't be built without subsidy, because the cost to build and maintain it are too high to make it feasible for lower rents/prices.

Appropriations and Financial Affairs Committee members:

Senator Margaret Rotundo - Chair

Senator Richard Bennett

Senator Jill Duson

Representative Melanie Sachs - Chair

Representative Mark Blier

Representative Nathan Carlow

Representative Benjamin Collings

Representative Jack Ducharme

Representative Jessica Fay

Representative Drew Gattine

Representative Ann Matlack

Representative Rebecca Millett

Representative Sawin Millett

MAHC bill list updates for this week: PDF and Excel

Join the Szanton Company for the Grand Opening of Milliken Heights
Tuesday, May 9, 2:00 pm, 38 Portland Avenue, Old Orchard Beach

The Szanton Company and partners invite you to help us celebrate the opening of our first property in Old Orchard Beach, Milliken Heights. This development features 55 mixed-income, one-bedroom apartments for individuals 55 and over. Speakers include: Dan Brennan, Director, MaineHousing; Heather Johnson, Commissioner, Maine DECD; Shawn O’Neill, Town Council Chair, Old Orchard Beach; Bill Shanahan, Co-President, Evernorth; Lori Gramlich, State Representative, Old Orchard Beach; Liza Fleming-Ives, Executive Director, Genesis Fund Community Loan Fund.

The event will be held in front of the main entrance of Milliken Heights. Limited parking on site. Street parking available nearby. To RSVP, please contact Anne Conley: aconley@szantoncompany.com or 207-321-2789

MAHC Testified to the Housing Committee & Appropriations Committee on Tue, 4/25

LD1074 - In Favor - Priority Bill for $100 Million Bond for Affordable Housing
Read here

LD1706 - In Favor - Priority Bill for LD2003 Implementation
Read here

LD1593 - In Favor - With Sponsor Amendments
Read here

Evernorth Welcomes Executive VP and Chief Program Officer to Portland

Evernorth is happy to announce that Cynthia (Cindee) Lacasse has accepted Evernorth’s newly created position of Executive Vice President and Chief Program Officer. Ms. Lacasse will be joining us beginning May 29th. Cindee is an affordable housing industry leader with deep transactional knowledge and a commitment to Evernorth’s mission. She will be based in Portland and serve a key, externally-facing role with Evernorth’s investors, developers, and funders. More on Cindee here.

Maine Equal Justice Shares LD1710 HOME Act for Support - 5/12 Public Hearing

Here's a summary of what the bill is trying to do:

Create a state-run rental assistance program to bridge the affordability gap for low-income Mainers. This would alleviate municipal GA funds and provide a solution for low-income Mainers whose AMI is too low to afford affordable housing.
Amend the Maine Human Rights Act to prohibit discrimination against voucher holders. We know that even before the pandemic voucher holders struggled to find a place to rent with their vouchers. There's anywhere from 600-800 unused vouchers in Maine.
Gradually increase the real estate transfer tax (RETT) ONLY for homes sold above the median sales home price in that county. For homes sold at or below the median sales price the real estate transfer tax would stay the same. This mechanism would use the additional revenue gained from raising the RETT and use it to fund the rental assistance program
Amend the Maine Fair Debt Collections Practice to protect Maine tenants from unaffordable rent.

There is a piece in the bill now about the General Assistance program, but this is are being heard in the HHS committee and will therefore be amended out of the bill.
LD1720 Bill
MEJP Talking Points
MEJP Bill Fact Sheet

With few rentals available, states push local officials to allow more housing - Pew Trust
Bangor Daily News article here.

Have you ever asked: "Where is the subsidized affordable housing in Maine?" or "What types of housing can households in my county afford?"
Topic: Housing in Maine - Intro to Open-Sourced Data Visualization Tool - 5/8, 2 pm
These and other questions can now be answered through an interactive data visualization tool.
Sarah Sturtevant and Jacob Curtis (Shaw Innovation Fellowship research team and USM graduate/undergraduate students) have built an application based on MaineHousing.org consolidated data, census, NAR and HUD data - and utilizing Microsoft's Power BI technology.
For an introduction to this tool, how to access it and how to use it, please tune in to a zoom webinar (details below) on Monday May 8th at 2:00pm. Join Zoom Meeting:
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/2862747038?pwd=Sjhya1k4Qjhkdy9lTXB2K3ZEMnphZz09
Meeting ID: 286 274 7038 Passcode: 9aX9YF

Free training- Inflation Reduction Act - Apply by 5/12
This is an 8-month bootcamp on the Inflation Reduction Act that is available to multi-family providers and to HFAs. NHT is pleased to launch its 2023 Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) Bootcamp series! The Bootcamp will build the capacity of state agencies, developers and housing owners to leverage IRA funding to preserve and improve affordable housing. Participation is free for qualified applicants, per the conditions outlined here. We will implement this free program in close partnership with PWG-member NCSHA and technical experts and practitioners from both the affordable housing development and lending communities. Check the link for applications for the two tracks – one for the bootcamp for HFAs and one for the bootcamp offered to multifamily affordable housing providers. Please share the opportunity with your networks of small- and medium-sized multifamily affordable housing providers and encourage your HFA to participate. They can also access these flyers and register / apply for the bootcamps here.

Want to Sponsor a MAHC Member Event?

If you're interested in hosting or sponsoring a 50+ person MAHC member event, you can show case your organization's work and a tips or a case study you've learned about affordable housing in Maine. Reach out at info@mainehousingcoalition.org. Sponsorship is $500.

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