News

Maryland’s Public Service Commission (PSC) has ordered the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) to become the sole provider of weatherization and energy retrofitting programs for low income households throughout the state.

The California Supreme Court recently upheld bill AB 26X as constitutional, allowing the state to eliminate 400 local redevelopment agencies and struck down AB 27X, which would have enabled the redevelopment agencies to stay in business if they agreed to pay a big chunk of their revenues to the state.

The Colorado Housing Finance Agency (CHFA) has released the final draft of the state’s 2012 Qualified Allocation Plan for the allocation of Low-Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTCs).

The Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority (WHEDA) recently announced that it has lowered its permanent lending rate for LIHTC developments to 6.90%. The agency has indicated that competitive LIHTC applicants should use this rate, along with a 30 year amortization, in LIHTC underwriting.

The most recent December 2011 issue of ResearchWorks, the official newsletter of HUD’s Office of Policy Development & Research, examined the geographic distribution of Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) projects in 10 metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs).

According to a senior Treasury official, Michael Stegman, a housing and domestic policy director at the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, will join the Treasury Department in January 2012 as a counselor to Secretary Timothy Geithner.

Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick has named Aaron Gornstein as the new undersecretary for Housing and Community Development. Gornstein replaces Tina Brooks, who left the position earlier this year to become the executive vice president of programs for Local Initiatives Support Corporation.

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has issued Notice 2012-07 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 the flooding in Iowa between May 25 and August 1, 2011.

The Kentucky Housing Corporation (KHC) has released a revised draft of the 2012 Qualified Allocation Plan (QAP). In the revised draft, KHC has indicated that 60 percent of 2013 LIHTCs will be forward committed to projects that applied in the October 3, 2011, round.

The Virginia Housing Development Authority (VHDA) issued a memo to all potential applicants for the 2012 LIHTC allocation round to announce changes to the tax credit program.

In accordance with Section 206A of the National Housing Act, HUD has adjusted the basic statutory mortgage limits for Multifamily Housing Programs for 2012, effective January 1, 2012.

The New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority has filed an appellee brief with the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in the Historic Boardwalk Hall LLC v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue case.