Enterprise Going Green with Former President, Cleveland, and Others. Enterprise is partnering with the William J. Clinton Foundation's Clinton Climate Initiative (CCI) to bring green affordable housing development and preservation to scale in several major cities, starting in New York, with construction and rehabilitation of 15,000 units. Another effort involves the Mayor of Cleveland, where Enterprise recently held a green-themed conference. Enterprise is partnering with HUD on a Green Homeownership Rehab Initiatives in Los Angeles, and with GreenHOME on a Washington, DC effort. (Info)

LISC Financing Brings Giant Benefit to DC Neighborhood. The new Giant grocery store--reportedly the first such store to open in Ward 8 in more than 30 years--is part of a shopping center constructed with $18.6 million in New Market Tax Credits provided by the Local Initiatives Support Corporation in partnership with Wachovia Bank. It is providing not only much-needed grocery shopping convenience but more than 200 jobs for local residents and is surrounded by a new affordable housing development. It could not have happened without LISC, according to Christopher Smith, President of William C. Smith Company (developer in partnership with East of the River CDC), speaking at the ribbon-cutting in December.

W.K. Kellogg Foundation Seeks Nominations for 2008 National Leadership in Action Award Program, established in 2004 to recognize, celebrate, and promote outstanding philanthropic and nonprofit leadership in communities of color. Up to five grants of $50,000 will be awarded. Due date: January 11. Click for more information and to download materials, program fact sheet, organizational profile form. For additional info, contact Lisa D. McGill at lmcgill@lmstrategies.net or (708) 570-1606 x101.

CEDAM QAP Efforts Lead to Michigan Showdown. See story under State and Local Developments. Contact Angie Gaabo at (517) 485-3588 for more information.

Nat'l Community Development Assn. (NCDA) Annual Conference: Jan. 23-25 in Washington, DC, starting with a lobbying effort on Capitol Hill followed by more than two full days of sessions including updates on Community Development Block Grant formula reforms and the re-engineering of the Integrated Disbursement & Information System (IDIS). Info: NCDA, (202) 293-7587.

Save the Date: NACEDA Annual Summit: March 31-April 2, 2008. The premier capacity-building and policy conference for the CED industry will be held in Washington, DC at the DoubleTree Hotel. NACEDA group rate of $189 per night is available. Call (202) 232-7000 to reserve room--mention NACEDA Summit to receive discounted rate. (Book early to ensure a room and the rate.)

FY08 Omnibus Appropriations Bill Signed by President Bush on December 26 ending the long standoff with Congressional Democrats on domestic spending priorities and Iraq war funding. The House and Senate had passed the $555 billion bill on December 19 with the Democrats--short of veto-override power--agreeing to the President's spending limits. Despite overall reductions from what had been recommended in a House-Senate conference report, many HUD programs retain modest but critical increases over previous year levels. However, Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) formula funding of $3.57 billion is about $118 million below the FY 2007 number, and the HOME program formula stands at $1.628 billion, down slightly from $1.68 billion. Funding details available online from the Housing Assistance Council and the National Low Income Housing Council.

Trust Fund Bill Introduced in Senate on December 19 by Sens. John Kerry (D-MA) and Olympia Snowe (R-ME) as the lead sponsors. The National Affordable Housing Trust Fund Act of 2007 (S. 2523), nearly identical to its companion bill (H.R. 2895) already passed by the House, will establish a dedicated source for the production, preservation and rehabilitation of 1.5 million affordable homes in 10 years.

FHA Modernization Bill Passes Senate on December 14 by a 93-1 vote. "An original bill to modernize and update the National Housing Act and enable the Federal Housing Administration to more effectively reach underserved borrowers, and for other purposes," S. 2338 is similar to the House's H.R. 1852 but excludes funding for the National Housing Trust Fund. While the Senate bill would increase FHA loan limits (currently $362,000) to approximate those of government-sponsored enterprises Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac ($417,000), the House bill would raise them higher, to 125 percent of an area's median home price, and give the HUD secretary discretion to bump up them up $100,000 in case of crisis in the home mortgage market. Conference committees will meet to negotiate compromises on these bills.

CDC Legislation Reintroduced on December 6 by Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones (D-OH). The Community Economic Development Expertise Enhancement Act of 2007 calls for $75 million annually through FY 2010 to improve the operations of Community Development Corporations. H.R. 4328 would provide technical assistance and core operating support nationwide (not just to a small range of cities as do existing programs) and establish an advisory council within HUD to examine CDC capacity needs, among other provisions. The legislation has been referred to the House Committee on Financial Services and currently has 6 co-sponsors; in past Congresses, it attracted more than 75.

Mortgage Revenue Bonds Bill Introduced on December 18 by Senate Finance Committee members John Kerry (D-MA) and Gordon Smith (R-OR). S. 2517 would authorize states and localities to refinance subprime loans using MRBs issued after December 31, 2007 and before January 1, 2011, and would provide states $15 billion in additional single-family housing bond authority in 2008 (expiring at the end of 2010). On December 19, Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY), who is also a Finance Committee member, announced his intention to introduce legislation providing a permanent housing bond cap increase available for both single and multifamily housing.

House Members Urge Fed to Adopt Strong Consumer Mortgage Protections. Nineteen Democratic members of the House Financial Services Committee made that request in a December 13 letter to Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke regarding new rules that are soon to be issued under the Home Ownership and Equity Protection Act. Passed in 1994, HOEPA now has taken on new importance amid the subprime mortgage crisis threatening the overall economy. (The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC), while not predicting outright that the crisis will worsen, reportedly is preparing to take on a greater burden of bank failures.) The requested protections, basically stated, are: Prohibit Prepayment Penalties for Subprime Loans; Require Realistic Underwriting; Eliminate Perverse Incentives; and Improve Disclosures.

Senate Panel to EPA: Small Business Portion of Energy Star Funding Should Be Doubled to $2M. Small Business Committee Chairman John Kerry (D-MA) and Ranking Member Olympia Snowe (R-ME) made that request in a January 2 letter to the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, which implements the overall Energy Star program. The program helps lower small business costs in local Community Development Block Grant projects.

Michigan Showdown on QAP. In a December 21 letter to the Board of the Michigan State Housing Development Authority, Gov. Jennifer Granholm asked for immediate removal of conditions holding up release of funds for the 2008-09 round of the Qualified Allocation Plan, which she said she plans to approve. Click for letter, funding round info.

New Jersey Housing Panel Proposes Increases to Affordable Housing Estimate. The state's Council on Affordable Housing (COAH) now estimates the overall need for affordable housing to be 5,783 new units per year between 1999 and 2018; the previous estimate was 3,515 between 1999 and 2014.

Ohio Housing Finance Agency Approves $6M+ in Affordable Housing Loans, $4 million through the Housing Development Loan Program (HDL) and $2.5 million through the Housing Development Assistance Program (HDAP), to organizations building or rehabilitating nearly 220 units statewide. Cleveland Housing Network Inc. and the YMCA of Youngstown receive the top total awards of $1.75 million apiece.

Missouri Lawmakers Attempting to Repeal Controversial 'Village Law,' which allows property owners to circumvent county zoning rules by essentially incorporating their own land. The "village law," passed last spring, had been slipped into a large bill dealing with a host of local government issues. A Senate and a House bill both would repeal the language; SB 765 would take effect retroactively to August 28, 2007 (the day that the new village law went into effect), while HB 1336 would exempt villages from such incorporation procedures, and increase the threshold requirement for petition signatures.

Indiana Launches Anti-Foreclosure Initiative led by the Indiana Foreclosure Prevention Network (IFPN), a public-private partnership of government agencies, lenders, community service, and housing-related organizations, including IACED. A public awareness campaign on mortgage foreclosure and where to get help began on November 7. A toll-free help line, 877-GET-HOPE is available 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m daily, and a website will be available 24/7. Information also available from NACEDA member IACED, which participates in IFPN.

Indiana Lawmaker to Introduce Legislation to Make Nonprofits Pay Fees in lieu of taxes for police and fire-fighting services. The aim is to reduce the tax burden on other property owners. While just getting the issue debated reportedly would be an accomplishment, a current property tax crisis may be changing public opinion, which is now slightly against such fees.

Indianapolis City Council Approves Increased Real Estate Fee at its December 17 meeting. The increased fee could raise $1.6M a year for housing, 40 percent going to a state housing fund and 60 percent going to the Indianapolis housing trust fund. The increase would be a little more than $20 for an average-length mortgage document, and less than $4 for a typical deed, according to a proponent.

Philadelphia Bill Would Require Developers to Build Affordable Housing as Part of Every Major Residential Project or contribute money toward that end. The City Council by a 12-5 vote on December 13 approved the legislation, which was supported by the Philadelphia Campaign for Housing Justice, despite concerns raised by developers. For the law to go into effect, the Council must pass companion legislation offering incentives to builders who must bear the financial burden of the program.

HUD Adopts Final Rule on Regs Governing Nonprocurement Debarment and Suspension, effective January 28, with minor changes to the proposed rule issued for public comment on March 23, 2007. A new part in title 2 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) adopts Office of Management and Budget (OMB) guidance and supplements it with HUD-specific clarifications and additions. See Federal Register, 12/27/07, pp. 73484-97, available online.

USDA Section 502: New Payment Plan Adopted. Under "Payment Assistance 2" (PA2), direct borrowers with eligibility determinations on or after April 1 will pay either 24% of their adjusted annual income or principal and interest calculated at 1% plus taxes and insurance, whichever is higher. See Federal Register, 12/27/07, pp. 73252-56. Contact Michael S. Feinberg, USDA-RD, (202) 720-1474.

HUD Sends $1.5B for Homeless. Continuum of Care (CoC) and Emergency Shelter Grant (ESG) grants would go to hundreds of local groups to provide continued temporary and emergency housing for nearly 170,000 homeless persons, HUD Deputy Secy. Roy Bernardi announced on December 21.

USDA Awards $6.2M for Rural Development. The FY07 Rural Community Development Initiative funds will go to 38 public and private nonprofits to coordinate with eligible rural recipients providing matching funds. Press release and recipient list available at http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/rhs/rcdi/index.htm.

Presidential Candidates' Views on Poverty are available online at http://www.spotlightonpoverty.org.

Rural People, Rural Policy Initiative Deadline: January 25 for new proposals to join the Kellogg Foundation initiative, which builds networks for policy change. Information and applications are at http://www.wkkf.org/rprp. Contact Caroline Carpenter, (269) 969-2262.

USDA-RD Removes Thermal Standards for Existing Single-Family Homes. New construction not affected. See Federal Register, 12/11/07, pp. 70220-22 or http://www.hudclips.org. Contact Michel Mitias, RD, (202) 720-9653.

'Kids Count,' Especially in the Upper Great Plains and Rocky Mountain States, according to recent Annie E. Casey Foundation publications on children's well-being; the worst-performing states are clustered on the East Coast and in the Mid-Atlantic. Visit http://www.kidscount.org or contact AECF, (410) 547-6600.

Income Gap Widening, according to new Congressional Budget Office data analyses by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities and the Economic Policy Institute.

Homeless Disproportionately Veterans, according to "Vital Mission: Ending Homelessness Among Veterans," from the National Alliance to End Homelessness.

Federal Individual Development Accounts. Standing notice issued by the Department of Health and Human Services for the Assets for Independence Demonstration Program. Eligible are nonprofits, government entities, credit unions, and others. Deadlines: January 15 and March 25 in 2008, 2009, and 2010. Contact AFI staff at (202) 401-4626, afiprogram@acf.hhs.gov or online.

New Market Tax Credits. Up to $3.5 billion in equity investments will be available. The CDFI Fund will give special consideration to applicants with successful past nonmetro NMTC use. Deadline: March 5. To join a January 16 webcast or find upcoming live sessions, visit http://www.cdfifund.gov or call (202) 622-9046. See Federal Register, 12/28/07, pp. 73976-87. Contact CDFI Fund staff, cdfihelp@cdfi.treas.gov, (202) 622-6355.

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