Author: Matt Schwartz

This week, California Housing Partnership joined affordable housing advocates nationally to thank our members of Congress for supporting the recent 12.5% increase in the 9% Housing Credit program and a 10% increase in the FY 2018 HUD budget. While this omnibus is a much needed boost to offset federal cuts in these programs, as our recent report makes clear, there Read More

Dear Colleagues:    Below are my highlights from the FY 2018 federal spending bill that was finalized yesterday by Congressional leaders. I am pleased to report that thanks to the heroic efforts of our national advocate allies and several members of our state’s Congressional delegation, there is relatively good news to share:   The bill includes language allowing Section 202 Read More

The U.S. House of Representatives is negotiating final changes to the March 23rd 2018-19 spending bill as I write, meaning that the last chance to affect the contents of the House proposal, including fixes to problems created by the GOP Tax Bill, is likely TODAY. While the Senate will have a lot to say about what the final spending bill Read More

Now that the U.S. Senate has approved its own tax reform bill replete with hastily scribbled hand-written notes, which you can read here, Congress has entered the final stage in which the Senate and House will attempt to reconcile differences between their two bills through a conference committee. While significant differences between the two bills remain, all expectations are that Read More

Senate Finance Committee Chair Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) released his modifications to the tax reform bill last night having just added a provision that repeals the Obamacare individual mandate to generate approximately $330 billion in savings over 10 years to pay for the 20% corporate tax rate they are desperately trying to achieve. (Unlike the House, the Senate is bound by Read More

I am writing you from Washington, D.C. to alert you that there is a time-sensitive effort today being led by Rep. Randy Hultgren (R-IL-14th), who is co-chair of Congressional Municipal Finance Caucus, to restore Private Activity Bonds in the House tax reform bill, H.R.1.  My October 27th blog described the damage that will be done to California if the Republican House tax reform Read More

My October 27th blog described the damage that will be done to California if the Republican House tax reform proposal eliminates tax exempt private activity bonds (PABs) including multifamily housing bonds, thereby also eliminating California’s ability to use 4% Low Income Housing Tax Credits. Unfortunately, the draft bill released by House Ways and Means Chairman Kevin Brady (R-Texas) last week Read More

Saving the Low Income Housing Tax Credit: Now is the Time More than 325,000 lower income California households are currently living in apartments produced and made affordable through federal Low Income Housing TaxCredits (Housing Credits) authorized by Congress 30 years ago. More than 7 million Californians will directly benefit from these affordable apartments over the next 50 years thanks to Read More

It’s not news that our state has an affordable housing crisis. The California Housing Partnership has consistently documented the shortage of affordable homes in every county of the state and shown that the gap has grown each year. Californians feel the impacts directly, for ourselves, our families, and the people in our communities. It’s also no mystery how we got Read More