Bond Enhancement Act
#3 Ask: We ask our MS Senators to cosponsor the Affordable Housing Bond Enhancement Act (AHBEA; S. 1805) introduced by Senators Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) and Bill Cassidy (R-LA)
We ask our MS House members to be on the lookout for companion legislation, as we have reached out to a Ways and Means Republican to introduce this bipartisan legislation to the House. We urge our House members to cosponsor the bill upon introduction.
Key Points on the Affordable Housing Bond Enhancement Act
- The AHBEA would expand the supply of affordable homes and improve access to homeownership for low- and moderate-income home buyers through simple and impactful improvements to the Mortgage Revenue Bond (MRB) and Mortgage Credit Certificate (MCC) programs.
- The AHBEA would update outdated rules, such as a limit on home improvement loan size that has not been adjusted — even to count for inflation — in more than four decades; thus, allowing homeowners to prevent their homes from falling into disrepair, make modifications to allow them to age in place, or repair damage resulting from natural disasters or other events when insurance payouts are insufficient.
- The AHBEA is fiscally responsible, cost-efficient legislation that does not add additional PAB authority but instead provides states flexibility so they can more efficiently use the PAB authority already provided to them under law.
- This legislation would free up more private activity bond (PAB) authority for affordable housing, so it does not expire unused and make state usage of PAB authority more transparent and flexible, allow states to use MRBs to refinance existing loans, make MRB-financed home improvement loans feasible, and streamline MRB and MCC program rules.
