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ISSUE 1 | November 2016
Save the Date- 2017 NALHFA Annual Conference
Hosted by: Mayor's Office of Housing and Community Development
The 2017 NALHFA Annual Conference is rapidly approaching. Next year’s conference will occur on April 26- 29, 2017 at the Park Central Hotel in San Francisco, California. Registration for the conference will open in early January. The conference webpage, is updated regularly and will soon include information including: agendas, hotel information, and tours.
Book your hotel today!
Legislative & Policy Update
Election Results and Implications
President-elect Donald Trump (R) has begun the transition process as he plans to succeed Barack Obama on January 20. Trump has begun naming nominees to his Cabinet as speculation continues over who may be nominated as Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
In the Senate, Republicans will remain in the Majority next year after winning most of the close races. Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) will return as Majority Leader as Republicans are expected to hold a narrow majority of 52-48 next year when adding the two Independents that organize with Democrats.
Republicans suffered narrower than expected losses in the 435 House races and have lost a net of only five seats from their current majority. Four races remain undecided. Republicans are expected to have a 47-seat advantage to start the new Congress.
Caps on discretionary budget authority, which includes funding for programs such as CDBG and HOME, remain in place from 2017 to 2021. The cap for nondefense funding will decrease from $518 billion for 2017 to $516 billion for 2018 and then rise to an estimated $555 billion for 2021. Thus, a substantial increase in investment for CDBG and HOME is unlikely through 2021.
For the first time in 10 years, Republicans will control the White House, Senate, and House of Representatives. Trump has pledged to repeal controversial regulations from the Obama Administration, which could mean repeal to portions of Dodd-Frank. Should Congress and the President-elect look to change the current budget agreement it could affect the funding levels for discretionary programs such as CDBG and HOME. NALHFA is monitoring the issue and working with other associations to preserve funding for vital community and economic development programs.
Congress Plans for Short-Term Funding Agreement
House Republicans announced last week that they will move forward with an agreement funding the federal government through March 31 as requested by President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team. Funding for federal government programs is set to expire on December 9. It is expected that congressional Republicans will work with the Trump Administration early next year to reach an agreement funding the federal government for the second half of Fiscal Year (FY) 2017, which expires on September 30.
During the stop-gap funding for the federal government, spending levels for most programs—including HOME and CDBG—are expected to remain at FY 2016 levels. A consequence of this decision is that the distribution of funds to HOME program award recipients for FY 2017 is unlikely to begin until approximately July 2017.
House GOP
to Consider Return of Earmarks
Speaker of the House Paul Ryan (R) has promised the House Republican Conference that they will have a vote early in 2017 on reinstating earmarks in appropriations bills. Some lawmakers have complained about the ban, which has been in place for five years, on the grounds that it cedes too much authority to the executive branch. Although there is interest from House Republicans and Democrats to lift the earmark ban, it does not appear that the Senate will bring them back. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R) last week reiterated his support for continuing the earmark ban.
NALHFA Meets with Senate Committee on HQLA
On October 19, NALHFA along with a diverse group of organizations, met with Majority Staff on the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs regarding legislation directing the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to classify all investment grade municipal securities as High Quality Liquid Assets (HQLA). During the meeting, Majority Staff stated that the current Chairman, Sen. Richard Shelby (R-AL), opposed the legislation but was not inclined to stop it should it have sufficient support in the committee, and ultimately the Senate Floor.
On February 1, the House of Representatives by voice vote passed H.R. 2209. The bill amends Liquidity Coverage Ratio: Liquidity Risk Measurement Standards; Final Rule - 79 Fed. Reg. 61439 by including municipal securities as HQLA. The legislation makes a technical correction to the rule by recognizing that municipal securities meet all the criteria to be characterized as HQLA, including limited price volatility, high trading volumes and deep and stable funding markets.
Sen. Shelby is term-limited as Chair of the Banking Committee and Sen. Mike Crapo (R-ID) is expected to serve as Chair next year. Earlier this year, Janet Yellen, Chair of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, expressed opposition to H.R. 2209 stating it would interfere with the Fed’s supervisory judgment. NALHFA is continuing to work with other organizations as part of the Public Finance Network coalition to advance the issue in Congress.
News
& Notes
NALHFA Board Member Dawn Luke Makes Atlanta Business League’s “100 Women of Influence” List
Dawn Luke, Senior Vice President of Community Development for Invest Atlanta, has been named one of “Atlanta’s Top 100 Black Women of Influence” by the Atlanta Business League (ABL).
Luke, who has worked at Invest Atlanta for over 22 years, was named to the prestigious list at ABL’s recent 32 ndAnnual Super Tuesday Conference held at the Sheraton Atlanta Hotel, October 11, 2016. The conference honored outstanding African-American female business owners and professionals in their respective fields.
While the guests were treated to a host of speakers and presenters during their meals, they were also able to attend informative business workshops throughout the day. Luke was recognized for effective advancement of community development and her proven passion when it comes to the topic of affordable housing initiatives.
Founded in 1933, the Atlanta Business League supports the creation and development of successful businesses that are owned, operated and managed by African-Americans in metro Atlanta.
U.S. House Prices Rise 1.5 Percent in Third Quarter
House prices rose 1.5 percent in the third quarter of 2016 according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) House Price Index (HPI). House prices rose 6.1 percent from the third quarter of 2015 to the third quarter of 2016. FHFA’s seasonally adjusted monthly index for September was up 0.6 percent from August.
While the HPI rose 6.1 percent from the third quarter of 2015 to the third quarter of 2016, prices of other goods and services were nearly unchanged. The inflation-adjusted price of homes rose approximately 6.0 percent over the last year.
Additional information along with third quarter data is available here.
HUD Publishes RAD Notice on Fair Housing, Civil Rights, and Relocation Requirements
On November 11, HUD published the anticipated RAD Notice Regarding Fair Housing and Civil Rights Requirements and Relocation Requirements Applicable to RAD First Component – Public Housing. The notice is intended to provide guidance regarding key fair housing and civil rights statutory and regulatory requirements, explain the situations in which HUD is requiring front-end fair housing and civil rights reviews, and provide information regarding the types of information that must be submitted to facilitate HUD’s review of certain fair housing and civil rights requirements in connection with public housing conversions under the First Component of RAD. The notice is also intended to provide guidance in response to requests for clarity among RAD participants on the review process, including how HUD evaluates whether or not to further invest on a particular site.
The Notice is effective immediately and applies to all projects that have applied for conversion under the First Component of RAD but have not yet converted. The Notice will not affect any front-end civil rights approvals provided by HUD prior to November 10, 2016. However, with respect to relocation activities, where a Financing Plan has been submitted and accepted for full review as of November 10, 2016, an exception from the Notice can be sought and the project may continue to be governed by Notice H 2014-09/PIH 2014-17 with respect to relocation activities, but not with respect to fair housing and civil rights requirements.
HUD also published a Solicitation of Comment seeking public comment on the Notice with a focus on the clarity of the information provided in the Notice. Comments are due December 14, 2016.
The full text of the notice is available here.
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