Legislation Unlocking the Doors to Homeownership Signed by Governor Polis
Over the past several months, CAR and Habitat for Humanity worked to push forward four legislative solutions aimed at helping improve homeownership opportunities for all Coloradans. We are excited to announce that after all our work with other housing stakeholders and legislators, HB 1271 was first to be signed by the Governor over the weekend in Basalt. On June 29, HB 1134 was signed by the Governor with Rep. Naquetta Ricks and REALTOR® and CAR LPC Vice-Chair Janet Marlow.
“This is a bill that will really unlock innovation across our state. Initially, $48 million is a significant investment, leverage of resources,” Polis said of the affordable housing strategies bill, of which Colorado Reps. Julie McCluskie, Iman Jodeh and Julie Gonzales were prime sponsors.
“This is a bill that started back in November, December, due to the leadership of two important orgs: Habitat for Humanity and the Colorado Association of REALTORS®. The beauty of a bill like this is that it really can be all things for all communities,” said Colorado Rep. Julie McCluskie. “We can’t build our way out of the affordable housing crisis, but we certainly can make a dent.”
About the bills:
House Bill 1028 (Annual Public Report Affordable Housing) will require the Division of Housing to annually report and make available to the public information on how our housing dollars are being spent around the state. The report will include information on where housing projects take place throughout our state, how many housing units are created and preserved and what type of projects is Colorado undertaking: homeownership, rental, supportive and rapid re-housing.
House Bill 1134 (Report Tenant Rent Payment Information to Credit Agencies) establishes a statewide pilot program enabling residents residing in housing provider properties selected by the Colorado Housing and Finance Authority (CHFA) to opt to have their rent payments reported to consumer credit bureaus as a dynamic new way build their credit.
House Bill 1200 (Revise Student Financial Literacy Standards) will strengthen financial literacy standards by ensuring Colorado’s students graduate with required curriculum costs associated with preparing for homeownership; obtaining a higher education degree or credential; how to choose, manage, and repay student loans; how to apply for federal, state and institutional financial aid; how to save for retirement, and how to manage personal credit card debt.
House Bill 1271 (Department Of Local Affairs Innovative Affordable Housing Strategies) federal stimulus dollars would cover the costs of providing three programs in the Department of Local Affairs (DOLA) to promote new solutions for statewide affordable housing development:
1.) The Affordable Housing Guided Toolkit and Local Officials Guide helps local governments develop an overall affordable housing strategy and engage stakeholders in the community.
2.) The Planning Grant Program awards funding to local governments to help adopt land use strategies, enabling local governments to be competitive in applying for a housing development incentives grant.
3.) The Housing Development Incentives Grant enables local governments to apply for state grants to adopt strategies from a menu of best practices to spur housing creation or reduce regulatory barriers. (This is the CAR & Habitat concept we created)
For more information, visit ColoradoCenturyofOpportunity.com.