Bill Text: NJ A5879 | 2020-2021 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Appropriates $20 million for HFMA to grant loans to developers of certain affordable housing projects.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 5-0)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2021-06-21 - Received in the Senate, Referred to Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee [A5879 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2020-A5879-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman ANDREW ZWICKER
District 16 (Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex and Somerset)
SYNOPSIS
Appropriates $20 million for HMFA to grant loans to developers of certain affordable housing projects.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
A Supplement to the Fiscal Year 2021 appropriations act, P.L.2020, c.97.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and the General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. In addition to the amounts appropriated under P.L.2020, c.97, the annual appropriations act for the Fiscal Year ending June 30, 2021, there is appropriated out of the General Fund the following sum for the purpose specified:
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22 DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNITY AFFAIRS 40 Community Development and Environmental Management 41 Community Development Management GRANTS-IN-AID |
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02-8020 |
Housing Services ............. |
$20,000,000 |
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Total Grants-in-Aid Appropriation, Community Development Management |
$20,000,000 |
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Grants-in-Aid: |
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02 |
Low Income Housing Tax Credit Project Financing Gap Loans ..................... |
($20,000,000) |
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The amount hereinabove appropriated for Low Income Housing Tax Credit Project Financing Gap Loans shall be allocated to the New Jersey Housing Mortgage Finance Agency (HMFA) for the purposes of providing loans to developers of projects previously awarded tax credits pursuant to the federal Low Income Housing Tax Credit Program and which now face project financing gaps due to increased cost of building materials as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Developers seeking a Low Income Housing Tax Credit Project Financing Gap Loan shall file an application on a form prescribed by the Executive Director of the HMFA, which application shall set forth the minimum criteria that must be met in order for an application to be considered by the Executive Director of the HMFA for a determination of eligibility. The application shall, at a minimum, include an updated cost estimate for the project and permit the Executive Director of the HMFA to confirm the existence of a project financing gap. The Executive Director of the HMFA shall determine whether a developer meets the minimum criteria for a Low Income Housing Tax Credit Project Financing Gap Loan and, if so, the amount of the loan award.
2. This act shall take effect
immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill appropriates $20 million to grant loans to developers of certain affordable housing projects which qualified for a credit award through the federal Low Income Housing Tax Credit Program (LIHTC). New Jersey's LIHTC allocation is administered by the Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency (HMFA). The bill also includes a language provision requiring the Executive Director of the HMFA to establish an application process and criteria for determining whether a developer is eligible for a project financing gap loan.
Due to the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the cost of building materials increased substantially, leaving many affordable housing projects with project financing gaps.
This bill seeks to diminish the financing gap by providing funding to the HMFA to grant loans to projects awarded tax credits pursuant to the federal Low Income Housing Tax Credit program (LIHTC) if the project developer can demonstrate that the developer's project financing gap was caused by the increased cost of building materials.
