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Housing and Economic Development <br />• City input into state legislation involving distribution of tax credits and tax <br />exempt bonding; <br />• Exemptions from, or reductions to sales, use and transaction taxes applied to the <br />development and production of affordable housing; <br />• Consideration of providing state tax credits to leverage cross -subsidized <br />affordable units in a market rate development project. This incentive could be <br />used in conjunction with city, regional, or other state incentives; <br />• Consideration of the use of state bond proceeds and other appropriations for <br />land banking, land trusts, and rehabilitation and construction of affordable <br />housing; <br />• Homeownership counseling services, including pre -purchasing counseling, in <br />order to help reduce foreclosures by informing homeowners and potential <br />homeowners of their rights, options and costs associated with owning a home; <br />• An affordable housing tax credit to help spur construction and secure additional <br />private investment; and <br />• Maintain existing municipal authority to establish a housing improvement area <br />(HIA). If the Legislature grants multi -jurisdictional entities the authority to <br />create RIAs, creation of an HIA must require municipal approval. <br />3-H Federal Role in Affordable and Workforce Housing <br />Federal funding plays a critical role in aiding states and local governments in their efforts <br />to maintain and increase affordable and workforce housing. Providing working families <br />access to housing is an important piece to the economic vitality of the region. <br />Metro Cities encourages the federal government to maintain and increase current <br />levels of funding for affordable and workforce housing. Federal investment in <br />affordable and workforce housing will maintain and increase the supply of affordable and <br />life cycle housing as well as make housing more affordable through rental assistance <br />programs such as the Section 8 housing choice voucher program. <br />On July 16, 2015, The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) <br />released a final rule on affirmatively furthering fair housing (AFFH) with an aim to <br />provide communities that receive HUD funding with clear guidelines to meet their <br />obligation under the Fair Housing Act of 1968 to promote and reduce barriers to fair <br />housing and equal opportunity. <br />Metro Cities strongly encourages the following: <br />2016 Legislative Policies 25 <br />