Mills signs affordable housing tax credit bill
Courtesy / Office of Gov. Janet Mills
Gov. Janet Mills on Wednesday signed a bipartisan bill into law that aims to increase the supply of affordable housing in Maine.
Gov. Janet Mills on Wednesday signed into law a bill that aims to create 1,00 more affordable housing units in Maine over the next eight years.
LD 1645, "An Act to Create Workforce and Senior Housing and Preserve Affordable Housing," is a bipartisan measure sponsored by Rep. Ryan Fecteau, D-Biddeford.
It went to the governor's desk after passing the Maine House and Senate last week.
On Wednesday in Augusta, Mills inked the bill at a ceremony in the Cabinet Room, joined by lawmakers from both sides of the aisle as well as housing advocates.
“The goal of ensuring that Maine people have a safe place to rest their head at night, a place where they can take care of their family, get ready for work, and live with dignity and comfort is at the heart of our administration," Mills said in a statement. "With this program, I hope we can now say to thousands more Maine people, 'Welcome home.'”
LD 1645, as amended by the Legislature’s budget-writing committee, aims to double the current rate of new affordable housing production by creating the Maine Affordable Housing Tax Credit program.
The refundable credit, which would be administered by MaineHousing, the state housing authority, would be available to individuals or corporations who invest in affordable residences.
The credits would be capped at $10 million a year for eight years, with portions earmarked for senior housing and rural housing. The program would also leverage an equal amount of federal low-income housing tax credit dollars.
Greg Payne, director of the Maine Affordable Housing Coalition and a development officer at Avesta Housing, welcomed the bill as an important step in bringing more affordable housing to Maine.
"Maine legislators deserve a lot of credit for their bipartisanship in responding to what has become an enormous problem for tens of thousands of people across the state," he told Mainebiz.
"As a result," he added, "Maine contractors and architects and engineers are soon going to get to work, building the affordable homes that Maine seniors and workers need, and we think that’s great news for our state."
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