Bill > HB1304

This bill modifies existing affordable housing programs in Colorado, including definitions, funding mechanisms, and program requirements, for fiscal year 2023-2024 and subsequent years. * **Affordable Housing Definitions and Program Modifications:** The bill updates definitions of "affordable housing" to include specific income and rent limits for rental and for-sale housing, and expands the scope to include tribal governments. It also introduces a new category for "rural resort communities" that may petition for alternative eligibility criteria. * **Funding Mechanisms:** The bill clarifies the administration and use of the Affordable Housing Support Fund and the Affordable Housing Financing Fund. It specifies that money in these funds does not revert to the general fund at the end of the fiscal year and is continuously appropriated for their intended purposes. * **Program Expenditures:** The bill details how money from the Financing Fund will be used for a land banking program (acquiring land for affordable housing), an affordable housing equity program (making equity investments in multi-family rental developments and preserving existing affordable housing), and a concessionary debt program (providing debt financing for affordable housing projects and modular housing manufacturers). It also outlines how money from the Support Fund will be used for an affordable home ownership program (down-payment assistance, grants for mobile home park purchases) and a program serving persons experiencing homelessness (rental assistance, vouchers, supportive housing development). A local planning capacity development program is also funded. * **Reporting Requirements:** The bill mandates that the Office of Affordable Housing and the Division of Housing provide annual reports to legislative committees detailing funding disbursements, applicants, projects funded and denied, and the geographic distribution of funds. * **Local Government Commitments:** The bill requires local governments and tribal governments to commit to increasing affordable housing units annually and to implement expedited development approval processes for affordable housing projects to remain eligible for funding. Failure to meet these commitments can result in ineligibility for state assistance. * **Maintenance of Effort:** The bill clarifies that funding from the Financing Fund and Support Fund must supplement, not supplant, existing general fund and cash fund appropriations for affordable housing programs from the state fiscal year 2022-2023. Cash fund appropriations from the federal Coronavirus State Fiscal Recovery Fund are excluded from this baseline.