March 11, 2010

On March 10, the Senate passed legislation extending the Housing Credit Exchange program for one year and expanding it to include Gulf Opportunity Zone (GO Zone) Credits and Midwestern Disaster Area Credits (Disaster Credits, collectively).  The bill also extends the GO Zone Housing Credit placed-in-service deadline for two years to January 1, 2013.

The Senate passed its bill, which extends a number of expired or expiring tax and spending provisions, as a substitute amendment to the House-passed Tax Extenders Act of 2009, H.R. 4213.  The House-passed bill includes the Exchange program extension, but not the Disaster Credit and GO Zone placed-in-service deadline provisions. 
 
House and Senate tax-writers will now try to reconcile the differences between the House and Senate extender bills.  It is possible they will convene a House-Senate conference committee to write a final version.  The House may choose instead to amend the Senate bill, pass it, and send it back to the Senate.  In any case, the House and Senate will push to reach agreement and pass a final version before the next congressional recess begins March 26. 

At NCSHA's Legislative Conference this week, congressional staff indicated that the House is likely to accept the Senate Housing Credit amendments to the House bill, but may modify them or add additional related proposals.  NCSHA will continue to seek opportunities to include 4 percent Credits in the Exchange program and other NCSHA Housing Bond and Credit priorities, but it is less likely that they will be included in the extenders bill than in another jobs bill. 
 
House and Senate staff at NCSHA's Legislative Conference also said they expect the House Ways and Means and the Senate Finance Committees to prepare small business-oriented jobs bills soon.  These bills may carry some of NCSHA's additional Housing Bond and Credit priorities.