NAHB staff members are working with other representatives of the real estate industry, including the Real Estate Roundtable, to educate Congressional staff about the full and negative effects this proposal would have on real estate partnerships. Hearings on this issue are scheduled in the House of Representatives in July. NAHB will submit a statement as a part of those hearings. NAHB members are encouraged to contact NAHB’s tax lobbyist, Greg Brown  or NAHB’s tax economist, Robert Dietz for more information.

• Immigration Bill Collapses in Senate

The Senate effectively ended consideration of immigration reform for the foreseeable future when lawmakers were unable to muster the 60 votes necessary to cut off debate and proceed to a final vote.

Prior to the decisive vote on the bill, senators were in the process of debating 27 amendments that were divided nearly evenly between both political parties. NAHB successfully pushed for the introduction of an amendment to clarify areas of critical concern to home builders, including enforcement and verification provisions. Offered by Sens. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa), Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and Barack Obama (D-Ill.), a bipartisan amendment would have placed the responsibility for confirming the immigration status of workers with the small business owners who hire and employ them. 
 
Highlighting the importance of this issue to the housing community, NAHB wrote letters to all 100 senators, arranged for builders to visit scores of Senate offices and, through BuilderLink, mobilized the association’s national grassroots members In addition, on June 26 NAHB ran a full page advertisement in USA Today stating the association’s position. In an open letter, NAHB urged all Americans to call their U.S. senators and ask them to support the bipartisan Grassley-Baucus-Obama amendment, noting that it “helps make the new immigration rules much more workable for small businesses and the nation’s home builders.” A similar open letter ad to the U.S. Senate ran the same day in Roll Call, urging senators to support the amendment.

Ultimately, senators never voted on the Grassley-Baucus-Obama amendment because the Senate failed to move forward with the bill.

• House Begins Debate on Terrorism Risk Insurance Act Extension

The House Financial Services Committee held a hearing June 21 that marks the beginning of what is expected to be a long debate over the next extension of the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act beyond its Dec. 31 expiration date. Prior to the hearing, Rep. Mike Capuano (D-MA) and the Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) introduced H.R. 2761, the Terrorism Risk Insurance Revision and Extension Act of 2007 (TRIREA).

TRIREA includes the following provisions:

• Extend TRIA for 10 years with current co-payments and deductibles for conventional terrorism acts
•   Expand TRIA's "make available" requirement to include NBCR coverage
• Change TRIA's definition of terrorism to include acts of domestic terrorism
•  Set the program trigger at $50 million
• Add group life insurance to the lines of insurance for which terrorism coverage must be made available
• Decrease deductibles and triggers for areas previously impacted by a significant terrorist attack, and
• Continue to require studies of the development of a private market for terrorism risk insurance.

During the hearing, the Assistant Treasury Secretary for Financial Institutions, David Nason, indicated that the Administration wants only a short-term (two or three year) TRIA extension and that the Administration would oppose any expansion of the program.

While NAHB expects the House Financial Services Committee to pass H.R. 2761 in the coming months, the political dynamic of the Senate seems to indicate that only a narrower bill is likely to prevail prior to the TRIA expiration date. Since the 9/11 attacks,  NAHB has strongly advocated for legislation that would provide secondary insurance coverage for acts of terrorism, and will continue to monitor this important issue as it moves through Congress to ensure that the critical insurance needs of our members are being addressed.

Over a period of years, NAHB has been working with the IRS to revise its regulations, and with HUD to provide PHAs with help in calculating utility allowances that more accurately reflect costs. After several letters from NAHB, HUD made its new spreadsheet model for calculating utility allowances available on its website on June 13: http://www.huduser.org/resources/utilmodel.html. The HUD model calculates different allowances depending on when the project was built. If adopted by PHAs, it should produce lower allowances for many newer LIHTC properties.

Then, on June 18, the IRS issued new proposed regulations for LIHTC utility allowances. The IRS proposal included several changes recommended by NAHB, including 1) allowing property owners to use the new HUD model to calculate utility allowances even if the local PHA doesn’t, 2) allowing property owners to use a utility allowance estimate that the state Housing Finance Agency provides, 3) not requiring changes in utility allowances while occupancy in a new project is becoming stabilized, 4) allowing more flexibility in the timing of rent adjustments, so that they only need to be adjusted only once a year, 5) clarifying the use of allowances estimated by utility companies in cases where charges are paid to more than one company (for example, when electric power generation and transmission payments go to separate entities.) The last item on the list may seem relatively trivial, but NAHB members in Texas have indicated that it is particularly needed in that state.

The one major change recommended by NAHB that the IRS did not adopt in the proposed regulations is allowing LIHTC property owners and developers to use utility allowances derived from computer software models run by State-certified engineers. NAHB believes this is option is needed to provide sufficient incentives to those who build highly energy-efficient LIHTC projects. The IRS specifically requested comments on this point, and NAHB will provide such comments in the public hearings scheduled for October 9. For more information, or to provide input to NAHB comments, e-mail Carmel McGuire or call her at 800-266-8350 x8207. [return to top]

The high court reversed and remanded a lower court decision that required the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to consider the protection of “listed” species before handing Clean Water Act permitting authority over to the state of Arizona. This action would have created large and costly delays in the issuance of permits. 

NAHB pointed out that the EPA had determined that the state met all the necessary criteria for receiving permitting authority. The Clean Water Act also calls for the states, not the federal government, to manage permitting programs when the EPA determines that nine specific criteria have been met. None of those criteria mentioned required consultations regarding species protected under the Endangered Species Act. The court agreed. [return to top]

The program is now a candidate to receive a Summit Award, ASAE & The Center’s top recognition for association programs. The software is an exceptional public relations tool for associations to take into schools for career day presentations and other community outreach programs. “In a survey, 99% of educators using the program rated it above-average or excellent,” said NAHB Executive Vice President and CEO Jerry Howard. For more ideas on how associations can use the CD-ROM for public relations activities go to www.nahb.org/buildinghomesofourown. 

For more information, e-mail Gwyn Donohue, or call her at 800-368-5242 x8447. [return to top]

• Pillars of the Industry Awards Entries Open — Aug. 15

Enter your firm's wonderful development, great marketing, or individual achievement in the multifamily industry's most prestigious awards competition. Expect an announcement and a Web site link by August 15.

• Housing Credit Group Issues Forum — Sept. 5

“Clearing the Hurdles to Affordable Housing” is the theme for this year’s Issues Forum, to be held in Seattle in conjunction with NAHB’s Fall Board of Directors meeting. Expert speakers will address NIMBY attitudes and other concerns that can be a barrier to affordable housing. Anyone working with the Low Income Housing Tax Credit to build or finance affordable housing can learn strategies for clearing these hurdles and moving projects forward.
 
Members of NAHB's Housing Credit Group receive discounted registration to this event. For more information about HCG membership, please visit http://www.nahb.org/hcg and join today! To register online for the Issues Forum, visit this page.

• Sunbelt Builder’s Show, Featuring Multifamily Speakers — Sept. 27-29

The 2007 Sunbelt Builders Show™ will be held September 27–29 at the Gaylord Texan Resort & Convention Center in Grapevine, Texas/DFW. This year’s Show features two events designed specifically for the multifamily development community.  Start with an entertaining and valuable session on winning designs by Pillars Award-winners Stephanie Moore of Moore Design Group and Ron Harwick of James, Harwick + Partners Inc. These Dallas-based leaders in the multifamily industry will be sharing their wealth of design knowledge and experience. Don’t miss it on Thursday, September 27.

Then join colleagues for Sunbelt’s “Higher Densities, Higher Profits” Luncheon. Learn about innovative development solutions and marketing techniques from an expert, Spencer Stuart Jr. of Pillars Award-winning Legacy Partners Residential Development Inc. And don’t forget to visit NAHB’s Multifamily Council booth on the trade show floor!  To register for the Show and for more information, please go to http://www.sunbeltbuildersshow.com/.

• International Builders’ Show in Orlando — Feb. 13-16, 2008

Early Builders’ Show information and online registration are now available. The closest hotels fill up first, so register, and reserve your spot soon!

• Money Still Available to Help HBAs Encourage Housing Purchases

NAHB has a little under $1 million in “Buy Now” advertising assistance grants still available to local associations to bolster sales in markets hit hard by the current housing downturn. NAHB is encouraging HBAs that have not yet received or been approved to receive grant money to apply today.
To date, 117 HBAs in 36 states have received or been approved to receive more than $2 million in NAHB advertising assistance. Including the matching funds that the HBAs contributed, the total value of their advertising campaigns is more than $6.1 million.

The NAHB “Buy Now” Advertising Assistance Program provides grants to qualifying HBAs in three categories:

• HBAs conducting ad campaigns in the top 10 media markets (Tier 1) 
• HBAs with more than 250 members operating in areas outside of the top 10 major media markets (Tier 2)
• HBAs with 250 or fewer members (Tier 3)

To qualify for grants, the ads must deliver a “buy now” message, be placed in 2007 and conducted in markets that have experienced a major decline in home or condo sales and residential production.

To learn more about the program, eligibility considerations and requirements, click here, or call Niki Clark at NAHB at 800-368-5242 x806l. To view a list of the HBAs that have received or been approved for grants, and their grant level categories, click here.

• Dell Double Discount Program Returns in July!

NAHB members receive a substantial discount every month from Dell, as well help from a team of dedicated representatives who understand the industry’s business needs, and can help build a complete solution that’s right for each member. But  for the month of July, NAHB members can double their member discount by ordering from 7/01 to 7/31/07. Normal discounts of 3%-5% will double to 6%-10%. This offer is part of the Member Advantage Program. Visit www.nahb.org/MA and click through DELL for complete details.

To maximize the Member Advantage Discount, use the following procedure: After you have made your selections and you are ready to purchase, call your dedicated Dell sales representative at 888-577-3355, Monday-Friday, 7:00 a.m.-8:00 p.m. (CST) and Saturday, 8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. (CST).  Your sales representative will apply your NAHB member discount to your order. NAHB members who have previously ordered from Dell also receive a monthly catalog, which includes this double discount offer.

Note: Double discounts do not apply to the preconfigured systems, which are already priced at up to 20% off.