NACCED welcomed members to its 2024 Legislative Conference from February 8 – 11 in Washington, D.C. NACCED’s Legislative Conference gives members an opportunity each year to advocate on the association’s top legislative and regulatory priorities, hear from industry leaders on areas of focus and collaborate with fellow county officials on policy initiatives. Members also use the event to further strengthen NACCED’s partnership with the National Association of Counties (NACo) and its leadership through the NACo Legislative Conference.
On Thursday, February 8 NACCED members attended in-person meetings with Capitol Hill staff from the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives. Policy areas discussed by members with staff included increased federal appropriations for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program and the HOME Partnerships (HOME) program. Also supported was the HOME Investment Partnerships Reauthorization and Improvement Act , which was introduced by Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) last month. View the materials NACCED members used during their visits, which you can also utilize in your own conversations with Congressional offices: CDBG one-pager, HOME one-pager .
Thursday concluded with a Capitol Hill briefing hosted by NACCED and NACo, sponsored by Neighborly Software in celebration of the 50th anniversary of CDBG. Held in the Gold Room of the Rayburn House Office Building, the briefing gave congressional staff an opportunity to
hear about the history, impact and innovation of CDBG. Briefing panel participants included Linda Jenkins, NACCED President and Director of Community Development for Los Angeles County, CA; Mary Keating, NACCED Representative to NACo and Director of Community Services for DuPage County, IL; and Johnny Olszewski, Executive for Baltimore County, MD. Neighborly Software President Jason Rusnak moderated the panel. Preview the full year of planned activities, as well as ideas to implement in your own communities, in the CDBG Coalition’s CDBG 50th Anniversary toolkit here .
On Friday, February 9 NACCED welcomed members both in-person and virtually for its second day of conference programming. Richard Pierce , the Lyle T. Alverson Professor of Law at George Washington University School of Law, began the day with a discussion on recent and upcoming Supreme Court rulings that will potentially curb the power of the federal administrative and regulatory agencies, and how that may impact grant-funded programs at the local level, starting with the 2023 case that ended affirmative action. View the recording of that lively presentation and Q&A here .
Following Professor Pierce was Peter Lawrence , Director of Public Policy & Governmental Relations for Novogradac. Peter presented a deep dive discussion on the Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act , the Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act ; impacts of the upcoming expiration of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act; the Neighborhood Homes Investment Act ; the Workforce Housing Tax Credit Act ; the New Markets Tax Credit Extension Act; and the Rural Jobs Act. View the recording of that informative presentation here and Peter’s slides here .
Concluding the day’s morning conference session was a Washington Update presented by NACCED Policy Director Josh Brandwein and Mike Matthews , NACo Legislative Director for Community, Workforce and Economic Development. Josh and Mike provided members with an update on NACCED Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 and 2025 requests and additional legislative updates for the 118th Congress. Regulatory topics covered the current status of last year’s Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing proposed rule ; HUD’s recent proposed rule for CDBG program changes; and expected rulemaking on HOME. Rounding out the presentation was a lookahead to 2024 national election cycle ramifications on NACCED legislative and regulatory priorities. Watch the recording of that presentation here and download slides here.
Friday’s afternoon guest speakers began with Claudia Monterrosa , HUD Deputy Assistant Secretary (DAS) for Grant Programs. Claudia announced HUD’s CDBG 50th Anniversary kickoff will be held later in March with official branding and program toolkits available for use throughout the year. CDBG is an integral part of the Biden Administration’s Housing Supply Action Plan to combat lack of affordable housing and homelessness.
Claudia also provided members with an update on HUD’s CDBG-Disaster Recovery (DR) program, of which $99 billion has been appropriated by Congress overall. HOME – American Rescue Plan (ARP) funding deployment continues to be an agency priority and HUD maintains its support for Section 108 loans , manufactured housing and rural housing assistance. View the recording of DAS Monterrosa’s presentation here.
Following was a presentation from Kimberly Nash, Acting Director of HUD’s Office of Block Grant Assistance (OBGA) and Duncan Yetman, Deputy Director for OBGA. OBGA provided updates on the $85 million Pathways to Removing Obstacles for Housing competition; the $225 million PRICE competition; guidance on submitting Consolidated Plans and Annual Action Plans for FY 2024; guidance on use of CDBG funds in support of housing; CDBG CARES Act (CV) clinic sessions ; and a reminder regarding FY17 expiring funds.
OBGA explained HUD’s intentions with its proposed rule on CDBG program improvements. HUD aims to bolster CDBG economic development capabilities; provide additional methods for consolidated plan public accessibility; improve timeliness expectations for construction projects; improve data collection measures; and remove outdated provisions within the program. HUD will be hosting virtual listening sessions regarding the proposed rule from 11:00am – 12:00pm eastern Tuesday, February 20 and from 1:30pm – 2:20pm eastern Thursday, February 28 . View Duncan and Kim’s presentation here and download slides here .
Concluding the afternoon sessions were remarks from Ginny Sardone,
Director of the Office of Affordable Housing Programs (OAHP) and Peter Huber, Deputy Director of OAHP. OAHP is in the process of developing a proposed rule for HOME which seeks to modernize and streamline
HOME for Community Housing Development Organizations, property standards, rents and Community Land Trusts. OAHP reminded members of final rules published
last year on both the Housing Opportunity Through Modernization Act (HOTMA) and the National Standards for the Physical Inspection of Real Estate (NSPIRE). OAHP wrapped their session with HOME-ARP, HOME and Housing Trust Fund program status updates. Watch Ginny and Peter’s presentation here and view their slides here.
On Saturday, February 10 NACCED members attended the NACo Community, Economic & Workforce Development (CEWD) Steering Committee Meeting. CEWD kicked its meeting off with a welcome from committee chair, Clackamas County, OR Commissioner Martha
Schrader. Following Commissioner Schrader was a HUD update from DAS Monterrosa covering topics from her meeting with NACCED the day prior. Next was a presentation from Joaquin Altoro, Administrator of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Housing Service. Administrator Altoro addressed lack of federal funding for rural housing unit development, specifically USDA’s underfunded Section 515 program.
Next was a panel discussion on place-based policy making. Participants were Brian Cummings , Bucks County, PA Director of Economic and Workforce Development; Craig Buerstatte , DAS for Regional Affairs with the Economic Development Administration (EDA); Taylor Maag , Director of Workforce Development Policy with the Progressive Policy Institute; and Mirielle Burgoyne , Deputy Executive Director for the National Association of Development Organizations.
Panelists provided an overview of EDA funding from the CHIPS and Science Act . Regional Technology and Innovation Hubs (Tech Hubs) have increased workforce development and investment into community infrastructure. EDA program success has decreased community socioeconomic divisions through providing more opportunities for work in historically underserved regions through technology development and manufacturing jobs. State-level coordination of EDA CHIPS funding has resulted in individual skill development; successful public-private partnerships for technology focused jobs; and business development. Additionally, areas with previously recorded low secondary education rates have seen an increase in student achievement due to science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) learning.Following the panel was Patrick Carey , Assistant Commissioner for Current Employment Analysis with the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Patrick discussed U.S. wage earning trends and concerns with current rates of inflation. BLS further monitors state employment; civilian unemployment rates; labor force participation rates; and health care assistance. Impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the labor market are still being tracked in BLS reporting as the U.S. economy adjusts from 2020.
Atissa Ladjevardian, Acting Director of External and Government Affairs for the U.S. Department of Commerce National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors (CHIPS) Office provided additional remarks. The CHIPS and Science Act provided $280 billion in federal funding for technology development; however, further research and development (R&D) funding for CHIPS will ensure tech jobs stay domestic. On February 9 the White House announced over $5 billion in expected investment in the CHIPS R&D program, including the National Semiconductor Technology Center (NSTC), and the establishment of a public-private consortium for the NSTC. NIST has created the CHIPS for America program to increase semiconductor chip processing centers and provide additional workforce development opportunities.
The CEWD business meeting concluded Saturday’s session with interim policy resolution voting. Mary Keating presented two resolutions drafted for committee consideration: FY25 appropriation requests and urging congressional action to pass HOME reauthorization legislation to allow for increased federal funding assistance to support affordable housing development. Both interim resolutions passed unanimously.
On Sunday, February 11 NACCED members attended the NACo Large Urban Caucus (LUCC) meeting. County Executive David Crowley of Milwaukee County, WI began the meeting with a call to order. HUD Deputy Secretary Adrianna Todman provided keynote remarks on federal and local partnerships for urban innovations in housing affordability. HUD continues to invest in rental assistance and prioritizes keeping tenants housed as part of the Biden Administration’s Housing Action Plan. Deputy Secretary Todman stated HUD continues in its homelessness reduction efforts; places a strong emphasis on both CDBG and HOME resources; and is focused on increasing the rate of first-time homebuyers through the reduction of mortgage insurance premiums.
Following was a panel discussion on innovation and policy strategies for affordable housing. Harris County, TX Commissioner Adrian Garcia moderated a conversation with Dr. Luisa Godinez-Puig , Senior Research Associate for the Urban Institute; Nicholas Merriam, Vice President of Strategy & Operations for Housing Connector; and Mike Singer, North American Policy Director for Airbnb.
The Urban Institute has created a Housing Justice Framework as part of its Housing Justice Hub to ensure affordable housing and decrease racial discrimination that leads to housing insecurity. By providing housing justice resources the Urban Institute aims to reform land-use policy, decrease systems of oppression and guarantee housing as a right. Housing Connector is focused on increasing housing opportunities with a specific focus on those currently unhoused. Underutilization of housing vouchers has led to affordability barriers even when many rental units remain vacant. By establishing cross-sector partnerships Housing Connector has aided housing attainment. Airbnb continues to advocate for short-term rental regulation. Airbnb provides best practices to assist local policymakers in formulating equitable and well-balanced regulations for short-term rentals covering areas such as registration, transient occupancy taxes, trust and safety measures, and data sharing.
Following the panel Los Angeles County, CA Supervisor Kathryn Barger introduced U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra . Secretary Becerra spoke to federal government efforts to increase local crises response. HHS prioritizes housing funding to those suffering from homelessness. Being housed leads to increased behavioral health and is supported by HHS’s programs for populations in need.
Gwinnett County, GA Chairwoman Nicole Hendrickson introduced the committee’s final speaker, Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Deputy Director of Policy, Communications and Legislative Affairs, Andi Lipstein Fristedt . Deputy Director Fristedt highlighted CDC programs aimed at assisting youth mental health services and strategies for suicide prevention. CDC has provided federal resources for school programs to focus on mental health such as the Mental Health Action Guide for School and District Leaders ; the CDC Comprehensive Suicide Prevention program; and the Adverse Childhood Experiences Prevention Resource.
For further reference, recordings and slide decks from Friday’s presentations are available on NACCED’s website here .
NACCED looks forward to joining NACo at their annual meeting this July in Hillsborough County (Tampa, FL).
