OCAH is hosting a Fall Training & Networking Event in conjunction with our Annual Meeting & Lunch. Attendees will have an opportunity to attend educational sessions pertinent to the affordable housing industry. Give us your feedback on when the training should be scheduled and on the session topics that are of interest to you.

Click here for Survey

After weeks of negotiations between Congressional Leadership and the White House, legislation to prevent a government default was signed into law by President Biden on June 4. This debt limit bill, the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 (H.R.3746), establishes budget caps on discretionary spending for Fiscal Year (FY) 24 and FY 25, claws back funding from COVID-19 relief bills and the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), and suspends the debt limit until January 1, 2025, among many other provisions.

For FY 24, the total spending is set to $1.59 trillion with $886 billion for Defense spending and $703 billion for the non-discretionary spending programs. FY 25 spending levels will be capped at a 1 percent increase above FY 24 levels, $895 billion for defense and $710 billion for nondefense. The bill rescinds $28 billion from unobligated funds from prior COVID-19 relief bills and $21.4 billion from the IRA. Programs such as the Emergency Rental Assistance, Emergency Housing Vouchers, Indian Health Service, and State and Local Recovery Funds were protected from the bill according to a document shared by the Administration. HUD’s Green and Resilient Retrofit program and the Department of Energy’s rebate programs also remained untouched, as was the Environmental Protection Agency’s Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund.

Thanks to everyone's hard work and our state Senators, this bill has passed the Senate 25-18 with an emergency clause.

Please call or email Governor Stitt and request his support!

Thanks Coalition Members!

The Senate did not convene in special session yesterday but is scheduled to do so this morning.

Please call your state Senators and the Governor TODAY and request their support of HB1031 to increase housing opportunities in Oklahoma!

HB1031X-Wallace should hit the House Floor soon. CLICK HERE to watch the live session.

If you have not already done so, please contact your Senator and the Governor’s Office and request they all support housing for Oklahomans!

CLICK HERE and scroll to the bottom right to find your Senator. CLICK HERE to contact Governor Stitt’s office requesting support.

Please call and email as soon as possible.

Workforce and affordable housing is a critical component for economic development and business expansion. Increasing the housing supply assists new and expanding companies throughout the state looking to increase their workforce and production. With tornadoes, wildfires and other natural disasters working against our housing stock, we need to be strategic about creating new housing opportunities for all Oklahomans.

Please use the following hashtags in any social media posts: #VoteYesHB1031 #HousingMatters and tag the Coalition with @okcoalition

Thank you for your support!

HB1031X-Wallace that is the new bill to provide funding for housing in Oklahoma passed the Joint Committee on Appropriations and Budget yesterday. This bill will now need to be passed by both the Housing and the Senate. There is an Emergency Clause included and the bill will be effective July 1, 2023. Currently, $215M is budgeted for these new programs.

Please contact your Representative, your Senator and the Governor’s Office and request they all support housing for Oklahomans!

CLICK HERE and scroll to the bottom right to find your LEGISLATOR. CLICK HERE to contact Governor Stitt’s office requesting support.

The Special Session must end on Friday, May 26, 2023 so everything will be moving fast. Please call and email as soon as possible.

Workforce and affordable housing is a critical component for economic development and business expansion. Increasing the housing supply assists new and expanding companies throughout the state looking to increase their workforce and production. With tornadoes, wildfires and other natural disasters working against our housing stock, we need to be strategic about creating new housing opportunities for all Oklahomans.

If you need data points for your comments, please note the following:

• Oklahoma has a shortage of 81,638 rental homes
• Oklahoma’s 2 Bedroom Housing Wage is $16.61 per hour
• Oklahoma Housing Cost Burden by Group

Please use the following hashtags in any social media posts: #VoteYesHB1031 #HousingMatters and tage the Coalition with @okcoalition

Thank you for your support!

HB2070-Wallace that was a Support bill for the Coalition is now HB1031X. This bill does have an emergency clause, and if passed, will become effective July 1, 2023. This legislation will create the Oklahoma Housing Stability Program, the Homebuilder Program, the Homebuilder Revolving Fund, the Oklahoma Increased Housing Program the Oklahoma Increased Housing Revolving Fund and provide for adminstration of programs by the Oklahoma Housing Finance Agency. We are hearing about $260M will be allocated to this

Stay tuned for updates!

HB1031 to create the new housing programs under OHFA is scheduled on the agenda for the Joint Committee on Appropriations and Budget this morning. Click here to watch the live chamber proceedings.

The City of Norman has released a request for proposal (RFP) for an affordable rental housing development following approval of Norman City Council. As part of the project, the City of Norman will utilize Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (SLFRF) to provide an assistance package to mitigate barriers to rental housing development that result in long-term affordable rents for the target market.

The successful Proposer will leverage the city’s development assistance package with Oklahoma Housing Finance Agency’s Section 42 Low-Income Housing Tax Credits, Multifamily Bonds, and/or other financial resources, has a successful history of developing, operating, and managing low-income housing tax credit developments in Oklahoma, and demonstrates sensitivity to quality land use planning, housing development design, accessibility, and architecture.

City of Norman Affordable Housing RFP

For questions and more information, contact:

Lisa Krieg
CDBG/Grants Manager
405-366-5464
affordablehousingrfp

Congress came back from its spring recess and hit the ground running with a hearing on affordable housing, the President's Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 budget, and the House-passed Republican plan to address the approaching debt limit, by the so-called "X-date." The nation breached the debt limit earlier this year, but the Treasury Department has used "extraordinary measures" to pay the country's bills while waiting for Congress and the Administration to reach a debt limit deal. These negotiations are expected to overshadow most other policy work until an agreement can be met.

Last week, House Republicans passed the Limit, Save, Grow Act of 2023, which would increase the debt ceiling by $1.5 trillion or until March 2024, whichever happens sooner, paired with reducing discretionary FY24 spending to FY22 levels, a cut of roughly $130 billion. These cuts would likely also impact other HUD programs that complement the Housing Credit program's development and operations, such as Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers. It would also rescind unobligated funds from the Inflation Reduction Act, the American Rescue Plan Act, the CARES Act, and other coronavirus relief measures enacted in various bills over the last few years. If the bill were to pass as is, these rescissions could impact emergency housing programs authorized during the pandemic, including HOME-ARP, ESG-CV, CDBG-CV, Emergency Rental Assistance, State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds, and the Homeowner Assistance Fund. While the Housing Credit is not directly affected by the House debt limit bill, it would impact energy efficiency resources that could benefit Housing Credit properties.

The House debt limit legislation is expected to be "dead on arrival" in the Senate, where various committees are holding hearings this week to highlight the impact the bill would have on various programs and activities. The Administration, as of this writing, is still calling for a "clean" debt bill that would raise the limit without conditions. The Treasury Department is expected to release a new estimate of the X-date soon.