AB 961

The Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority (authority)

currently awards certain federal tax credits to developers of affordable rental

housing. This bill directs the authority, each year and each time it allocates the tax

credits in a competitive process for developments in one of 15 Wisconsin counties

specified in the bill, to do all of the following: 1) ensure that the authority awards

reservations of tax credits for developments that will be constructed or developed

utilizing a combination of minority-owned businesses and woman-owned

businesses for not less than 25 percent of "project hard costs," which is defined in the

bill as all costs incurred in constructing a building other than the cost of financing

and land acquisition; 2) ensure that the authority awards reservations of tax credits

for developments that will be constructed or developed utilizing developers who

agree to participate in the authority's co-developer mentor protege program; and 3)

ensure that the authority awards reservations of tax credits for developments that

will be constructed or developed utilizing contractors who agree to employ, and are

willing to encourage subcontractors to agree to employ, individuals who live in the

vicinity of a project to perform work on the project.

Because this bill directly or substantially affects the development,

construction, cost or availability of housing in this state, the Department of

Commerce, as required by law, will prepare a report to be printed as an appendix to

this bill.