A revolving loan program to provide gap funding for workforce housing programs and granting bonding authority. (FE)

To receive a loan under the bill, a developer must demonstrate to WHEDA that all of the following apply:

1. The developer has secured the necessary financial resources for the remaining cost of the eligible project not to be covered by the loan under the bill.

2. The developer has secured all applicable federal, state, and local government permits or other approvals for the eligible project.

3. Any applicable sewer or water service area plan has been amended if necessary.

4. The eligible governmental unit has entered into an agreement or memorandum of understanding with the developer for the eligible project at issue.

WHEDA may establish an interest rate for any loan awarded under the bill at or below the interest rate for any bonds issued under the bill, plus 0.5 percent. Also under the bill, no loan awarded may be for an amount greater than $3,000,000.

The bill requires that WHEDA enter into an agreement with each developer receiving a loan that establishes the term and other conditions of the loan and requires that housing constructed in connection with the loan be for initial occupancy by individuals whose annual household income does not exceed 120 percent of the area median income in the county in which the housing is located, adjusted for family size, as published annually by the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development.

WHEDA must also divide the state into regions based on the service jurisdiction of each regional planning commission constituted under current law, with the counties not served by a regional planning commission constituting collectively one region. Under the bill, in any given application cycle, no such region may receive loans that amount to more than 12.5 percent of the moneys deposited into the fund in the 2025-27 fiscal biennium from bonding.

Finally, the bill requires that WHEDA market the availability of loans under the bill and submit annual reports to the appropriate standing committees of the legislature related to the gap funding for workforce housing revolving loan fund and program created under the bill.

Because this bill may increase or decrease, directly or indirectly, the cost of the development, construction, financing, purchasing, sale, ownership, or availability of housing in this state, the Department of Administration, as required by law, will prepare a report to be printed as an appendix to this bill.