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Greetings!
The Indiana General Assembly is off and running with the 2013 legislative session. The IACED public policy team has been in the hallway everyday advocating for member interests. IACED members have a right and a duty to be engaged in the important issues of the day. If you have questions about how to be involved in policy advocacy, please visit the IACED web site here.
This blog post summarizes where IACED public policy priorities currently stand in the legislative process and other legislation our policy team is watching. If you want to be in the know about the Indiana General Assembly and IACED's work as of today...read this post! You can read our policy priorities in detail here. From earlier blog posts, members may recall that they include:
- new tools to deal with abandoned property and property tax foreclosure reform;
- defense of key programs - Neighborhood Assistance Program (NAP), Low Income Housing Tax Credit, Individual Development Accounts (IDA), and preserving a $50 foreclosure filing fee for housing counseling;
- additional flexibility in the Indianapolis Housing Trust Fund; and
- support for local decision making around public transit.
IACED is watching more than 100 bills in addition to the issues identified thus far. You can check the status of any of this legislation on the Indiana General Assembly web site - http://www.in.gov/legislative. We hope you will continue to monitor the IACED blog for important updates on our legislative priorities.
IACED's policy work at the Indiana General Assembly is done in partnership with other organizations, including the Indiana Institute for Working Families, Indiana Association of United Ways, Indiana Coalition for Human Services, Habitat for Humanity of Indiana, Indiana Community Action Association, Indiana Area Agencies on Aging, and the many IACED members who regularly visit with their members of the Indiana General Assembly and help inform our work by reporting their insights to me. If you have questions about any of these issues or want to communicate with your legislators, please contact me at afraizer@iaced.org
Regards,
Andy Fraizer
Executive Director
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IACED is now on Twitter using the handle @INCommDev. Click the image below to follow us on Twitter.
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Trainings, Events, and
Technical Assistance |
IACED Trainings
You still have time to sign up for IACED's Developing Your Microenterprise Program Training on February 14-15, at the Indiana Historical Society. This training will highlight: - Key components of successful microenterprise programs
- Identifying sources of funding available to develop and sustain assistance programs
- Exposing participants to the services of local microenterprise development programs
- Understanding the importance of prudent underwriting for successful loan programs
Cost is only $45 for IACED members, $55 for non-members! Please click here for more information and to sign up today. Are you so busy with your comprehensive community development project - that you forgot to figure out how to pay for it? : ) Keep watching your In box for more information about IACED's "Fundraising for Your Comprehensive Community Development" training. Learn all about the who, where, why, and how of raising support for your CCD projects. Also coming March - are you an asset manager but just don't know it yet? Join us and National Development Council for "Asset Management for Affordable Housing" training. Much more information will be forthcoming about these and the rest of IACED's training agenda for 2013. If you have any immediate questions or want to discuss your training needs, please contact Chris Collins.
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IACED Offers Quality Technical Assistance
Whether you are running an organization or trying to design a new program or project, it can feel like a considerable weight. Our job is to help share the load! IACED provides members with a wide range of direct technical assistance. For more information, contact IACED Senior Program Manager Jessica Love.
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Around Indiana
As mentioned in our January RIM letter above, IACED's policy team has been busy advocating for our members' interests at the Statehouse. Below you can find specific links to testimony IACED's Executive Director, Andy Fraizer, delivered before a variety of committees this past month.
IACED Partners on Indiana Assets and Opportunity Network
IACED is proud to announce a new collaboration aimed at delivering policy analysis, advocacy, and capacity building for organizations across the state working on asset building strategies for Hoosier families. In partnership with the Indiana Institute for Working Families (IIWF), the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (Indianapolis LISC), and others, the new Indiana Assets & Opportunity Network supports better financial literacy, access to mainstream financial services, and policies that improve income supports and asset acquisition. How can you get involved? Stay up to date with all of our activities here, or consider partnering with us as a Lead Local Organization in your community by clicking here. For more information about the Indiana Assets and Opportunity Network, please contact Chris Collins at 317-454-8538.
Governor Pence Unveils Proposed Budget, Reduces Funding for Individual Development Accounts
On January 15, 2013, Governor Mike Pence's budget director - Chris Atkins - presented the new administration's $29 billion, two-year spending plan to the State Budget Committee. The Administration's stated priorities can be found on our blog post detailing this announcement. The proposed budget boosts funding for schools slightly, adds new money for Medicaid, and redirects money now earmarked for state pensions to road construction. The Governor's proposed budget cuts Individual Development Account funding from $1 million dollars annually to $500,000 annually. A controversial provision of the Governor's budget is a proposed 10 percent income tax cut. The Governor proposes to reduce the state individual adjusted gross income tax rate to 3.23% for tax years beginning in 2014 and to 3.06% for tax years beginning in 2015 and thereafter. Members of the General Assembly are questioning the state's ability to pay for this tax cut. For more details, you can review the budget and the Budget Directors presentation online at http://www.in.gov/sba/2603.htm.
IACED Executive Director Participates on Poverty Solutions Panel with Tavis Smiley
National talk show host and SPEA alumnus Tavis Smiley joined the Indiana University School of Public and Environmental Affairs (SPEA) for a Jan. 15 panel discussion on poverty. In 2011 and 2012, Smiley and Union Theological Seminary Professor Dr. Cornel West conducted "The Poverty Tour," going across the nation to highlight the challenges facing the poor and bring attention to the people hardest-hit by the recent economic decline. In conjunction with tours, SPEA Dean John D. Graham and Professor Kristin Seefeldt prepared a white paper and book, "America's Poor and the Great Recession." IACED's Executive Director, Andy Fraizer was featured on the panel as well, along with James Taylor, CEO of the John H. Boner Community Center in Indianapolis. For more information about the panel and topics covered, check out our blog post here.
Across the Nation
HUD Announces Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Awards
On January 30, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced funding awards for FY 2012 Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Program (HCVP) in the Federal Register. The purpose of this rental assistance program is to assist eligible families to pay their rent for decent, safe, and sanitary housing. According to HUD's announcement, the FY 2012 awardees announced in this notice were provided HCVP tenant protection vouchers (TPVs) funds on an as-needed, non-competitive basis. Click on the link above to find Indiana-specific figures.
$8.5 Billion Settlement Ends Case-By-Case Foreclosure Reviews
News from IACED's partner the National Alliance of Community Economic Development Associations (NACEDA). On January 7, Federal bank regulators announced an $8.5 billion deal with ten of the nation's largest mortgage companies. In return for the $8.5 billion, regulators will drop requirements for case-by-case reviews of millions of foreclosures that were mandated in 2011 following the "robo-signing" scandal. This settlement means faster cash compensation for people whose homes were foreclosed upon in 2009 and 2010. The settlement does not ensure that a fair share of the funds go to the people whose loans were illegally foreclosed. Financial institutions themselves are determining which mortgagees receive how much compensation. Click here to learn more on the NACEDA blog about how the settlement works.
New Mortgage Protection Rule Protects Borrowers and Banks
On January 10, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued the Ability-to-Repay rule. It creates a new loan category called "qualified mortgages" with no interest-only loans, limited up-front fees, and debt burdens of no more than 43% of income. Consumer and housing advocates have expressed concern that borrowers do not have the ability to redress grievances on "qualified mortgages" in the prime market, thereby sheltering banks. Read statements by Alys Cohen of the National Consumer Law Center and Lisa Rice of the National Fair Housing Alliance. Further details about the rule are forthcoming.
HUD Grants PHAs Temporary Administrative Flexibility
On January 22, the Department of Housing and Urban Development issued temporary provisions that can be found here, to ease some administrative requirements for public housing agencies (PHAs) that administer Public Housing and Housing Choice Vouchers. The announcement recognizes that decreased Congressional appropriations have strained PHAs' ability to provide housing assistance, while the need for affordable housing has increased. For more information, please click here to find details outlined by the National Low Income Housing Coalition.
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Elkhart County Kicks Off 2013 Homeward Bound Season on February 16!
We are excited to announce the kick off of our 2013 Homeward Bound season with the Elkhart County walk to be held Saturday, February 16, at the Concord Mall in Elkhart, Ind. Registration begins at 9:00 am and the walk starts at 9:45 AM.
Help us support the important work of the eight IACED member agencies listed below that are dedicated to providing affordable housing and preventing homelessness in Elkhart by visiting this website, http://www.homewardboundindiana.org/elkhart-county, and registering to walk or donating online. General admission is $5 for walkers and the fee can be paid during pre-registration or on the day of the event.
Each walker will receive a hand-knitted scarf the day of the walk. Funds raised will stay in Elkhart County to benefit the local IACED member organizations listed below.
Thank you to the Elkhart Truth for helping us get out the word about this important event with this Jan. 15 profile!
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