On February 22, 2012, Mayor Vincent C. Gray signed a Mayor’s Order appointing 36 members to the Comprehensive Housing Strategy Task Force 2012. The Task Force 2012 will build upon the work of the previous Task Force (2003-2006). “The goal of the Comprehensive Housing Strategy Task Force is to help city leaders ensure the creation of more affordable housing for residents of the District of Columbia,” said Mayor Gray. “While I believe that every D.C. resident deserves a decent, safe and affordable place to live, I also know this goal can prove challenging to reach in dense, fast-growing cities like ours. The work of this Task Force will help us make these efforts more achievable for all of our residents.” The new report, “Bridges to Opportunity: A New Housing Strategy for DC,” was released this week and can be downloaded here.

MARYLAND ABCD NETWORK ACTION ALERT

 $5 Million in Rental Housing Works Funds at Risk-Action Needed Now!

The Governor’s 2014 budget request for the Rental Housing Works Initiative is $25 million.  The Department of Legislative Services (DLS) has recommended a cut of $5 million dollars.  We all need to take action in the next few days to stress to the legislators who serve on the House and Senate Capital Budget Subcommittees how important it is to preserve full funding for RHW.  When we were faced with a similar cut last year we were incredibly effective in preserving RHW funding by reaching out to key legislators by email.  Your email can be a relatively simple and short message.  One example is:

Please fully fund the $25 million requested by the Governor for the Rental Housing Works Initiative.  The existing funds appropriated in FY 2013 have been fully utilized and there is already a pipeline of projects in excess of $5.5 million.  There is a strong demand for these funds that create jobs, affordable rental units, increase state and local revenues and other substantial investments to Maryland.

If you want to prepare a more detailed message, you can personalize it referring to a specific project or you can use the data below on what would be lost to Maryland if a $5 million cut is enacted.

We urge you to send an individual message to each of the following members of the Capital Budget Subcommittees.  If for some reason you cannot email each subcommittee member, please focus on the subcommittee chairs and legislators where you do business or with whom you have a relationship.

Please do this right away- our goal is to have all emails sent by 12:00 noon on Friday, March 8th.

Senate Capital Budget Subcommittee:
James E. DeGrange, Sr. (Chair)
james.degrange@senate.state.md.us
Douglass J.J. Peters (Vice Chair)
douglas.peters@senate.state.md.us
Richard R. Colburn
richard.colburn@senate.state.md.us
Ulysses Currie
ulysses.currie@senate.state.md.us
George C. Edwards
george.edwards@senate.state.md.us
Nancy J. King
nancy.king@senate.state.md.us
Nathanial J. McFadden
nathaniel.mcfadden@senate.state.md.us

House Capital Budget Subcommittee:
Adrienne A. Jones (Chair)
adrienne.jones@house.state.md.us
Melony G. Griffith (Vice Chair)
melony.griffith@house.state.md.us
Wendell R. Beitzel
wendell.beitzel@house.state.md.us
John L. Bohanan, Jr.
john.bohanan@house.state.md.us
Steven J. DeBoy, Sr.                          
steven.deboy@house.state.md.us
Adelaide C. Eckardt                          
adelaide.eckardt@house.state.md.us
Tawanna P. Gaines
tawanna.gaines@house.state.md.us
Guy Guzzone                                    
guy.guzzone@house.state.md.us
Keith E. Haynes                                
keith.haynes@house.state.md.us
Mary-Dulany James                           
mary.dulany.james@house.state.md.us
James E. Proctor, Jr.
james.proctor@house.state.md.us
Craig J. Zucker                                   
craig.zucker@house.state.md.us

Potential RHW Cuts Would Really Matter – Funding Decrease Impact

Your participation is vital and we appreciate your taking action today to help secure $25 million in RHW funding!

At Housing Day on Feb. 21, the Maryland Affordable Housing Coalition (MAHC) debuted it’s video “Rental Housing Works – Really Works!”  The 6-minute presentation highlights the Rental Housing Works (RHW) program which was initiated by MAHC in conjunction with DHCD to leverages private and public funds to expand job creation, increase state and local revenues and provide quality affordable rental housing for vulnerable seniors and working families.   In the first year of the initiative $17.5 million in the FY13 budget, and in January 2013, Governor O’Malley announced that he would seek an additional $25 million for the program in his FY14 budget.    To view the video click on RHW Video.