State Housing Task Forces: Comprehensive and Coordinated Initiatives

Cathy Atkins, Program Principal

High housing costs have been an issue in some parts of the United States, particularly the northeast, west coast and certain resort areas, for many years. Recently, residents in many states long known to have relatively low housing costs have encounter an ever-increasing housing cost burden. While such costs may be an economic boom to those who already own a home, to others it presents a major barrier to living and working in an area. Increasingly, teachers, first responders (police, fire and emergency personnel) and service workers, to name just a few, find it difficult, if not impossible, to live in or near the communities in which they work. Lengthy commutes for such personnel have become the norm in many areas. The effects of these commutes are far-reaching for the worker, the community and the state -- environmentally, socially, financially and educationally. Increased traffic congestion, needs for new transportation infrastructure, demands on strained budgets (personal, local and state), air quality questions, child care costs (personal and school districts) and worker absenteeism are just a few of the side issues created by the inability of workers to live near their place of employment.

Many states have started to view housing as an economic development issue as well as a social issue. If employees cannot afford to live in an area on the wages paid for a company's jobs and the company cannot economically afford paying the wages that would be required for the employee to live in the area, the economic impacts of high housing costs can extend far beyond what has traditionally been the case. Tax revenues, income, property and sales, can be impacted as people and businesses move out of an area or simply curtail spending. Many of the people who move out or even never move into an area due to the housing cost burden may well be young, well-educated professionals -- exactly the type of worker states and communities bemoan losing to other areas.

As part of the effort to develop housing initiatives that ensure affordable housing, state legislatures and governors, frequently working in tandem, have established state housing task forces and charged these entities with identifying causes, effects and solutions to these costs. Such task forces can provide the expertise and flexibility necessary to study the issue comprehensively and make solid, considered recommendations. This report focuses on housing task forces in six states: Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Massachusetts, Iowa and Maryland. The states were selected for various reasons including longevity of the task force and effectiveness of the effort. However, one of the most salient features of the selected task forces is that each has the political support of both the state’s executive and legislative branches. While much of today’s political coverage details discord in government, these task forces provide examples of continuing and accomplished work by focused political leaders and policymakers.

These are only a few examples of the work being done by state leaders pertaining to housing costs and the ramifications of a heavy housing cost burden to residents and states. This is not presented as a comprehensive study; rather, it is an attempt to highlight the effectiveness that has been achieved as the result of a joint legislative/executive branch endeavor.

Florida

Florida's Affordable Housing Study Commission, created in 1986 by then-Governor Bob Graham and the state legislature, is charged with making public policy recommendations to the state's governor and legislature that "begin to address the state's acute need for housing for the homeless; for very-low-income, low-income, and moderate-income persons; and for elderly persons."¹ Specific strategies for fulfilling this charge include: encouraging public-private partnerships and enhancing government coordination; highlighting opportunities to streamline regulations that deal with affordable housing; promoting strategies that comprehensively address the affordable housing issue; promoting new research on affordable housing; and educating the government and citizens about the importance of affordable housing in Florida. ² According to 1000 Friends of Florida, an advocacy group promoting growth management, sensible development patterns, and affordable housing, “nearly every major change in housing programs in the state since the 1980s have emanated from the Affordable Housing Study Commission.”³

The Florida Governor appoints the 21 citizen members of the Commission to 4 year terms. The members represent a broad spectrum of advocates and industry personnel involved in housing issues. The Commission is staffed by employees of the state's Housing Finance Corporation. Each year the Commission selects an affordable housing issue of timely interest for in-depth study. That issue is then included in the annual report compiled and sent to the Governor and Legislature. The most recent report addressed the economic effects of the disastrous hurricane seasons in 2004 and 2005 and made recommendations for housing recovery. Other issues the Commission has addressed in past years include inclusionary zoning, land use and permitting decisions, local permitting and review processes, predatory lending, manufactured housing and affordable housing preservation.

Additional information on the Commission is available online at http://www.floridahousing.org/AHSC.

Hawaii

In 2004, the Hawaii Senate passed S.C.R. 135, S.D. 1 requesting that the Housing and Community Development Corporation of Hawaii convene a task force to address affordable housing in the state. The resolution cited several factors supporting the need for this task force including the high cost of housing, the increasing shortage of all rental housing, potential regulatory barriers to affordable rental or owner housing. The task force was charged with identifying:

incentives for the development of affordable housing;
methods of accelerating regulatory and permitting processes;
infrastructure issues;
implementation issues; and
incentives for affordable housing financing.⁴

The legislature further stipulated that the task force should be comprised of representatives from appropriate state, county, and federal agencies; developers; financial institutions; the real estate industry; and housing advocacy organizations in order to have a variety of ideas for both short term and long term plans to address the issue. The Task Force was convened by Governor Linda Lingle in July 2004.

Short-term Task Force priority recommendations included:

Making government land available for affordable housing development;
Expediting the plan approval process;
Increasing the conveyance tax and the percentage of that tax that is dedicated to affordable housing;
Increasing the political will to support affordable housing efforts;
Use state land for long-term leases for housing, or as collateral;
Use creative public/private financing for infrastructure;
Procuring a dedicated source of funding for the Rental Housing Trust Fund;
Providing incentives to landlords to maintain affordable rentals rather than removing them from the market; and
Providing for better coordination between existing funding sources at all levels of government and private sources.

Long-term priorities included:

Eliminating duplicative reviews by the State Land Use Commission and County zoning authorities;
Having coordinated, integrated long-term development plans guide the use of Capital Improvement Project (CIP) funds;
Having the state treat affordable housing as a priority policy and act as a facilitator to bring the parties together to lower the costs for developers to provide this housing;
Establishing an affordable housing finance agency that has no other duties

Additional recommendations are included in the Task Force report.⁵ Information on the Hawaii Affordable Housing Commission can be found online at http://www.hcdch.hawaii.gov/scr135-final-rpt.pdf.

During the 2005 legislative session, several bill were proposed from the Governor's office—collectively identified as the Affordable Homes Act of 2005—that partially were in response to the Task Force report. Specific elements of the proposed legislation included: securing financing specifically for affordable housing from several revolving funds; abolishing Hawaii’s Rental Housing Trust Fund Advisory Commission as a means of streamlining the regulatory process for developing new affordable units; exempting affordable housing projects of 50 acres or less from a lengthy land use approval process; as well as a host of steps meant to fine tune existing programs to encourage the development of new low-income units. Governor Lingle also proposed several other bills to aid the creation of new affordable housing, including the Land Use Facilitation Act of 2005 to overhaul and streamline the land use approval process in Hawaii, and a bill that would repeal an existing law that only allows pooled insurance for construction projects of over $50 million, meant to lower construction costs for the development of housing and help smaller firms obtain insurance.⁶

While some in the state argued that much of the legislation introduced by the governor failed to include many of the recommendations from the Housing Task Force, several of the proposed bills were adopted 2006 from the carryover of 2005 introductions that incorporate aspects of the Task Force report.⁷ The Housing and Community Development Commission of Hawaii (HCDCH) was bifurcated into a finance and development agency as well as a public housing agency.⁸ The idea of splitting the HCDCH in this manner stemmed from a recommendation of the Housing Task Force; the rationale being that a separate Housing Finance Agency (HFA) would be more responsive and efficient in delivering the necessary financial services to produce new affordable housing.

While clear legislative victories regarding the Housing Task Force recommendations still have a long way to go, the 2005-2006 session was promising in that the concerns of the Task Force made their way into several proposals. Furthermore, in addition to the completed report from the Governor’s Affordable Housing Task Force, a separate Senate Task Force on Affordable Housing convened with the intent of developing its own legislative agenda as well as reviewing the work of the Governor’s Task Force.⁹

Illinois

Governor Rod Blagojevich entered office in January 2003 with a declared commitment of reforming state government in Illinois. Seeing that many state agencies provide some type of housing assistance, yet do so in a largely uncoordinated manner, the Governor issued an executive order in 2003 requiring the creation of the first Comprehensive Housing Plan for the State of Illinois. The executive order (2003-18) called for the development of an annual plan through 2008 to guide the housing activities of all state agencies; further, such plans are to be created under the leadership of an Affordable Housing Task Force. The Task Force is comprised of designees from various state agencies and is chaired by the Executive Director of the Illinois Housing Development Authority. Under the guidance of a 12 member Executive Committee, the first Comprehensive Housing Plan grew out of working groups and recommendations from over 200 participants, including government, non-profit, and housing industry representatives. Based on the charge outlined in the Governor’s executive order, several priority underserved populations with specific or urgent housing needs were highlighted to receive special attention. To this end, seven working groups were formed to focus on the following specific issues: housing innovation; preservation and rehabilitation; community and regional strategies; family housing; rural and small city housing issues; special needs with services; and special needs without services.

The 2006 report, entitled On the Road to Success was released in January 2006, continues the work from previous state comprehensive housing plans as it pertains to affordable housing for very low, low and moderate income families; low-income senior citizens; and low-income people with disabilities. Housing preservation and housing near employment are also focuses of the 2006 report. Key areas for action identified in the 2006 report include

Coordination and alignment of State resources for affordable housing;
Preservation and rehabilitation of valuable existing housing units; and
Increasing sustainable homeownership for underserved communities

Like its predecessor, the 2006 plan highlights the importance of affordable and accessible housing for all, arguing that a stable supply of quality housing is beneficial to individuals, families, entire communities, and even the state of Illinois; in short, affordable housing is an issue that effects everyone. The Plan consists of a vision statement and a descriptive narrative based on three primary guiding principles (affordability and choice, creation and preservation, and leadership), as well as a detailed Technical Plan for fiscal year 2006 outlining specific goals and implementation strategies. In a particularly useful arrangement, the Technical Plan lists detailed strategies and objectives in tandem with the state agencies and various actors responsible for addressing such issues. This method effectively foregrounds accountability as well as those specific areas where coordination between multiple agencies and related partners is required.

Both reports are available online at http://www.ihda.org/Downloads.aspx.

In July 2005, the Rental Housing Support Act passed by the legislature in May was signed into law by Governor Blagojevich in July, representing the most significant single recommendation from the Task Force and Building for Success to come to fruition as of yet.¹⁰ Along with Massachusetts and Connecticut, the Rental Housing Support Act makes Illinois only one of three states providing long-term rental assistance. The Act provides a funding stream for grants from the Illinois Housing Development Authority to local administering agencies to disburse subsidies to participating landlords agreeing to keep some units affordable. Tenants residing in participating units will pay approximately 30 percent of their income for rent, with the local administering agency paying the balance of the negotiated rent to the landlord. Additionally, the new legislation requires that at least 10 percent of the funds allocated to the program will be used to help finance the development of new affordable housing. It is estimated that in the first year of operation the Rental Housing Support Program will generate approximately $30 million to help 5,000 families find safe and dependable housing they can afford.

Additional legislation enacted in 2005 included the Location Matters Act and the extension of the Illinois Affordable Housing Tax Credit (IAHTC) program. This Act provides an economic development incentive for employers from the state if they support affordable housing and public transit near their work site, either by locating in an area with affordable housing and transit, or by providing a plan showing how the employer will address the housing and transit shortage.¹¹ Facing the sunset of the IAHTC at the end of 2006, the current bill regarding the tax credit essentially amends the original legislation, extending its life through the year 2011.¹²

Iowa

The Governor’s Housing Task Force in Iowa effectively emerged out of the Iowa 2010 Project and the related work of the Governor’s Strategic Planning Council, both initiated by Governor Tom Vilsack in early 1999. The Iowa 2010 Project was created essentially as a visioning exercise designed to prompt a discussion around Iowa’s future in the changing global economy and provide a framework for future planning and economic development activities in the state. Issues highlighted in the Iowa 2010 Project were taken up in detail by the Governor’s Strategic Planning Council, whose charge was to create a strategic plan for Iowa’s future. One specific recommendation of the Council was for the Governor to convene a task force to comprehensively consider the issue of housing throughout the state. In the summer of 1999, Governor Vilsack created the Housing Task Force with a charge of three primary objectives: to find strategies for the state to more effectively partner with federal and local government entities, nonprofit and private groups, to create awareness of unmet housing needs, and to develop strategies and policies to retain young Iowans in the state.¹³

To provide a springboard for the work of the Task Force, the Iowa Finance Authority commissioned a study of housing issues in the state. The report, Assessing Iowa’s Housing Needs: An Evaluation of Housing Policy at the Turn of the Century, was completed in August 2000 and presented at the first meeting of the Housing Task Force. The study provided a detailed overview of housing problems in Iowa, and presented a range of questions for the Task Force to consider; primary issues identified include the large number of substandard housing units in the state, the need to strengthen partnerships among levels of government, nonprofits and the private sector, and distributing and using resources more effectively.¹⁴ The diverse 55-member Task Force took the housing study to heart and formed five committees (Environment and Technology; Home Ownership; Quality of Life; Rental; and Special Needs) to consider the issues in more detail. Over a period of several months, each working group contributed a series of recommendations to the final report of the Task Force. These recommendations (a total of 42) are presented in the Plan in a very clear manner, with specific strategies and timelines designed to support implementation. Given the fact that the final Task Force plan—with its well-defined short term (1 to 3 years) and long term goals (more than 3 years)—was completed in December 2000, enough time has passed to reflect upon how the Comprehensive Housing Strategy for Iowa has been implemented.

Several substantive proposals based on the work of the Task Force have indeed come and gone since 2000. In the 2001 legislative session, a bill was introduced with the intent of creating a State Housing Trust Fund, effectively attempting to incorporate several primary recommendations of the Task Force into one proposal. Specifically, the Task Force suggested the Trust Fund as a means to consolidated all state funded housing programs in one place, and thereby increase efficiency and accountability. While the bill addressed the concerns of the Task Force, it only did so in a partial manner. Ultimately, Governor Vilsack vetoed the bill because the proposal did not establish a dedicated funding stream for the Trust Fund. Also, the bill proposed a commission to study the prospects for consolidating all housing programs in one entity, while there had already been general agreement that this strategy would be beneficial for Iowa.¹⁵ The issue of the State Housing Trust Fund was proposed again in the 2003 legislative session—this time with positive results.

Additionally, the Task Force recommended specific legislation to set aside 25 percent of Iowa’s tax-exempt private activity bonds (PAB) for the development of affordable multi-family housing. This proposal was introduced in the 2001 session, and successfully passed. As noted in the final Task Force report, “the creation of a state LIHTC program, a housing trust fund, and the set-aside of PAB will go a long way in further closing the gap and fostering a quality housing environment”; to date, of these three key recommendations, only the state tax credit program has not to fruition. While these elements may are important and denote some degree of success, there are still a host of other suggestions outlined in the Task Force report that have not been acted upon as of yet.

In recent years a larger vision for Iowa has—in part—emerged from the focused attention of the Task Force on housing issues within the state; in particular, the connection housing has with so many other concerns (economic development and declining markets, quality of life, brain drain from cities and other workforce issues, etc.) became readily apparent. While existing housing problems alone present a significant hurdle for state policy makers, the Task Force recognized that addressing the housing issue in a strategic manner can have positive benefits in other policy areas. For example, providing new urban housing opportunities in Iowa might help curb the brain drain of younger Iowans to larger Midwestern cities in neighboring states, as well as address the urban population growth associated with a continued rural exodus.

Massachusetts

In February 2003, Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney convened the Chapter 40B Task Force to evaluate the history, efficacy, and continued relevance of the state’s primary affordable housing law, commonly known as Chapter 40B or the Comprehensive Permit Law.¹⁶ The law was enacted in 1969 and has been responsible for the creation of over 35,000 housing units (approximately 22,000 for persons earning less than 80 percent of AMI). In many instances, Chapter 40B has streamlined the approval process of affordable housing in Massachusetts; the law works by effectively easing barriers to development (local zoning and approval, for instance) for projects that reserve 20 to 25 percent of units for long term, low-income use.¹⁷ The law can be enacted in any town where less than 10 percent of the housing stock is affordable to low- to moderate-income families (only 31 of 352 Massachusetts towns meet this ten percent threshold.)¹⁸ Despite the gains achieved through the law, in recent years there have been numerous attempts to reform or weaken Chapter 40B; among other criticisms, it has frequently been argued that Chapter 40B allows developers to subvert local planning and zoning codes by pursuing a Comprehensive Permit to simply expedite development rather than earnestly create affordable housing opportunities. In the midst of several legislative actions aimed at reforming Chapter 40B, Governor Romney created a Task Force to comprehensively reassess the law and thoughtfully recommend any alterations, if needed, to the 30 year old statute. Working closely with both the State House and Senate leadership, Romney convinced the legislature to hold off on any changes to Chapter 40B until the Task Force had the opportunity to report back with its findings. In May 2003, the Task Force made 17 specific recommendations to improve the Chapter 40B process and its effectiveness.¹⁹ After much debate, a bill was finally passed in May 2004—known as the “40B reform bill”(HB 4240)—making amendments to Chapter 40B. Although some critics felt that the bill made too many compromises in the direction of weakening Chapter 40B, many of the recommendations issued by the Task Force were incorporated into the new legislation.

Maryland

In March 2003, Governor Robert Ehrlich issued an executive order creating the Governor’s Commission on Housing Policy in the State of Maryland. Recognizing that Maryland lacks a comprehensive housing policy or plan, his charge to the Commission was to “make recommendations to the Governor for specific and measurable actions that can be taken to increase and preserve quality affordable housing in all Maryland communities […]”²⁰ More specifically, the 21-member Commission was charged with reviewing all state housing and community development policies and practices in tandem with a detailed examination of the current situation of affordable housing in Maryland. The Governor’s executive order outlined the scope of this assessment to include several critical housing issues, including: the preservation and production of affordable rental housing; the expansion of homeownership opportunities; an analysis of existing economic and regulatory barriers to community development and the production of affordable housing; the need for more workforce housing; housing vouchers and other forms of assistance; and an evaluation of the state’s Priority Funding Area program. In completing a report on these issues, the Governor also asked the Commission to consider the methods and recommendations of the Millennial Housing Commission.

The Commission convened five subcommittees—consisting of 95 at-large members—to tackle the issues set forth by the Governor: affordable housing, senior housing issues, affordable and accessible housing for individuals with disabilities, land use and planning, and community revitalization. The final report from the Commission was submitted to the Governor at the end of 2004 and consists of 8 practical and targeted recommendations that can be implemented in the short term. Throughout, these recommendations pay particularly close attention to the issue of workforce housing and affordability. Specific proposals include partnering with local governments in the areas of land use and planning to more effectively create affordable/workforce housing opportunities; several recommendations for leveraging public and private financing and resources, including creating a Housing Trust Fund; and several proposals to ensure the provision of quality housing for special needs populations.²¹

In addition to the final report from the Commission, the Governor’s executive order also called for the creation of a “statewide typology” of communities to more effectively guide the allocation of state housing and community development resources.²² This “typology”—developed by the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development at the request of the Commission—essentially consists of categorizations of different community types throughout Maryland meant to ensure that the diverse range of communities across the state are given proper attention and resources. The idea behind this approach is that different communities require different programs and resources to best suit their needs; a well-defined typology should assist in more strategically targeting limited state resources to where they are most needed.

Given that the final Commission report was issued at the close of 2004, concrete progress on their recommendations largely remains to be seen. However, based on the attention given to affordable workforce housing in the Commission report, one particular legislative success deserves attention. House Bill 449 (2005) was passed effectively requiring the Department of Housing and Community Development to administer two separate programs to help Maryland residents buy homes in the vicinity of their places of work.²³ These two financial programs consist of a homebuyer assistance program helping buyers secure financing, as well as the codification of the Maryland’s “Live Near Your Work” program, which provides matching grants from state and local governments and private employers for buyers purchasing homes near their jobs.

Washington, DC

In November, 2003, the District of Columbia (DC) Council passed legislation establishing a Comprehensive Housing Strategy Task Force and charging it with developing a comprehensive housing strategy for the District that addresses the quality and availability of housing for current and future residents. The legislation calls for the developed strategy is to be implemented by 2013. The 28-member task force appointed by the DC Council, recently issued its report analyzing the housing situation in the nation's capital and making recommendations for addressing the problems identified in the report. The diverse task force was comprised of private citizens, government officials, housing advocates, housing policy experts, representatives of financial institutions and developers, both for- and non-profit.

The comprehensive housing strategy report was released 11 months after the task force was formed. One very enlightening element of the report is an identification of what type of worker fits in each of the four income categories along with the income levels described as needing the most assistance in order to make the District a place where each can live. The chart below clearly illustrates the issue of affordable housing in DC and its impact on an area's economic stability employment.

Definitions based on Metropolitan Area Incomes

Household Income Level

Annual Household Income

Example Employment by Income Level

Extremely low income

Below 30% of area median income

$0 - $26,790

Full-time parking lot attendant or food preparation worker

Very low-income

30% to 60% of area median income

$26,790 - $53,580

Full-time bookkeeper or firefighter; or a fulltime parking lot attendant plus a full-time food preparation worker

Low-income

60% to 80% of area median income

$53,580 - $71,440

Full-time nurse or librarian; or a fulltime firefighter plus a full-time receptionist

Moderate-income

80% to 120% of area median income

$71,440 - $107,160

Full-time computer system manager; or a full-time nurse plus a full-time book-keeper

Source: Homes for an Inclusive City: A Comprehensive Housing Strategy for Washington, D. C., Comprehensive Housing Strategy Task Force, Washington, DC, April 5, 2006

Recognizing that a one-size fits all effort is insufficient to addressing the affordable housing issue faced by the city, the Task Force adopted recommendations and provided actions to implement them. Among the Task Force's recommendations are:

adopt a plan to implement its “Vision for Growing an Inclusive City” by increasing residential development and preservation throughout the city;
accelerate efforts to preserve and increase high-quality affordable housing for both owners and renters;
direct public and private funds toward developing attractive mixed-income neighborhoods in all parts of the city and especially in the “new neighborhoods”
integrate housing for persons with special needs into all types of housing in neighborhoods throughout the city
increase the City's administrative capacity to facilitate subsidized and market-rate housing production and renovation, manage housing programs efficiently, and take steps to streamline its various housing programs.

Further information on the Task Force, including the full report, is available online at http://dc-chstaskforce.org/default.asp.

This web brief was written primarily by Kil Huh of the Fannie Mae Foundation. Editorial Assistance and additional language was provided by Cathy Atkins, National Conference of State Legislatures, and Larry Ottinger, Fannie Mae Foundation. Development of this brief was supported by the Fannie Mae Foundation.

See the “Mission Statement” of the 1998 report of the Affordable Housing Study Commission online at: (http://www.floridahousing.org/webdocs/ahsc/AnnualReports/1998Report/2%20Mission%20Statement.pdf).
See 1000 Friends of Florida, “Relationship Between Affordable Housing and Growth Management in Florida,” online at (http://www.1000fof.org/Affordable_Housing/Afford_Housing_Relationship.asp).
See the text of the 2004 resolution (SCR No. 135) online at: (http://www.hcdch.hawaii.gov/scr135sd1.pdf).
For the preliminary findings of each working group, see http://www.hcdch.hawaii.gov/scr135.htm
For an overview of Governor Lingle’s proposed housing legislation for 2005, see “Fact Sheet: Creating More Affordable Housing” online at: (http://www.hawaii.gov/gov/fact-sheets/2005%20Legislative%20Fact%20Sheets/Document.2005-01-24.5829/view).
See “Lawmakers Wrangle Over Housing Initiatives,” Honolulu Advertiser (23 March 2005). (http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2005/Mar/23/br/br06p.html).
House Bill 1303 contains provisions for abolishing the Trust Fund Advisory Commission as well as establishing the committee to consider dividing the HCDCH into two agencies. (http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/site1/docs/getstatus2.asp?billno=HB1303).
Hawaii Senate Majority Caucus News, “Affordable Housing is Target of Senate Task Force,” (15 December 2004). See http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/senmaj/members/2005/menor/affordablehousing.html.
See the Governor’s Press Release regarding the Act online at: http://www.illinois.gov//PressReleases/PressReleasesListShow.cfm?RecNum=4121; and the full text of Public Act 94-0118 (“Rental Housing Support Program Act”) at: http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/publicacts/fulltext.asp?Name=094-0118.
House Bill 3767 is known as the “Location Matters Act”; for the full text of the bill, see http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/94/HB/PDF/09400HB3767lv.pdf.
See the full text of House Bill 0603, http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/94/HB/PDF/09400HB0603lv.pdf.
See “Governor’s Directive” in “A Comprehensive Housing Strategy for Iowa: Report to the Governor from the Iowa Housing Task Force,” December 2000. (http://www.ifahome.com/docs/HTF/report_final.pdf).
Heather McDonald, “Assessing Iowa’s Housing Needs: An Evaluation of Housing Policy at the Turn of the Century,” A Report to the Governor’s Task Force on Housing, August 2000. (http://www.ifahome.com/docs/HTF/HousingStudy.pdf).
See the text of House Bill 694 at: http://www.legis.state.ia.us/GA/79GA/Legislation/HF/00600/HF00694/Current.html. Also see Vilsack’s veto letter at: http://www.legis.state.ia.us/GA/79GA/Session.1/HJournal/01800/01851.html.
See the Department of Housing and Community Development Press Release, “Romney Convenes Affordable Housing Task Force,” 18 February 2003. (http://www.mass.gov/dhcd/Temp/PressRel/02-19.pdf).
For a concise summary and explanation of Chapter 40B, see the Citizens’ Housing and Planning Association’s “Fact Sheet on Chapter 40B: The State’s Affordable Housing Zoning Law”, available online at: (http://www.chapa.org/40BFactSheet2004.pdf).
DHCD Press Release, “Romney Convenes Affordable Housing Task Force,” op. cit.
Chapter 40B Task Force, “Findings and Recommendations,” Report to Governor Mitt Romney, 30 May 2003. (http://www.mass.gov/dhcd/ToolKit/report/report.pdf).
Governor Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr., “Executive Order: Governor’s Commission on Housing Policy,” Executive Order 01.01.2003.10. 20 March 2003. (http://www.governor.maryland.gov/executiveorders/2003/excord01012003010.html).
Governor’s Commission on Housing Policy, Final Report, “Innovative Housing and Community Revitalization in Maryland: Solutions for a Positive Change,” 31 December 2004. (http://www.dhcd.state.md.us/Website/housingpolicy/document/FINAL011305report.pdf).
Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development, “Maryland Typology,” December 2004. (http://www.dhcd.state.md.us/Website/housingpolicy/Maryland_Typology_2004_Dec_Final.pdf).
See “The 90 Day Report: A Review of the 2005 Legislative Session” online at: http://mlis.state.md.us/2005rs/90-Day-report/index.htm.

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