MHC’s 2012 Kentucky Legislative Agenda

MHC has identified four very important issues for this Kentucky Legislative session.  Some of these issues do not have bills introduced yet, but they are our biggest concerns.  For more information about these bills or to read them, go to http://www.lrc.ky.gov/record/ 12RS/record.htm.  If you have questions regarding MHC’s legislative agenda or would like to discuss it, please contact us or call 584-6858.

Recapturing our delinquent property tax revenues and fixing our Land Bank:  Under current state law, Louisville must privatize collecting delinquent property taxes.  The state mandate to put local delinquent property taxes up for sale and allow private companies from anywhere to purchase them has caused many problems. These speculators take a lien on the property in Louisville and then have sole decision-making power about how to treat the property owners, which causes disparate treatment of property owners.  It is a lucrative practice and has drained Louisville of about $1million a year from local government revenue.   The Land Bank is a related issue because the over 7,000 clearly abandoned properties in Louisville are not eligible for re-use without great expense and difficulty.  Land Bank reform would allow a process to clear title and get properties in re-use.

MHC is part of the Local Options for Kentucky Liens (LOKL) advocacy group to bring reform to delinquent property tax collections and the Land Bank.  LOKL members are working with the Mayor’s office, the Metro Council and the Center for Community Progress to draft legislation.

Related to issues about land re-use is House Bill 62, which will make clear who owns property when foreclosures are executed.  HB 62 will require a mortgage holder to record a deed in lieu of foreclosure with the county clerk within 30 days after the date the deed in lieu of foreclosure is executed or be subject to a penalty.  This will help local governments know who is responsible for a property in the event of code violations.

Payday Lending Reform:  Sad to say, there has not been any significant payday lending reform these last few years, but the information collection mandated by prior legislative sessions show that the outrageous cost of getting a payday loan eats up the income of low-income people.  Reasonable interest rates and practices will be the subject of a bill that will be introduced by Representative Darryl Owens.  MHC is part of the Kentucky Coalition for Responsible Lending, which is a leading advocacy group on payday lending reform.

Fair Housing for the Whole State: Louisville has prohibited discrimination in housing against people based on sexual housing orientation and gender identity since 1999, but this is not yet part of state law. Both Senate Bill 69 and House Bill 188 will include a prohibition on discrimination because of sexual orientation and gender identity in Kentucky’s Civil Rights laws and ensure fair housing rights for everyone throughout the state.

Another bill with fair housing implications addresses the attempt by cities to make residential care facilities for people with developmental disabilities easily recognizable and known to law enforcement and other local government agencies.  House Bill 122, will require local governments to work with the state instead of acting unilaterally. It will prevent local governments from imposing additional licensing or other requirements on private agencies that receive public funding or government agencies that provide group home services for the disabled.

House Bill 160 also pertains to residences of people with disabilities. It allows a homeowner to alter or build a structure necessary to reasonably accommodate the needs of a child with a disability if the construction or alteration is made upon the advice of a physician and otherwise complies with local, state, and federal law.

Energy-Efficient Rehabilitation:  MHC is working with a state-wide group, the Kentucky Sustainable Energy Alliance (KySEA), to promote the Clean Energy Opportunity Act (House Bill 167).  This bill would require utilities to diversify their energy sources by increasing the use of alternative energy and increasing the impact of energy efficiency programs- in part by targeting low-income rate payers. This type of policy, called a renewable and efficiency portfolio standard, is already at work in 29 other states. A key part of the act will require utilities to offset 10.25% of their retail sales through energy efficiency savings by 2021. A portion of the efficiency offset equal to at least 10% of residential sales must be achieved by improving the energy efficiency of low-income households at or below 200% of federal poverty level.

A companion bill to HB 167 is House Bill 187, which will expand net metering.  “Net metering” means measuring the difference between the electricity supplied by the electric grid and the electric generated by a customer through solar, wind,  biomass/biogas energy, or hydro energy sources.  In conjunction with HB 167, this bill would allow customers to sell back the excess energy they generate to the utility through “Feed in Tariffs.”

Other Bills of concern to fair and affordable housing advocates:

House Bill 58 is a bill that may make our non-profit housing developers very vulnerable if a sub-contractor hires a person without work documents or fails to use E-Verify, a federal program through which employers verify the employment eligibility of their employees after hire.   All of our non-profits use public monies to make housing affordable and this bill imposes sanctions for violations, including repaying grants, loans,and taxes that have been forgiven.

House Bill 57 regulates the sale of copper, which is very important to reducing vandalism in vacant properties. We have all seen vacant properties with “no copper” written on window boards to discourage vandalism that results from copper theft.   This bill prohibits a secondary metals recycler from purchasing copper from any person except a licensed heating, ventilation, and air conditioning contractor, electrical contractor, plumber, homebuilder, remodeler, or public or private utility.

House Bill 123 will allow multiple Boards of Zoning Adjustment in a supposedly merged county.  This bill is of concern because it could possibly limit fair housing choice and the development of affordable housing if second class cities within a merged county seek to use more restrictive zoning regulations (e.g. larger minimum lot sizes, restrictions on multi-family housing) than the county.    

We are looking at the impact of House Bill 123, which will allow multiple Boards of Zoning Adjustment in a supposedly merged county.  This bill is of concern because it could possibly limit fair housing choice and the development of affordable housing if second class cities within a merged county seek to use more restrictive zoning regulations (e.g. larger minimum lot sizes, restrictions on multi-family housing).    

House Bill 180 would set requirements for home improvement contracts of $100 or more, prohibit various practices relating to home improvement contracts, and create civil and criminal remedies for violation of laws relating to home improvement contracts.  We want your help in assessing if this bill protects consumers or imposes barriers to non-profits who perform home rehabilitation and repairs.

House Bill 211 gives a homestead exemption to the widow(er) of a service disabled veteran which would lower their property tax.   We support this bill’s positive impact on the families of veterans.