LOKL advocates for fair and humane practices of collecting delinquent property taxes and keeping tax-related revenue in the hands of local government.  There is a model that shows that over $1 million a year is being taken away from local government by the mandated sale of property tax liens to third-party speculators.  We also want to erase the complications of multiple lien holders on the title to a piece of property that needs to be put back in use.   LOKL has studied the way that our Land Bank is limited in function and want to modernize state laws governing land banks using best practices from around the country.  This will also help us in re-use of vacant properties and in helping neighborhoods have more control over land.

A comprehensive bill to change the collection of delinquent property taxes and the way the Land Bank operates is being prepared and has the support of Mayor Fischer.  There have been two contracts with the Center for Community Progress (CCP).  Vacant property and land bank expert Dan Kildee of the CCP visited Louisville on January 24 and 25 to provide technical assistance on this work.

We are working to see legislation filed this session that will:

• protect homeowners by reducing the wildly-disparate fees private speculators attach to tax liens they purchase and ensuring a fair and uniform schedule of enforcement against tax-delinquent properties;
• allow counties (rather than third-party tax purchasers) to collect the most collectible tax liens and capture the lost revenue which could provide a land bank with funding to maintain and redevelop properties;
• enable counties to retain control over the destiny of their neighborhoods and act strategically when redeveloping currently unproductive property;
• allow counties to efficiently foreclose upon and take title to tax-delinquent properties; and
• update land banks’ authority to restore tax-delinquent property to productive use.

When we have a bill number, we will alert you to action.

Also, this spring LOKL will conduct outreach to homeowners at risk of having their tax liens sold to third-party speculators.  In May, June and July, LOKL will host clinics will where  homeowners can learn more about property taxes, obtain legal assistance, and set up property tax payment plans with the County Attorney’s Office.  For information about how you can help with outreach in your neighborhood, contact George Eklund at 618-5892.

If you’d like to make a comment to your representatives or any House or Senate committee on any of these bills, call 1-800-372-7181 to leave a message for a legislator or an entire committee.

House Bill 123 will allow a second class city to set up its own Board of Zoning Adjustment (BoZA), separate from a merged city.  We were initially concerned about this bill 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.  We have since learned that this bill is a priority for Jeffersontown.  The Jeffersontown Mayor’s office, through Mike Kmetz, spoke with us about their need to speed up the zoning process to bring new business to the area.  Jeffersontown is more diverse than most of the smaller cities so there is not an anti-diversity agenda.  This bill only applies to Jeffersontown, the only City of the Second Class within the boundaries of a merged government in Kentucky.  The bill does not eliminate the need for Jeffersontown to go through the Planning Commission for zoning changes and detailed district development plans, so there is no harm.  If many other small cities start to request their own BoZAs, we will be concerned.  HB 123 was passed 84-7 by the House and is now before the Senate State & Local Government committee.

Senate Bill 120 will amend the state Affordable Housing Trust Fund.  The uses of the money- mostly for bricks and mortar- remain the same, but the provision on priorities for the fund has outlived its usefulness.  The bill amends the priorities and we are working with KHC to get an acceptable provision, as are other organizations around the state.  There is also a change to allow more participation by for-profits, but always with a partnership with a non-profit.  SB 120 is now before the Senate Licensing, Occupations, & Administrative Regulations committee.

House Bill 332, introduced on January 27 with 17 co-sponsors, will put a 36 percent cap on the annualized interest rate of payday loans.  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.  MHC is one of 68 member organizations of the Kentucky Coalition for Responsible Lending (KCRL).  KCRL is a statewide coalition of consumer groups, institutions, and faith-based and non-profit agencies unitedin support of reform protecting working families by capping payday lending interest rates.  This bill has a broad range of supporters beyond KCRL, including the Kentucky Baptist Convention. HB 332 was assigned to the House Banking & Insurance committee.  However, LEO reports that the committee chair, Rep. Jeff Greer,  is refusing to give the bill a hearing despite the broad range of supporters it has.  We encourage you to call the Kentucky Legislature hotline at 1-800-372-7181 and leave a message for Rep. Greer asking that the Banking & Insurance committee grant a hearing for HB 332.

Clean Energy Opportunity Act of 2012 (House Bill 167):   MHC is working with a state-wide group, the Kentucky Sustainable Energy Alliance (KySEA), to promote this bill, which 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 (REPS), 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  study released in January also showed that a REPS in Kentucky would create 26,000 clean energy jobs.

House Bill 187, a companion bill to HB 167, will expand net metering.  “Net metering” means measuring the difference between the electricity supplied by the electric grid and the electricity 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.”  Both BH 167 and  HB 187 are currently before the House Tourism,  Development & Energy committee.

KySEA is organizing the Clean Energy Lobby Day at the Capitol on February 28 to support these bills.  For more information about the lobby day, email lisa@kysea.org.

Senate Bill 69 and House Bill 188 both include a prohibition on discrimination because of sexual orientation and gender identity in Kentucky’s Civil Rights laws and will ensure fair housing rights for everyone throughout the state.  HB 188 is before the House Judiciary committee and SB 69 is before the Senate Judiciary Committee.  The Statewide Fairness Rally & Lobby Day is scheduled for February 22.  For more information about the lobby day, email laura@fairness.org. or call 893-0788.

There are several other bills of interest before the legislature that we referenced in our 2012 Legislative Agenda post.  You can contact MHC or go to the legislature’s website for more information about them.

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.

We would like to thanks to the report’s authors- John Vick,  Carol Norton, Allison Smith and Lauren Heberle, Ph.D. of the University of Louisville Center for Environmental Policy and Management for their fantastic work.

MHC also wishes to thank the report’s sponsors, PNC Bank, Louisville Metro Government Department of Community Services and Revitalization, the Gannett Foundation, and  Janet Dakan,  for their generous support our our work.