House committee advances bill to expand down-payment assistance, raise income eligibility to 160% AMI

The House Financial Institutions Committee on [date not specified] voted to advance House Bill 1519, a measure that would expand the state’s down‑payment assistance program and create a path to move bond volume toward multifamily low‑income housing tax credits. The committee approved the bill as amended by an 11–1 roll call.

The bill’s author, Representative Rosemary (Rhett) Miller, told the committee the proposal has two primary aims: continue and broaden the state’s down‑payment assistance program and increase the area median income (AMI) eligibility cap to 160 percent. "There’s really two things going on in this bill," Miller said, adding that raising AMI would move price points "from say $200,000 up to $300,000 for those providers."

Why it matters: Supporters said the change would make down‑payment assistance usable in higher‑cost and rural markets and would allow some bond allocation to be redirected to the federal Section 42 low‑income housing tax credit program to finance additional multifamily units. Housing advocates and developers testified that the state currently…