House committee advances bill to expand down-payment assistance, boost workforce housing

The House Financial Institutions Committee on Tuesday voted to advance House Bill 1519, a proposal to expand down‑payment assistance and create new financing tools aimed at bringing more workforce housing to Indiana.

Representative Rosemary Miller, the bill sponsor, told the committee the measure has two principal pieces: continuing the state's down‑payment assistance program while increasing eligibility to 160% of area median income (AMI), and creating an option to shift bond volume to support low‑income housing tax credit projects. "There are really two things going on in this bill," Miller said in her presentation.

Why it matters: Supporters say the AMI increase would let down‑payment assistance reach buyers at higher price points and that shifting bond volume could free tax credit capacity to finance more multifamily affordable units. "If we get an appropriation of $30,000,000 this year, then we just move $30,000,000 of the bond allocation to the tax credit…