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

House Bill 1519, titled "Down Payment Assistance and Workforce Housing," advanced out of the House Financial Institutions Committee on a voice roll call after amendments and testimony from housing industry groups on both single-family down-payment aid and tax-credit financing for multifamily housing.

The bill, introduced in committee by Representative Rosemary Miller, would continue the state's down payment assistance program, raise the area median income (AMI) threshold to 160 percent for program eligibility, and create a mechanism to convert part of the state's bond volume allocation into a revolving loan fund intended to sustain down-payment assistance and direct previously used bond volume toward low-income housing tax credit projects.

Supporters told the committee the measure mixes two housing tools. The first preserves and expands access to down-payment assistance by increasing the AMI cap so the assistance can apply to higher-priced markets and new-construction homes. The second re-allocates bond volume to the Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) pipeline to increase multifamily affordable housing supply.

Representatives from the Indiana Association of…