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Committee pauses HB 194 after lengthy substitute amendment on tax freezes and affordable 'missing middle' units
Summary
Representative Potomac presented HB 194 to change Metropolitan Redevelopment Code tools to incentivize 'missing middle' housing; a substantial amendment package increased affordability requirements, auditing and enforcement and prompted members to roll the bill for further work.
Representative Potomac introduced HB 194, a proposal to amend the Metropolitan Redevelopment Code to create a "housing shortage area" designation that would allow local governments to offer property-tax freezes for up to 14 years in exchange for affordable units targeting the "missing middle." The sponsor said qualifying projects must set a minimum of 20% of units as qualifying multifamily units with an average area median income (AMI) of no more than 80% and no single unit averaging more than 95% AMI.
Josh Rogers of the Apartment Association of New Mexico described the bill as a voluntary, locally controlled tool modeled on other states and estimated it could produce more than 8,000 workforce units "without a single dollar of new taxpayer debt." The sponsor then walked the committee through a lengthy set of negotiated amendments (amendment packet referenced) that added periodic third-party audits, acceptance of housing vouchers, an administrative fee to help MRAs administer the program, a $10,000-per-unit rehabilitation pathway for existing affordable units, reporting requirements and enforcement provisions that include a five-year ineligibility period for willful violations.
Several members expressed concern the amendment package was too large to absorb in a single committee meeting and recommended rolling the bill for further work or offering it as a substitute bill with full analysis. Representative Mason, Representative Ward and others said they could not responsibly vote on the stacked amendment without additional review, citing potential unintended consequences and the need for fiscal and implementation analyses. Representative Potomac acknowledged the request.
Because there was no motion to adopt the amendments and members indicated they did not have the time to fully review the package, the chair allowed the measure to be rolled for a subsequent meeting. The bill was not advanced and will return to committee consideration after additional work.
