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ARIZONA HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES57th Legislature, 2nd Regular Session |
House: RED DPA 6-1-0-0 |
HB 2926: housing; contractors; bonds; taxes
Sponsor: Representative Bliss, LD 1
Caucus & COW
Overview
Directs each municipality to administer a workforce housing project expedited plan and permitting process, certified by the Arizona Department of Housing (ADOH), and authorizes the Registrar of Contractors (ROC) to waive the license examination for qualified applicants in rural areas. Creates a tax exemption for workforce housing builders.
History
ADOH and the Arizona Finance Authority (AFA) were established in 2001 to fulfill separate duties in addressing housing stock and affordability. ADOH administers several programs and establishes policies and procedures to address housing issues of low- and moderate-income families, populations with special needs, housing affordability, and decaying housing stock.
Alternatively, AFA serves as the bonding authority and supports affordable housing programs. It is governed by a 7-member board of directors, appointed by the Governor to 7-year terms. AFA's main responsibilities include: 1) administering funds or property from federal agencies or others; 2) enter into agreements, contract with, or act as guarantor with any federal, state, or local government agency in connection with its responsibilities related to housing; and 3) inspect housing facility financed through its resources (Arizona State Library).
Furthermore, the AFA must authorize any corporation that seeks to act as an authority in the issuance of bonds and is responsible for overseeing the greater Arizona development authority. Bonds are issued mainly by the Arizona Industrial Development Authority (IDA), with uses for bonds ranging from residential rental to manufacturing and infrastructure projects (Title 41, Chapter 53; Title 35, Chapter 5, Art. 1 & 2 A.R.S).
Prime contractors are those who supervise, perform or coordinate the modification of any modification of any building, highway, road, railroad, excavation, manufactured building or other structure, project, development or improvement, including the contracting, if any, with any subcontractors or specialty contractors and who is responsible for the completion of the contract (A.R.S § 42-5075).
Provisions
Workforce Housing Authorization
1. Requires municipalities to allow a workforce housing builder to commence vertical construction on any residential structure as part of a workforce housing project concurrently with the completion of the horizontal improvements to the project if all specified conditions are fulfilled. (Sec. 1)
2. Prohibits, if essential infrastructure utility services are operational, a municipality from withholding necessary building permits or certificates of occupancy for workforce housing projects solely due to the associated horizontal construction being incomplete. (Sec. 1)
3. Directs municipalities to establish and maintain a workforce housing project expedited plan review and permitting process that is certified by ADOH within 12 months of the effective date. (Sec. 1)
4. Outlines the minimum information and objectives required to be included in municipalities' workforce housing project expedited plan review and permitting process. (Sec. 1)
5. Allows municipalities to enter into agreements with ADOH to coordinate certification and permit tracking. (Sec. 1)
6. Defines workforce housing builder and workforce housing. (Sec. 1)
Rural Area Contractors Licensure
7. Outlines specified eligibility requirements that, if all are met by an applicant, allow the ROC to waive the examination requirements and issue a license to the applicant. (Sec. 2)
8. Directs the ROC to approve or deny an application for a license within 60 days after receiving the completed application. (Sec. 2)
9. Prohibits a licensee from performing any work that is not in a rural area of Arizona. (Sec. 2)
10. Specifies the license expires on December 31, 2029. (Sec. 2)
11. Instructs the ROC to adopt rules to implement the licensure requirements. (Sec. 2)
12. Defines rural area. (Sec. 2)
IDA Bond Issuance
13. Lowers the minimum population threshold, from 7% to 3% of the total state population, that a governing body of a county or municipality must have in order to issue bonds to finance a qualified project. (Sec. 3)
14. Expands one of the types of qualified projects that may be financed through a bond issuance from an IDA, to include all residential rental projects instead of solely multifamily residential rental projects. (Sec. 3)
Departmental Rules Establishment
15. Directs ADOH to establish a process to certify workforce housing builders and maintain a public registry of certified workforce housing builders (public registry). (Sec. 4)
16. Directs ADOH and the Arizona Department of Revenue (DOR) to adopt rules and prescribe forms and procedures as necessary for the workforce housing builders certification process and public registry. (Sec. 4)
17. Directs ADOH and DOR to collaborate in adopting rules as necessary to avoid the duplication and inconsistencies of rules. (Sec. 4)
18. Grants ADOH exclusive authority over issues related to certification of workforce housing builders and the development of a public registry, and grants DOR exclusive authority over the administration of tax relief. (Sec. 4)
19. Authorizes ADOH to enter into agreements with a municipality to coordinate certification and permit tracking for workforce housing projects. (Sec. 4)
Tax Exemption
20. Exempts the gross proceeds of sales or gross income attributable to the development of workforce housing projects from the prime contracting classification tax if the contractor is classified as a workforce housing builder, regardless of whether services are provided sequential to or concurrent with prime contracting activities that are subject to tax. (Sec. 5)
Miscellaneous
21. Contain legislative findings. (Sec. 6)
22. Establishes the effective date of this act to be 12 months after the general effective date. (Sec. 7)
23. Cites the act as the Workforce Housing Incentive Act. (Sec. 8)
24. Makes technical and conforming changes. (Sec. 3, 4, 5)
Amendments
Committee on Commerce
1. Strikes all language regarding the authorization of vertical construction commencing concurrently with horizontal improvements that are part of a workforce housing project.
2. Removes the requirement and instead allows each municipality to establish and maintain a workforce housing project expedited plan review and permitting process.
3. Requires the workforce housing project expedited plan review and permitting process to either grant inspections priority scheduling or schedule inspections within 72 hours.
4. Eliminates reduced or deferred plan review fees from the requirements of the workforce housing project expedited plan review and permitting process.
5. Modifies the definition of workforce housing to represent new dwelling units that have a for sale or rental price that is affordable to household earning not more than 150% of the area median income, instead of 120% of the area median income.
6. Replaces the term workforce housing builder with workforce housing project and alters the definition to mean a residential project that offers and constructs new dwelling units, where all its units are for sale or rent at a price that is affordable to households earning less than 150% of the area median income as determined by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
7. Strikes all language relating to workforce housing builders and the licensure of rural area contractors.
8. Removes all language relating to ADOH.
9. Changes the exemption, from the entire prime contracting tax to only the state's portion of the prime contracting sales tax, for the gross proceeds of sales or gross income attributable to the development of workforce housing projects.
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13. Initials PB HB 2926
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