MADISON – Today, the Assembly passed a workforce and senior housing package, including Assembly Bills 39, 96, and 264-268. This legislation addresses the lack of affordable housing across the state with various programs to increase the supply. Representative Joers released the following statement:
“As housing for working families and seniors becomes increasingly rare, Wisconsin’s prospects of attracting residents and business are fundamentally threatened. The bipartisan bills in this package are by no means perfect, and there are many more steps left to ensure a fairer housing market, but the proposed loans to be awarded by the Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority will fund and incentivize the creation of new housing for Wisconsin residents and rehabilitation of pre-existing developments.
“I was also glad to see the passage of Assembly Bill 96, which would provide more options for local municipalities to control their own economic development. The bill creates developer-financed tax incremental districts (TID), which would be allowed to exceed the current rule that limits TIDs to 12% of the municipality’s total equalized value, as long as they are fully developer financed. This reduces the municipality’s chance of financial risk while further empowering our local leaders.
“There is still a lot of important work to be done to create a more equitable housing market, I look forward to continuing to work with my colleagues to further address the affordable housing crisis Wisconsin is facing.”
