Enterprise Community Partners proudly worked in coalition with partners in Georgia to achieve important outcomes during the 2024 legislative session. We succeeded in passing legislation to establish needed tenant protections in Georgia law, and we effectively stopped legislation that would have cut funding for affordable housing preservation and development. We continued to advocate for increased funding for housing and services for people experiencing homelessness, and we supported legislation that would have reduced barriers to affordable housing preservation and multifamily development.
Celebrating the passage of the Safe at Home Act
After passing the House unanimously last year but failing to receive a Senate floor vote in the final minutes of the 2023 legislative session, House Bill 404 passed the Senate in March, and was signed by the Governor in April! HB 404 requires that all rental housing be “fit for human habitation,” caps security deposits at two months’ rent, and requires that landlords give tenants written notice and a three-business day right to pay back rent due before an eviction is filed (a “right to cure” period). These protections are an important step forward and bring Georgia tenant protection laws more in line with long standing norms in almost all other states. Passage of HB 404 was a multi-year effort, and Enterprise contributed by developing an advocacy one-pager for legislators and testifying in support of this bill during the 2024 legislative session.
Successfully protecting Georgia’s State Low-Income Housing Tax Credit
House Bill 1182 proposed cuts to the state low-income housing tax credit (SLIHTC). Georgia’s SLIHTC program was created by the General Assembly in 2001 and provides a dollar-for-dollar match with the federal LIHTC. The SLIHTC is the only source of state funding that Georgia invests in the production or preservation of affordable housing. HB 1182 would have cut the program to 80% from the current 100% match to the federal LIHTC with five categories of “targeted community projects” eligible to maintain a 100% match. The Senate proposed an even deeper cut to 50% of the federal LIHTC outside of the “targeted community projects” and added a definition of rural that would have significantly reduced the number of projects eligible for the 100% match. Strong, collective advocacy resulted in bipartisan opposition to the proposed SLIHTC cuts, but proposals to reduce the availability of the SLIHTC may return in 2025.
Take action: Continue to engage with your elected officials throughout this year about the critical importance of the SLIHTC program in Georgia.
Prioritizing homelessness prevention and opposing the criminalization of homelessness
Enterprise opposed House Bill 1359 which would have allowed property owners to secure a refund of their property taxes if they could show a loss of fair market value or expenses caused by a city or county that follows a pattern or practice of failing to enforce criminal laws against people experiencing homelessness, such as public sleeping, camping, eating, drinking, urinating, loitering, panhandling, or blocking public thoroughfare. This legislation did not move forward to a floor vote.
House Bill 1410 passed the House and Senate and is now on the Governor’s desk for signature. HB 1410 amends the State Housing Trust Fund for the Homeless (SHTFH) to create the Stable Housing Accountability Housing Program for voluntary transitional housing for up to 18 months conditioned on drug and alcohol testing, sobriety, job training, employment, mental health, substance abuse treatment, and other requirements. An amendment was secured to clarify that federal Housing First and other funds can still be accepted by the SHTFH for housing programs that do not meet these requirements.
Enterprise supported House Bill 1266, the "CHOICE" Act, a bipartisan bill that would have created incentives for cities and counties to voluntarily adopt higher density zoning measures and other strategies to reduce barriers to housing construction. This legislation was the product of the multi-stakeholder Zoning Task Force that met throughout 2023. Unfortunately, HB 1266 did not move to the House for a floor vote.
Enterprise also supported House Resolution 1418 which would have created a House Study Committee to examine ways that local communities can increase local funding options to support affordable housing. Unfortunately, this resolution did move to the House floor for a vote. Throughout 2024, Enterprise will be conducting research on the ways communities in other states have successfully used local fees and taxes to support affordable housing initiatives.
Enterprise also supported a Constitutional Amendment (House Resolution 1115) that would have provided for a new category of property taxes for low-income housing tax credit properties. This bill was introduced to address the issue of property tax appraisers failing to properly value these properties in some Georgia jurisdictions. Unfortunately, this bill did not move to the House floor for a vote. In 2024, Enterprise will continue supporting efforts to ensure that LIHTC properties are appropriately and affordably assessed for property tax purposes.
Thank you for raising your voices during the 2024 legislative session! Your advocacy made a difference. We look forward to continuing 2024 with advocacy and engagement for the next legislative session. Continue to stay connected with us through our Newsletter to learn about our ongoing policy work.