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The National Consumer Law Center, on behalf of its low-income clients, and 15 consumer advocacy organizations submitted comments urging the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to strengthen consumer protections in the Department's draft Best Practices for Residential PACE Financing Programs. Municipalities use Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) loans to help homeowners finance energy efficiency and renewable energy improvements to their homes.

On July 29, President Obama signed into law H.R. 3700, the Housing Opportunity Through Modernization Act (HOTMA), which will streamline and reform several federal housing assistance programs. NCSHA and a broad coalition of housing stakeholders have strongly advocated for this bipartisan legislation over the past year.

DC Mayor Muriel E. Bowser hosted a press conference with Courtney Snowden, Deputy Mayor for Greater Economic Opportunity (DMGEO); Tommy Wells, Director of the Department of Energy and Environment (DOEE); GRID Alternatives; and participants in DOEE’s Green Zone Environmental Program (GZEP), where she signed the Renewable Portfolio Standard Expansion Act of 2016. This legislation, introduced by Councilmember Cheh and unanimously passed by Council, will solidify the District’s position as a national leader in the push to decarbonize our economies, increase access to clean energy for DC residents, and create a long-term pipeline for green jobs and business creation.

Statement from the National Multifamily Housing Council (NMHC) and National Apartment Association (NAA) released in response to the passage of “The Housing Opportunity Through Modernization Act” in Congress

The National Institute of Building Sciences issued an open letter today to delegates attending the upcoming American Bar Association (ABA) Annual Meeting in August informing of the potential long-term impacts should they vote to support a proposed resolution. The resolution—which advocates that copyrighted codes and standards incorporated by reference in legislation and regulation be made available for free—would alter the way codes and standards are developed in the United States

The Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations held a hearing on the status of Ivanpah and other federal loan-guaranteed solar energy projects on Bureau of Land Management (BLM) lands.

The Lincoln Institute of Land Policy has released the latest edition of its annual report on property tax rates in all 50 U.S. states, with a new analysis of how communities raise revenue to pay for basic public services.

Mobile and online technology and evolving consumer tastes are changing the dynamics of renting property, and the debate on whether the regulatory response from state and local governments clashes with individual property rights will likely continue, according to speakers at a panel discussion on the current issues surrounding short-term rentals at the 2016 REALTORS® Legislative Meetings & Trade Expo.

The House of Representatives has filed an amicus brief to the U.S. Supreme Court in United States v. Texas opposing the Obama administration's executive overreach. The brief, authorized by a vote of the full House, sets forth why only Congress—not the executive branch—is empowered to write the nation’s immigration laws.

The property tax, a mainstay of local government, is the subject of continual controversy, with numerous ballot measure to place caps on it, or even in some cases proposals to eliminate it completely. But in fact it is a fair, democratic, stable and efficient source local revenue, attorney and property tax expert Joan Youngman argues in “A Good Tax: Legal and Policy Issues for the Property Tax in the United States,” published this month by the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy.

Public Invited to Imagine the Taxpayer Experience of the Future. The Internal Revenue Service today announced the upcoming start of its first Tax Design Challenge crowdsourcing competition to encourage innovative ideas for the taxpayer experience of the future.

In real estate, there are a lot of expenses associated with buying and selling homes – especially if you’re an agent. Luckily, there are a number of tax write-offs that can be used to offset the cost. You just have to know what deductions and credits real estate agents can claim and how to claim them.

Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) announced in Seattle this afternoon her intention to introduce legislation to expand Low Income Housing Tax Credit authority by 50 percent and to make other changes to strengthen the program. At the same time, the ACTION Campaign, a group of about 1,300 affordable housing stakeholders that NCSHA and Enterprise Community Partners co-chair, transmitted to every member of Congress a national sign-on letter, endorsed by more than 1,300 organizations representing all 50 states, ca6lling on Congress to increase the Housing Credit cap by at least 50 percent. Cantwell also referenced this letter in her remarks

Senator Sheldon Whitehouse applauded the House’s passage today of the Foreclosure Relief and Extension for Servicemembers Act, which extends key foreclosure protection to those who serve. Whitehouse authored the legislation, which was unanimously approved by the Senate in December. The bill now awaits the President’s signature to become law.

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) today announced that it has signed on as charter members of “Parity for Main Street Employers” (PMSE), a coalition pushing for comprehensive tax reform that treats small business fairly

The federal Judiciary is actively trimming costs for courthouses and office space, and is working to ensure that recently appropriated funds for eight courthouse construction projects will be spent efficiently, a House subcommittee was told by the head of the Judiciary’s Space and Facilities Committee.

The U.S. Supreme Court today denied the request of the American Farm Bureau Federation and its allies to take up their case challenging the legality of the Chesapeake Bay clean-up plan known as the Chesapeake Clean Water Blueprint. That decision means that the ruling of the Third Circuit Court of Appeals will stand. That unanimous ruling found that EPA did not exceed its authority and that the efforts to restore local rivers, streams, and the Chesapeake Bay are entirely legal.

The Energy Department's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) today released new analysis exploring the potential impact of recently extended federal tax credits on the deployment of renewable generation technologies and related U.S. electric sector carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions.

The Portland Cement Association (PCA) has long supported a nationwide plan to reconstruct our nation’s crumbling roads and bridges, which are critical to the nation's economy and security. The Association strongly believes that to achieve a sound investment of taxpayer dollars, legislation authorizing infrastructure construction and reconstruction using durable and resilient materials should be passed.