HOUSE COMMITTEE APPROVES REP. BIRD BILL TO INCREASE AFFORDABLE HOUSING & SAVE ENERGY

(Apr. 8) — The House Energy and Environment committee passed a bill that would make additional capital available for affordable housing and other public housing authority projects by allowing these projects to participate in the New Energy Improvements District’s (NEID) Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy (C-PACE) program.

“This is an important bill that will greatly benefit many hardworking Coloradans,” said Rep. Bird, D-Westminster. “By allowing housing authorities to participate in this program, we are reducing costs to develop affordable housing by 15 to 20 percent. This savings will benefit taxpayers and, importantly, can be passed on to tenants and significantly lower their living expenses.”

HB19-1272 will expand access to Colorado’s C-PACE program to public housing authorities and affordable housing projects across the state, allowing these entities to have ready access to capital that can be used for energy and water efficiency projects on their properties. As a result, the overall operational costs of these properties will decrease and the savings will ultimately be passed on to Colorado’s most vulnerable including veterans and disabled individuals.

The bill passed the committee with a bipartisan vote of 8-2 and now heads to the House floor.