Revises provisions relating to transferable tax credits for affordable housing. (BDR 32-437)

Existing law authorizes the Housing Division of the Department of Business and Industry to issue transferable tax credits, which are authorized to be taken against certain state taxes, to the sponsor of a project for the acquisition, development, construction, improvement, expansion, reconstruction or rehabilitation of low income housing, as defined by existing federal law. (NRS 360.860-360.870; 26 U.S.C. § 42) Under existing law, to be issued transferable tax credits, the project sponsor is required to: (1) apply to, and obtain from, the Division a reservation of an amount of transferable tax credits; (2) close the project within a certain period after obtaining a reservation of transferable tax credits by acquiring title to the project site, entering into an agreement with a licensed contractor to construct the project and obtaining certain financing for the project; and (3) submit to the Division a final application for the issuance of transferable tax credits not less than 45 days before the project closes. A project sponsor that is issued transferable tax credits is authorized to transfer those credits to another entity, and that entity is authorized to transfer the credits to one or more of its subsidiaries or affiliates. (NRS 360.867) Section 1 of this bill: (1) requires, with certain exceptions, a final application for the issuance of transferable tax credits to be submitted not less than 15 days before the closing of the project rather than not less than 45 days before the closing of the project; (2) authorizes a project sponsor to demonstrate the acquisition of the land to close the project by entering into a long-term ground lease for the project site; and (3) authorizes a project sponsor to transfer transferable tax credits to a member or partner of the project sponsor to any other entity, who may then transfer the transferable tax credits to another entity. Existing law limits to $10,000,000 the amount of transferable tax credits which the Division is authorized to approve in each fiscal year, with certain exceptions. If the Division determines that approval of more than $10,000,000 of transferable tax credits in a fiscal year is necessary to ensure the maximum development of affordable housing through the issuance of transferable tax credits, the Division is authorized to approve not more than $13,000,000 of transferable tax credits in that fiscal year and must reduce the amount of transferable tax credits authorized to be approved in the next fiscal year by the amount of credits that are approved in excess of $10,000,000. (NRS 360.868) Section 2 of this bill provides that any such reduction to the amount of transferable tax credits authorized to be approved in a fiscal year must first reduce the amount of unused transferable tax credits from prior fiscal years that are available for approval before the amount of transferable tax credits available for approval in a fiscal year is reduced below $10,000,000. Additionally, section 2 increases from $40,000,000 to $100,000,000 the total amount of transferable tax credits for affordable housing that the Division is authorized to approve for all fiscal years. Finally, section 2 provides that the 4-year period during which transferable tax credits may be used begins on the date on which the Division notifies the project sponsor that transferable tax credits will be issued rather than on the date on which the Division issues the transferable tax credits.