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Governor Chris Sununu
State House
107 North Main Street
Concord, NH 03301
CC: Commissioner Taylor Caswell

RE: ARPA Investments in Housing Production for New Hampshire December 15, 2021

Governor Sununu:

As you finalize your priorities for the Coronavirus Recovery Funds, Housing Action NH urges you to allocate $100 million to the NH Affordable Housing Fund. The severe shortage of housing is adversely impacting the economic vitality of our state; exacerbating workforce shortages, hampering business growth, and increasing homelessness. A $100 million investment in the Affordable Housing Fund will help spur housing development, create more homes affordable to NH’s workforce and help New Hampshire compete with nearby states that are making major housing investments with these federal resources.

Housing advocates are grateful for your leadership on the housing issue. The Council on Housing Stability created by your Executive Order has fostered unprecedented collaboration across agencies and sectors. Your 2019 Housing Task Force’s policy proposals are now Housing Action NH’s number one priority for the 2022 legislative session. In order, however, to really address the dearth of housing supply, New Hampshire must incentivize the housing market and leverage investments into housing development. Finally, it’s notable that all of the other New England states have already made major production investments with these resources.

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STATE     INVESTMENT      USE OF FUNDING

Maine 

$115.5 million

Governor Mills and the Maine legislature allocated $50 million to build more affordable workforce housing and $50 million for home energy efficiency upgrades for renters and low-income seniors. Additionally, Maine allocated $10 million to support homeless shelters and $1.5 million to support housing navigators.

 

Vermont

$99 million

Governor Scott proposed $249 million for housing. Vermont’s legislature approved $94 million in Fiscal Recovery Funds to provide housing and increase shelter capacity. Their FY22 budget also provides $5 million for the Vermont Housing Incentive Program.

Massachusetts

$600 million

Governor Baker proposed $1 billion for housing. The Massachusetts legislature has approved:

  • $150 million for Supportive Housing Production

  • $150 million for Public Housing Maintenance

  • $100 million for Homeownership

    Assistance to help first-

    time homebuyers

  • $100 million for

    CommonWealth Builder Program to build new affordable homeownership opportunities

  • $100 million for Affordable Housing Production

For a full report on housing investments around the country from Coronavirus State and Local funding, see https://nlihc.org/sites/default/files/ARPA_State-Local-Housing.pdf.

Governor, as you know, the Council on Housing Stability’s Strategic Plan calls for the development of 13,500 new housing units for the Granite State in the next three years. The Coronavirus State and Local Recovery funding offers New Hampshire the unprecedented opportunity to make a one-time major investment in housing infrastructure through the Affordable Housing Fund that will benefit our state for years to come.

Thank you for your serious consideration. 

Sincerely,

Elissa Margolin, Director, Housing Action NH

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PO Box 162                                               Concord, NH 03302                                         housingactionnh.org