| 12 | 13 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1 |
|---|
| 13 | 14 | | AN ACT TO EXPAND WORKFORCE HOUSING BY PROVIDING CURRENT AND 2 |
|---|
| 14 | 15 | | ONGOING FUNDING FOR THE HOUSING TRUST FUND. 3 |
|---|
| 15 | 16 | | Whereas, the North Carolina Housing Trust Fund was created by the General 4 |
|---|
| 16 | 17 | | Assembly in 1987 and is administered by the North Carolina Housing Finance Agency; and 5 |
|---|
| 17 | 18 | | Whereas, the North Carolina Housing Trust Fund is North Carolina's most flexible 6 |
|---|
| 18 | 19 | | resource for the State's growing and complex affordable housing needs. The Fund leverages 7 |
|---|
| 19 | 20 | | private funding to create a variety of housing solutions, including home ownership, rentals, 8 |
|---|
| 20 | 21 | | supportive housing, new construction, rehabilitation, and emergency repairs; and 9 |
|---|
| 21 | 22 | | Whereas, housing is not only an integral part of a family's budget but is also integral 10 |
|---|
| 22 | 23 | | to the economy of the State. Ensuring that all North Carolinians have access to safe, decent, and 11 |
|---|
| 23 | 24 | | affordable housing is a sound financial investment in North Carolina's future; and 12 |
|---|
| 24 | 25 | | Whereas, in 2005, bipartisan leadership filed Senate Bill 330 to fund the Housing 13 |
|---|
| 25 | 26 | | Trust Fund at $50 million. Senate Bill 330 addressed the "shortage of decent, safe, and 14 |
|---|
| 26 | 27 | | sanitary…housing available at affordable prices" and the importance of affordable housing to 15 |
|---|
| 27 | 28 | | economic development "because businesses will not locate in communities where workers 16 |
|---|
| 28 | 29 | | cannot live"; and 17 |
|---|
| 29 | 30 | | Whereas, in Governor Pat McCrory's budget for the 2015-2017 fiscal biennium, 18 |
|---|
| 30 | 31 | | former Budget Director Lee Harris Roberts wrote that "the NC Housing Finance Agency 19 |
|---|
| 31 | 32 | | represents one of the greatest returns on investment of any State money spent"; and 20 |
|---|
| 32 | 33 | | Whereas, North Carolina's investment in the Housing Trust Fund has decreased nearly 21 |
|---|
| 33 | 34 | | 68% over the last 10 years—from $21 million in the 2007 fiscal year to a low-water mark of $6.8 22 |
|---|
| 34 | 35 | | million in the 2015 fiscal year; and 23 |
|---|
| 35 | 36 | | Whereas, over 815,000 North Carolinians do not have access to affordable housing, 24 |
|---|
| 36 | 37 | | with over 319,000 North Carolinians in disaster areas from Hurricane Matthew and Hurricane 25 |
|---|
| 37 | 38 | | Florence. In addition, 930,000 citizens are cost-burdened with their housing—those households 26 |
|---|
| 38 | 39 | | spending more than 30% of their income on housing costs and utilities being cost-burdened, and 27 |
|---|
| 39 | 40 | | those spending more than half of their income on housing costs being severely cost-burdened; 28 |
|---|
| 40 | 41 | | and 29 |
|---|
| 41 | 42 | | Whereas, there is only one unit of housing for every eight North Carolinians in need 30 |
|---|
| 42 | 43 | | of affordable housing; and 31 |
|---|
| 43 | 44 | | Whereas, the current fund balance of the Housing Trust Fund is approximately $6 32 |
|---|
| 44 | 45 | | million, which is less than the originally established fund balance of $50 million. For every $1 33 |
|---|
| 45 | 46 | | million that the Housing Trust Fund spends: 108 households are assisted; $5,169,000 in 34 |
|---|
| 46 | 47 | | affordable housing real estate value is generated; 110 jobs are supported; and $455,000 in State 35 |
|---|
| 49 | 54 | | Whereas, this act would enact a one-time allocation to recapitalize the Housing Trust 1 |
|---|
| 50 | 55 | | Fund and would provide recurring revenue sources to ensure a sustainable Fund that can be used 2 |
|---|
| 51 | 56 | | to address the critical shortage of affordable housing in North Carolina; Now, therefore, 3 |
|---|
| 52 | 57 | | The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts: 4 |
|---|
| 53 | 58 | | SECTION 1. There is appropriated from the General Fund to the North Carolina 5 |
|---|
| 54 | 59 | | Housing Trust Fund, established under G.S. 122E-3, the sum of thirty million dollars 6 |
|---|
| 55 | 60 | | ($30,000,000) in nonrecurring funds for the 2025-2026 fiscal year to be used in accordance with 7 |
|---|
| 56 | 61 | | the purposes provided in Chapter 122E of the General Statutes. 8 |
|---|
| 57 | 62 | | SECTION 2. G.S. 161-11.5 reads as rewritten: 9 |
|---|
| 58 | 63 | | "§ 161-11.5. Fees to be remitted to State Treasurer. 10 |
|---|
| 59 | 64 | | Six dollars and twenty cents ($6.20) of each fee collected by the register of deeds under 11 |
|---|
| 60 | 65 | | G.S. 161-10(a)(1) and (a)(1a) shall be remitted by the register of deeds to the county finance 12 |
|---|
| 61 | 66 | | officer, who shall remit the funds to the State Treasurer on a monthly basis to be credited as 13 |
|---|
| 62 | 67 | | follows: 14 |
|---|
| 63 | 68 | | (1) Fifty-five percent (55%) to the Floodplain Mapping Fund established under 15 |
|---|
| 64 | 69 | | G.S. 143-215.56A. 16 |
|---|
| 65 | 70 | | (2) Twenty Eighteen and one-half percent (20%) (18.5%) to the General Fund as 17 |
|---|
| 66 | 71 | | nontax revenue. 18 |
|---|
| 67 | 72 | | (3) Twenty-five percent (25%) to the Department of Natural and Cultural 19 |
|---|
| 68 | 73 | | Resources to be used as provided in G.S. 121-5(e). 20 |
|---|
| 69 | 74 | | (4) One and one-half percent (1.5%) to the North Carolina Housing Trust Fund, 21 |
|---|
| 70 | 75 | | established under G.S. 122E-3." 22 |
|---|
| 71 | 76 | | SECTION 3. G.S. 105-228.30 reads as rewritten: 23 |
|---|
| 72 | 77 | | "§ 105-228.30. Imposition of excise tax; distribution of proceeds. 24 |
|---|
| 73 | 78 | | (a) An excise tax is levied on each instrument by which any interest in real property is 25 |
|---|
| 74 | 79 | | conveyed to another person. The tax rate is one dollar ($1.00) on each five hundred dollars 26 |
|---|
| 75 | 80 | | ($500.00) or fractional part thereof of the consideration or value of the interest conveyed. The 27 |
|---|
| 76 | 81 | | transferor must pay the tax to the register of deeds of the county in which the real estate is located 28 |
|---|
| 77 | 82 | | before recording the instrument of conveyance. If the instrument transfers a parcel of real estate 29 |
|---|
| 78 | 83 | | lying in two or more counties, however, the tax must be paid to the register of deeds of the county 30 |
|---|
| 79 | 84 | | in which the greater part of the real estate with respect to value lies. 31 |
|---|
| 80 | 85 | | The excise tax on instruments imposed by this Article applies to timber deeds and contracts 32 |
|---|
| 81 | 86 | | for the sale of standing timber to the same extent as if these deeds and contracts conveyed an 33 |
|---|
| 82 | 87 | | interest in real property. 34 |
|---|
| 83 | 88 | | (b) The register of deeds of each county must remit the proceeds of the tax levied by this 35 |
|---|
| 84 | 89 | | section to the county finance officer. The finance officer of each county must credit one-half of 36 |
|---|
| 85 | 90 | | the proceeds to the county's general fund and remit the remaining one-half of the proceeds, less 37 |
|---|
| 86 | 91 | | taxes refunded and the county's allowance for administrative expenses, to the Department of 38 |
|---|
| 87 | 92 | | Revenue on a monthly basis. A county may retain two percent (2%) of the amount of tax proceeds 39 |
|---|
| 88 | 93 | | allocated for remittance to the Department of Revenue as compensation for the county's cost in 40 |
|---|
| 89 | 94 | | collecting and remitting the State's share of the tax. The Department of Revenue shall credit an 41 |
|---|
| 90 | 95 | | amount equal to thirty-three percent (33%) of the funds remitted to the Department of Revenue 42 |
|---|
| 91 | 96 | | under this subsection to the North Carolina Housing Trust Fund, established under G.S. 122E-3, 43 |
|---|
| 92 | 97 | | and shall credit the remaining funds to the General Fund." 44 |
|---|
| 93 | 98 | | SECTION 4. This act becomes effective July 1, 2025. 45 |
|---|