Taxation Committee asks GOC to seek 30-day OPEGA review of Maine's affordable housing tax credit

The Maine Legislature's Taxation Committee signaled unanimous support by a nonbinding show of hands to ask the Government Oversight Committee (GOC) to direct the Office of Program Evaluation and Government Accountability (OPEGA) to perform a 30-day limited analysis of the state's affordable housing tax credit.

Madam Chair reopened discussion of the item and turned the floor to committee staff member Steve, who said the law contains a provision that "allows this committee, the taxation committee to vote and then request that a limited analysis project be done by the Office of Program and Government Accountability" and that the review must be "based on information readily available to OPEGA." Steve urged the committee to set clear parameters so OPEGA's limited review would be useful.

Why it matters: The committee is weighing whether to postpone final action on Representative Rana's bill to remove the credit's sunset until OPEGA completes the report. Members said they want comparative and evaluative information from other states and summaries of existing research before making a final policy decision.

OPEGA's proposed scope and timeline: Steve and OPEGA staff discussed a draft memo that lists three likely deliverables the office could produce within 30 days: (1) descriptive comparisons to similar programs in other states, including whether credits had sunsets or extensions; (2) readily available information on affordable housing trends in Maine and nationally over the past 10 years; and (3) a summary of existing research on the effects of tax credits on housing availability. "If [GOC] were to vote to approve that on Friday, we would anticipate having something submitted by February 20 if I'd done them out correctly," OPEGA analyst Carrie Hodair said.

Committee members' views and next steps: Several legislators urged OPEGA to include measures of effect and efficiency and to compare tax credits with other tools states use to subsidize low-income housing. Representative Budnicki and others said the committee would likely hold Representative Rana's bill until the report is available and use a work session to consider the findings. The chair asked members to indicate support for sending the memo to GOC; "It's unanimous of those present," she said after members raised their hands.

Procedural note: The committee's request must be routed to the Government Oversight Committee, which must vote to direct OPEGA to proceed. The 30-day review provision is relatively new and — according to committee staff — has not been used before.

What happens next: Committee staff will send the draft memo to GOC and copy the Taxation Committee. GOC is scheduled to meet on Friday and could vote to approve the 30-day project; if approved, OPEGA expects to deliver a report in mid-to-late February based on the office's access to readily available information. The Taxation Committee plans to await that report before taking final action on Representative Rana's bill.