§ 4498. Housing budget and investment reports

The Commissioner of Housing and Community Development shall:

(1) Create a Vermont housing budget designed to assure efficient expenditure of State funds appropriated for housing development, to encourage and enhance cooperation among housing organizations, to eliminate overlap and redundancy in housing development efforts, and to ensure appropriate geographic distribution of housing funds. The Vermont housing budget shall include any State funds of $50,000.00 or more awarded or appropriated for housing. The Vermont housing budget and appropriation recommendations shall be submitted to the General Assembly annually on or before January 15. The provisions of 2 V.S.A. § 20(d) (expiration of required reports) shall not apply to the recommendations to be made under this subdivision, and the report shall include the amounts and purposes of funds appropriated for or awarded to the following:

(A) The Vermont Housing and Conservation Trust Fund.

(B) The Agency of Human Services.

(C) The Agency of Commerce and Community Development.

(D) Any other entity that fits the funding criteria.

(2) Annually, develop a Vermont Housing Investment Plan in consultation with the Vermont Housing Council. The Housing Investment Plan shall be consistent with the Vermont consolidated plan for housing, in order to coordinate the investment of State, federal, and other resources, such as State appropriations, tax credits, rental assistance, and mortgage revenue bonds, to increase the availability and improve the quality of Vermont's housing stock. The Housing Investment Plan shall be submitted to the General Assembly, annually on January 15. The provisions of 2 V.S.A. § 20(d) (expiration of required reports) shall not apply to the Plan to be made under this subdivision, and the Plan shall:

(A) target investments at single-family housing, mobile homes, multi-family housing, and housing for homeless persons and people with special needs;

(B) recommend approaches that maximize the use of available State and federal resources;

(C) identify areas of the State that face the greatest housing shortages; and

(D) recommend strategies to improve coordination among State, local, and regional offices in order to remedy identified housing shortages. (Added 2005, No. 189 (Adj. Sess.), § 12; amended 2013, No. 142 (Adj. Sess.), § 38.)