PRESERVATION ACTION LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
 



LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
VOLUME 22, NUMBER 21
JUNE 21, 2019

Preservation Advocates Take to Capitol Hill to Urge Support on the Historic Tax Credit Growth and Opportunity Act

Rep. LaHood with Frank Butterfield from Landmark Illinois and Preservation Action President, Russ Carnahan during Advocacy Week 2019.
This week Historic Tax Credit advocates from across the country came to Washington to urge support for the Historic Tax Credit Growth and Opportunity Act (HTC-GO). The gathered group of preservationists, main street coordinators, industry professionals and others conducted 55 meetings, urging members of Congress to cosponsor H.R 2825. The lobby day was organized by the National Trust Community Investment Corporation and the Historic Tax Credit Coalition, and coincided with the IPED Historic Tax Credit Summit, also in Washington this week. 

The HTC-GO Act was introduced last month by Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) and Rep. Darin LaHood (R-IL) and makes several important changes to improve and enhance the Historic Tax Credit. The bill eliminates the HTC basis adjustment requirement, which would bring more value to the credit and attract more investors, and increase the credit from 20% to 30% for projects under $2.5 million, making it more appealing for smaller projects. The bill is up to 20 bipartisan cosponsors in the House. We expect companion legislation to be introduced in the Senate soon.

TAKE ACTION

We see opportunities for the HTC-GO Act to be included in a larger legislative package this fall, but we need to demonstrate strong support for the bill. Urge your Representative to cosponsor the Historic Tax Credit Growth and Opportunity Act, H.R 2825, today!  If you have a personal contact in your member's Washington D.C. or District office, contact that person directly. Ask them to cosponsor the Historic Tax Credit Growth and Opportunity Act introduced by Representatives Blumenauer and LaHood in the House. You can also check out this easy to use tool from the National Trust for Historic Preservation to ask your member to cosponsor. 

Urge Your Senators to Support the Reviving America's Scenic Byway Act

This week the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee approved the Reviving America's Scenic Byways Act, S. 349, sending the bill to the full Senate for consideration. Companion legislation, H.R 831, passed the House in February with strong bipartisan support.

The bill, led by Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) and Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD) would revive the National Scenic Byways program, which has been dormant since the last round of designations occurred in 2009. Since the program was created in 1991, 150 roads in 47 states have been designated as Scenic Byways or All-American Roads. Studies show that  National Scenic Byways generate significant economic activity for nearby communities, many of which are small and rural in nature.

Our partners at Scenic America are urging supporters to contact their Senators and urge them to support the Reviving America's Scenic Byways Act, S. 349. Reach out to your Senators today!

Senate Holds Hearing as Efforts to Address Deferred Maintenance on Our Public Lands Gain Steam

This week, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee held a hearing to examine the over $19 billion maintenance backlog on our public lands and potential solutions. This includes the nearly $12 billion backlog at our National Park Service, 47% of which is attributed to historic resources. The Restore Our Parks Act (S. 500) aims to address the deferred maintenance backlog by establishing the Legacy Restoration Fund, a dedicated fund using revenue from energy development. During the hearing Ranking Member Joe Manchin (D-WV) spoke in support of the Restore Our Parks Act. He also noted that the House version of the bill, the Restore Our Parks and Public Lands Act (H.R 1225) also includes funding to address the deferred maintenance at other federal agencies. 

The Restore Our Parks Act has been gaining traction, and is up to 40 cosponsors in the Senate and the House version is up to a very impressive 284 cosponsors. The House planned to mark-up the bill at a hearing this week but ran out of time. The mark-up will be pushed to a later date. 

GAO Identifies Additional Actions for the Department of Defense to Enhance Preservation of Their Historic Properties

A provision included in the FY18 Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, requested the Government Accountability Office (GAO) assess the Department of Defense's management of historic properties.The National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) requires federal agencies to evaluate the historic significance of their properties and to consider historic preservation when maintaining their properties. This week the GAO completed that assessment and issued additional actions the DOD could take to enhance their efforts to identify, evaluate, and preserve their historic properties. The GAO found that the DOD lacks complete and consistent data on historic properties and has limited visibility over of privatized homes that could be historic.

The GAO made 7 recommendations including that the DOD take steps to verify that privatized military homes are identified and evaluated for historic significance; clarify the inventory requirement for historic properties; and develop guidance related to historic preservation training. The DOD concurred with their recommendations. Check out GAO's full report to learn more. 

Preservation Action
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Preservation Action is the only national  non-profit dedicated exclusively to lobbying for the best preservation policies at the federal level. We seek to make historic preservation a national priority by advocating to all branches of government through a grassroots constituency empowered with information and training.