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PRESERVATION ACTION LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
 


LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
VOLUME 24, NUMBER 11
APRIL 02, 2021
Historic Tax Credit Growth and Opportunity Act Introduced in House. Urge Your Representative to Cosponsor!

This week, Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), Rep. Darin LaHood (R-IL), Rep. Brian Higgins (D-NY), and Rep. Terri Sewell (D-AL) introduced a new version of the Historic Tax Credit Growth and Opportunity Act (HTC-GO) in the House. This bipartisan bill includes many of the same changes to expand and enhance the Historic Tax Credit (HTC) included in the HTC-GO bill from the last Congress, but also includes temporary provisions aimed at bringing relief to historic rehabilitation projects impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. These same provisions were included and passed in the House Infrastructure bill (H.R 2) during the last Congress and are needed now more than ever to help revitalize our communities and support our nation's economic recovery. A bill is expected to be introduced in the Senate soon.

The House HTC-GO bill includes the following provisions:
  • A temporary increase of the Historic Tax Credit from 20% to 30% through 2024, phasing back down to 20% by 2027
  • Establishes a permanent 30% Historic Tax Credit for projects $2.5 million and less, making it easier to complete small projects
  • Eliminates the HTC Basis Adjustment, bringing more value to HTCs and making it easier to pair with the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit
  • Reduces the substantial rehabilitation threshold, making more buildings eligible to use the HTC
  • Makes the credit easier to use by non-profits
We need your help! Reach out to your Representative and urge them to cosponsor the bipartisan Historic Tax Credit Growth and Opportunity Act introduced by Representatives Blumenauer and LaHood.

Take Action

Preservation Action has made it easy for you take action. If you have a personal contact in your Representative's Washington D.C or District office, contact that person directly. 
If they do not handle tax issues, ask that they pass the message along to the appropriate tax staffer. You can also use our action campaign tool to easily edit and send a draft letter to your Representative's office today! Be sure to share any responses you receive with Preservation Action at mail@preservationaction.org to help inform our advocacy efforts.



Additional Resources
Large Public Lands Package Passes House Including Key National Heritage Area Bill and Other Priorities

The Protecting America's Wilderness and Public Lands Act (H.R 803) passed the House last month with bipartisan support. This sweeping public lands bill protects 1,200 miles of scenic rivers, nearly 3 million acres of public lands, including expanding several wilderness areas and National Monuments, and creates the first National Historic Landscape at Camp Hale in Leadville, CO, where World War II soldiers trained for winter combat. 

The bill also included the National Heritage Area Act of 2021 (H.R 1316). This bill, introduced by Rep. Paul Tonko (D-NY) and Rep. David McKinley (R-WV),  establishes a system of national heritage areas (NHAs) and brings uniformity to the way NHAs are designated, managed, and assessed and provides Congress the ability to conduct oversight of the program. Additionally, the bill establishes the Great Dismal Swamp National Heritage Area, protecting a pre-Civil War refuge for formerly enslaved people in Virginia and North Carolina. Currently there are 55 NHAs, which includes sites of national significance across the country. 

The bill now moves to the Senate for consideration. Preservation Action will continue to track this important legislation. Check out the Alliance of National Heritage Areas to learn more about the NHA Act and other legislative efforts in support of heritage areas.
Thank You for a Successful Virtual Historic Preservation Advocacy Week!

Preservation Action along with our partners at the National Conference of State Historic Preservation Officers just concluded our first ever Virtual Historic Preservation Advocacy Week. While we missed being in person with everyone, we were thrilled to have a record number nearly 300 attendees (including several first time advocates) representing 42 states, allowing us to reach more than 200 congressional offices and have an even greater impact!

To kick Advocacy Week off we heard a recorded message from one of preservation's biggest supporters in Congress, Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT). Preservation advocates were then fortunate to hear from national preservation leaders and policy experts on the current legislative landscape and future of historic preservation policy. We were honored to be joined by Rep. Teresa Leger-Fernandez (D-NM), Rep. Terri Sewell (D-AL) and Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-WA), all who shared their unique perspectives on why historic preservation is important and how we could all be better preservation advocates. In the afternoon we heard from another panel of preservation and federal policy experts on conducting successful virtual congressional office visits. 

The next day Preservation Action hosted our Congressional Reception and Townhall featuring Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) who co-chairs the Historic Preservation Caucus, Rep. Darin LaHood (R-IL), who is helping to lead efforts the expand the Historic Tax Credit, and Rep. Chellie Pingree (D-ME) who is the new Chair of the Interior Appropriations Subcommittee. Attendees engaged with the Members on current historic preservation efforts in Congress.

Thank to everyone that helped make Advocacy Week 2021 a huge success!


For Advocacy Week attendees, now is the time for the important follow-up from your congressional office visits. Be sure to thank offices and to follow-up with any promised information or materials. With you follow-up, be sure to urge your Representative to cosponsor the just introduced, Historic Tax Credit Growth and Opportunity Act, sign-on to the FY22 Historic Preservation Fund Dear Colleague letter, and join the Historic Preservation Caucus.

Additionally,  please complete a hill report form online for each of your meetings. Knowing who you met with and how those meetings went is essential for our continued advocacy.

Preservation Action
2020 Pennsylvania Ave NW #313
Washington, DC 20006
p. 202-463-0970

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.