Legislation to enhance and improve the federal Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credit (HTC) was reintroduced in the House by Rep. Darin LaHood (R-IL), Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), Rep. Mike Kelly (R-PA), Rep. Terri Sewell (D-AL), Rep. Mike Turner (R-OH), and Rep. Brian Higgins (D-NY). The Historic Tax Credit Growth and Opportunity Act (H.R. 1785, S.639) is identical to the HTC-GO bill introduced in the last Congress and includes four permanent provisions that would bring more value to Historic Tax Credit projects, improve access, make more projects eligible and encourage investment in smaller rehabilitation projects. These provisions will make important changes to the HTC to encourage more building reuse and redevelopment nationwide and would be particularly impactful for small, midsize, and rural communities. The House version of the bill also includes a temporary provision to address recent challenges facing historic rehabilitation projects. These provisions would:

Permanent Provisions

• 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

Temporary Provision (House version only)

• This provision increases the HTC percentage from 20% to 30% for 2023 through 2026.
• The credit percentage is phased down to 26% in 2027, 23% in 2028, and returns to 20% in 2029 and thereafter.

Similar legislation was introduced in the Senate earlier this month by Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD) and Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA). The Senate version does not include the temporary provision.

These enhancements are needed more now, than ever before. Unfortunately, the value of the HTC incentive has diminished over the last decade and according to National Park Service statistics, HTC applications are down 20% compared to pre-pandemic levels (2019). Historic buildings have simply become more difficult to rehabilitate.

We need your help!. Reach out to your members of Congress and urge them to co-sponsor the Historic Tax Credit Growth and Opportunity Act (H.R. 1785, S. 639) and look for opportunities to include these provisions in future legislation. Help us build on the momentum from last Congress that saw a record number of co-sponsors on the bill. If you have a personal contact in your Representative and Senators' office reach out to them directly. We've also made it easy for you to take action. Check out our action alert to learn more and easily edit and send a letter to your members of Congress. Also be sure to and share this alert with your networks!

This week, the House passed the Lower Energy Costs Act (H.R. 1) 225-204, along a mostly party line vote. The bill aims to increase fossil fuel production and exports and accelerate energy projects and other infrastructure initiatives, through permitting reform. However, H.R 1 includes a number of provisions that undermine the core principles of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) and would eliminate vital protections for historic and cultural resources if the proposed changes were enacted. For example, many oil and gas drilling projects would be completely exempted from compliance with NEPA and the NHPA. Other provision would set arbitrary time limits and time tables for federal review.

The NHPA and NEPA provide fundamental protections for historic, cultural, and natural resources. Section 106 of the NHPA, for example, requires federal agencies to consider the impact federal projects have on historic properties. The regulations that implement Section 106 already provide an array of tools, like programmatic agreements and program comments, that help to streamline projects while still providing for the consideration of historic resources and are far preferable to legislative exemptions. We also contend that the federal permitting process could be dramatically improved and streamlined through greater federal investments in staffing and in modernizing the way historic and cultural resources are documented and made available to the public.

While H.R. 1 passed the House, it is unlikely to move forward in the Democratic controlled Senate. However, their is still bipartisan interest in addressing permitting reform during this Congress. Preservation Action joined a coalition letter with the National Trust for Historic Preservation and others, opposing H.R. 1 and offering alternatives to lawmakers of ways to help streamline federal projects, while not undermining key protections that allow for consideration of our nation's historic and cultural resources in federal planning.

Check out the coalition letter and Advisory Council on Historic Preservation's letter on H.R. 1 to learn more.

On behalf of Preservation Action and the National Conference of State Historic Preservation Officers, thanks to everyone for helping to make this year’s National Historic Preservation Advocacy Week and our return to in-person a huge success! It was great to welcome everyone back to Washington. D.C. for our first in-person Advocacy Week in three years. We’d especially like to thank our many speakers and sponsors for helping to make it all possible. We were thrilled to have over 180 attendees (including several first-time advocates) representing 41 states and reaching more than 200 congressional offices!

Hill Report Forms/Follow-up

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. 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. The deadline for hill report forms is March 31st.

National Park Service: "National Park Service Awards $4.5 Million to Protect 193 Acres at Two Civil War Battlefields"

Pennsylvania: "Ceresi, James Introduce Legislation to Create Tax Credit to Rehabilitate and Preserve Historic Homes"



New Hampshire: "Research on Preservation and Restoration Building Trades Reveal Worker Shortages in the Northeast and Highlights Opportunities for Workforce Development"

Kentucky: "Kentucky Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credits Undergo Major Expansion"