Exempting Housing from Private Activity Bond Volume Cap to Expand Affordable Housing Supply

While tax-exempt Private Activity Bonds (PABs) are one of New York State’s primary financial tools to build and preserve affordable housing, a federal limit on those bonds is also a significant barrier to expanding its overall affordable housing supply. By reforming the system to exempt affordable housing from the volume cap, New York could build more affordable housing at the local level and access new resources to preserve HUD-assisted housing including public housing, senior housing, and other programs with significant capital needs. This fix is simple – and there are precedents for federal lawmakers to follow.

Read our brief on the effects of exempting housing from the Private Activity Bond volume cap here.