Evers Signs Armstrong Housing Bill

MADISON, WI – Governor Evers has signed into law a package of housing bills designed to address Wisconsin’s ongoing housing shortage. Among the proposals is Assembly Bill 264 – now Act 14 – which Rep. Dave Armstrong (R-Rice Lake) had introduced.

“I am ecstatic that the Governor has signed these housing bills into law,” Representative Armstrong said. “Wisconsin isn’t producing enough housing to meet demand, and it’s a statewide problem. Urban and rural, Republican and Democrat – everywhere is feeling the crunch, and people are getting priced out of the housing market.”

Act 14 establishes a residential housing infrastructure revolving loan fund aimed at workforce and senior housing. Two other new acts also create revolving loan funds to encourage Main Street housing rehabilitation (Act 15) and commercial-to-residential conversion (Act 18). In addition, Act 16 improves the local approval process to make it easier for developments that meet local standards and regulations to go through. Act 17 updates the workforce housing rehabilitation loan program.

“These new laws will be a shot of adrenaline to encourage not only new construction, but also the rehabilitation or conversion of existing properties,” Representative Armstrong said. “There is still more that could be done – for example, expanding the low-income housing tax credit, which the Assembly passed last week and is currently in the Senate – but this housing package is a great start.”

Earlier this week, the Assembly passed another Armstrong proposal – Assembly Bill 320, which removes a layer of red tape from certain nonmetallic mining activities while preserving environmental standards. Governor Evers also signed into law the landmark shared revenue and school funding proposals, both of which Representative Armstrong supported.