Recently, a bipartisan group of Pennsylvania State Senators sponsored a bill to expand the Pennsylvania Housing Affordability and Rehabilitation Enhancement Fund, commonly known as the State Housing Trust Fund. If passed, Senate Bill No. 1380 would make additional funds available for low-income housing throughout the State. In the past, the State Housing Trust Fund, which was originally created by Pennsylvania legislation in 2010, was funded from Marcellus Shale impact fees. As a result, only those counties in the Marcellus Shale region could receive funding from the State Housing Trust Fund. It is estimated that the State Housing Trust Fund has provided approximately $17,000,000 in investment in low-income housing in the impacted counties to date. The current bill expands the funding sources for the State Housing Trust Fund and the counties eligible for the receipt of funding by requiring that a portion of future increases in the State’s realty transfer tax, up to $25,000,000, be dedicated to the State Housing Trust Fund to make investments statewide. In addition to increasing the supply of affordable housing in Pennsylvania, it is estimated that the additional realty transfer tax funding could generate $400 million in economic impact, create up to 3,000 jobs and generate up to $20 million in state tax revenues.
