TAX CREDITS & TAX-EXEMPT BONDS: STATE-BY-STATE PREVIEW

MISSISSIPPI

BY LIZ ENOCHS

AFFORDABLE HOUSING FINANCE • DECEMBER 2007

JACKSON—The priorities and rules for low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) applications in Mississippi are little changed for 2008. The Mississippi Home Corp. (MHC) in 2006 issued a combined 2007-2008 qualified allocation plan (QAP), so priorities had already been set for the coming year; however, the state did make some minor modifications to the QAP earlier this year.

The biggest changes in the revised QAP, which was finalized in April, concern community notification and public hearing regulations. The rules require developers to notify local officials about public hearings related to proposed developments, hold them near the proposed project sites, and present drawings of the projects at the hearings.

The revision eliminated points that had been awarded to projects located in Harrison, Jackson, Hancock, Pearl, Forrest, Jones, Lamar, Stone, and George counties. It also added five points for Sec. 515 rehabs that have received a financial commitment from the state’s Preservation Revolving Loan Fund.

In addition, the new version of the QAP adds a requirement for community support for developments in municipalities with a population of less than 6,000.

Mississippi received a substantial boost in LIHTCs for the 2006-2008 period as part of federal efforts to aid rebuilding in the hurricane- affected areas of Gulf Coast states. The Gulf Opportunity (GO) Zone funding increased Mississippi’s LIHTC authority sevenfold, to more than $40 million when annual credit authority is included.

In 2007, MHC reserved all its GO Zone authority, designating $70.7 million for 59 projects representing 6,383 total units. That included $35.3 million in forward allocations of 2008 GO Zone credits. In addition, in a third cycle, MHC forward committed about $950,000 of its annual credit authority for 2008 and reserved $2 million of its 2007 credit authority after forward committing about $3 million in 2006. Those reservations will fund 232 units in four projects.

A fourth cycle of applications was scheduled to be accepted Nov. 5-9 for any remaining GO Zone authority, but Mississippi canceled that cycle because it had already reserved those credits. The next application cycle, which will reserve the remaining 2008 credits and make some forward commitments of 2009 credits, is scheduled for March 3-7, 2008.

At press time, six developments had received or were slated to receive $40.6 million in tax-exempt bond financing. Based on the Internal Revenue Service multiplier for state volume cap, Mississippi is likely to have $262.1 million in total volume cap available in 2008.

2008 LIHTC PROGRAM: