
Illinois a signature away from adopting CNT's Housing + Transportation Affordability Index
Although they're still dithering when it comes to fixing Illinois' sinking financial ship, our General Assembly did something right this session: On April 27, 2010, the House passed legislation adopting as a new development incentive measuring stick the Center for Neighborhood Technology's Housing + Transportation Affordability Index.
As of Friday, April 30, the H+T Affordability Index Act awaits Gov. Patrick Quinn's signature to become law.
Under the new measure, the Index becomes "the state standard for measuring housing and transportation affordability." This means:
- The Departments of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, Transportation, and the Illinois Housing Development Authority must use it when considering funding allocations, incentives, and facility sites within Metropolitan Planning Organization areas.
- The State Housing Task Force must consider the Index to create a statewide definition of affordability.
- Allows the state's Capitol Development Board and the Illinois Finance Authority to recommend the Index.
I have no idea how long it will take, assuming Gov. Quinn signs the bill into law, for the Index to begin altering state policies on the ground. But removing incentives for sprawl can't come, or happen, soon enough.
(Hat tip to Jeff Wood's The Other Side of the Tracks.)
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Did the governor sign the bill?
I didn't catch the follow-up reports. Quinn is pretty good on these issues so the outcome should be favorable.
As of May 12, not yet...
According to the Illinois General Assembly's website, Gov. Quinn has not signed the bill -- at least not as of this morning, Wednesday, May 12. You can track the bill's status with the "Search the 96th General Assembly" function on the left-hand side of the page, by entering the bill number, SB374, in the "By Number" field.