Item 41 - Federal Legislative Advocacy Services

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The Coalition also worked to advance and expand the Low -Income Housing Tax Credit, one of the nation's most important tools for financing the production and preservation of affordable rental housing. We worked to build support for the Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act (AHCIA) of the last session in 2021 (S. 1136 and H.R. 2573) and helped galvanize mayors on this issue. Working with the Enterprise ACTION campaign, we helped draft a letter of support for the legislation and secured the signatures from 82 bipartisan mayors. We have led several U.S. Conference of Mayors resolutions supporting the issue and helped convene mayors to meet with key congressional leaders to highlight the importance of expanding the tax credit. We are continuing our efforts to include the expansion of the AHCIA in the upcoming tax extenders bill. Public Safety: In 2020, we helped the City of Everett, WA, secure a $6 million DOJ COPS grant to hire up to 16 additional officers to assist with community policing efforts. In advance of submitting the application, we arranged for the Mayor to meet with the DOJ COPS Office to highlight the City's needs for additional officers. We reviewed the City's grant application, helping to carefully tailor the application to meet the Administration's key criteria and metrics. We also strongly advised the City to seek the option of a waiver with the application which was extremely beneficial once the pandemic hit. Additionally, we helped the City secure letters of support from their congressional delegation and stayed in touch with the COPS office throughout the review process. Appropriations: Holland & Knight ensured that our clients' member directed spending requests were advanced by their House and Senate members. In the FY 2022 appropriations bills, we helped our clients secure over $200 million in House and Senate Community Project Funding/Congressionally Directed Spending requests. We helped them draft funding requests, met with congressional offices to match projects with their priorities, and helped ensure that offices understood the importance of the projects. Below are samples of Community Project Funding/Congressionally Directed Spending requests we secured for our clients: City of Aurora, Colorado: $1.35 million for the Safe Outdoor Spaces Project. The City of Aurora has a large unsheltered homeless population, and currently, has limited access to shelters. The City is using this funding to provide sheltering options and hygiene facilities in a safe parking lot for these residents. • City of Norfolk, Virginia: $2.9 million for Historic Hunton YMCA. The William A. Hunton YMCA in Norfolk, located in the Tidewater Gardens public housing community, provides meals and day care for hundreds of children from the neighborhood every day. It is subject to frequent nuisance flooding and is at risk for future flood events. The City is using this funding to acquire the property and relocate this community resource to a more sustainable area that is not at risk of flooding. • City of San Jose, California: $1.5 million for San Jose Public Library Caregiver Training for Digital Inclusion. The City of San Jose currently offers professional training and access to technology necessary for family, friend, and neighbor (FFN) caregivers to meet the needs of underserved children in San Jose. These funds would allow the San Jose Public Library to provide additional access to high -quality workforce development training in child development and to expand digital inclusion and technology support for caregivers to enhance the care they provide. • City of San Francisco, California: $1.5 million for Herz Playground Recreation Center. We successfully assisted the City of San Francisco secure funding to assist with construction of a new 11,500 square foot multi -use recreation center and outdoor amenities for the economically and socially isolated Sunnydale/Visitacion Valley neighborhood. Holland & Knight Confidential Presentation for City of Santa Ana 115