Keeping Up With The Pace of Energy Efficiency

In order to bring our buildings and homes up to code in terms of energy efficiency, states and regions are considering new financing options to offset the costs of improvements.

The Northern Kentucky Tribune recently wrote about one of the state’s counties approving the creation of an assessment district. This district is now charged with deciding how to disperse Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) financing among the county’s commercial, industrial, nonprofit, agricultural, and multi-family properties.

“This really speeds up the process for property owners who are interested in pursuing this financing tool in Boone County,” said Chris Jones, director of PACE financing for Energize Kentucky, a nonprofit organization that administers the program in Boone, Campbell, and Fayette counties. “A process that sometimes took many months to complete can now be completed in just a few weeks with this new legislation in place.”

The state of Nebraska legalized PACE loans in 2016, but the first project to use the financing option in the state capital of Lincoln is the Lincoln Sports Complex, which could be completed by year’s end. The complex received a PACE loan of $1.5 million for developments and the Lincoln Journal-Star covered the state of improvements so far, as well as some of the investments involved in the upgrade process.

You can find more about Kentucky’s approach to energy efficiency financing by clicking here.

You can also learn more about the construction of the Lincoln Sports Complex from this article.

The University of Southern California’s Sol Price School of Public Policy recently released a study that analyzed the impact of PACE financing in Florida and California, which you can access by clicking here.

United States Wealth: Distribution, Taxes and the Top 1%

A recent article by MarketWatch covered a Federal Reserve study revealing that 70% of all wealth in the United States is controlled by the richest 10% of American households, with the top 1% holding on to 32% of wealth in 2018.

The report also noted that the top 10% have obtained 64% of the national share of assets since 1989 and the top 1% saw the majority of asset share increases. The national homeownership rate for the first quarter of 2019 was below historically negative averages from the 1960s.

Policy Matters Ohio recently completed a study with the Institute of Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) that used the REMI model to evaluate taxing the wealthiest citizens in the state at a restored rate of 7.5 percent on income over $217,400 and a new 8.5 percent rate on income over $500,000. Their analysis discovered $2.6 billion in state revenue as a result of reworking the state tax structure.

You can read the MarketWatch article on wealth in the U.S. by clicking here.

Policy Matters Ohio’s study can be accessed by clicking here.

Underproduction and the Housing Affordability Crisis

Housing availability and affordability have entered the national political discourse as governments and organizations look to answer America’s biggest rental housing questions.

ECONorthwest, Up for Growth, and Holland Government Affairs collaborated on a national analysis of housing underproduction. The analysis used three different growth scenarios that helped identify which housing production approach might yield the greatest economic benefits.

This report found that during the time frame of 2000-2015, 23 states under-produced housing, which totaled up to 7.3 million fewer residential units. That amount represented approximately 5.4% of the total U.S. housing stock and this lack of necessary rental housing created the supply and demand imbalance reflected in today’s home prices.

The Hill recently covered this study and you can read the entire article by clicking here.

You can also download the entire report by clicking here.

$15 Minimum Wage: States Raise Their Expectations

The Capitolist recently looked into a citizen’s initiative led by the group Florida For A Fair Wage that would raise the state’s minimum wage to $15/hr. (up from the current rate of $8.46/hr.) if approved by the state’s high court. Under the proposal, Florida’s minimum wage would be raised to $10/hr. by 2021 and would continue to increase by $1 each year until it reaches the $15/hr. goal by 2026.

The initiative has the support of Gov. Ron DeSantis as he hopes to capitalize on Florida’s recent economic momentum that has seen key statewide employment metrics exceed national averages.

“Florida’s economy is strong, but we cannot rest on our laurels,” said DeSantis. “We have to build on our success by keeping taxes low and regulations reasonable, becoming the number one state for career and technical education and making smart investments in our infrastructure and environment. Only then can we ensure every Floridian has the opportunity to achieve economic prosperity.”

The National Federation of Independent Businesses Research Center released a study at the beginning of this year that analyzed the national economic and employment effects of the Raise the Wage Act. You can read the full report by clicking here.

You can access the full article by The Capitolist by clicking here.

Resiliency: Economic Analysis and Planning for the Unexpected

Extreme weather and other risks have inspired increasing interest in resiliency planning. We need to know in advance whether our critical infrastructure can withstand expected and unexpected events. Policy makers also want to understand the costs and benefits of different resilience plans.

Dynamic economic impact analysis plays an indispensable role in assessing resiliency. Users of REMI’s modeling software are on the forefront of resiliency planning. In light of its increased relevance, we are planning to highlight resiliency over the coming weeks.

REMI will be including a presentation on resiliency and infrastructure investments at the 2019 REMI D.C. Annual Policy Conference to be held in Washington, D.C. on Friday, June 21st.

Margaret Kurth, Contract Research Engineer with the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center, will also give a resilience-related presentation at the 2019 REMI Amherst Economic Analysis Conference, which is scheduled to be held at our Amherst, MA headquarters from Thursday, June 27th to Friday, June 28th.

The 2019 REMI Great Lakes Policy Conference that REMI will be hosting in Ann Arbor, MI on Thursday, July 11th also features discussions regarding resiliency, infrastructure, and other timely policy topics.

We’re aiming to have additional resiliency presentations in the near future.