OHIO LEGISLATIVE SERVICE COMMISSION
Office of Research Legislative Budget
www.lsc.ohio.gov and Drafting Office
H.B. 547 Bill Analysis
135th General Assembly
Click here for H.B. 547’s Fiscal Note
Version: As Reported by House Economic and Workforce Development
Primary Sponsors: Reps. Wiggam and Gross
Effective date:
Andrew Little, Attorney
SUMMARY
▪ Prohibits the Ohio Housing Finance Agency from awarding a state low-income housing tax
credit to a housing project unless the project owner certifies that the owner will take
certain actions to limit tenancy to individuals who are legally present in the United States.
▪ Allows the Attorney General to investigate violations of the bill’s requirements and
requires the Ohio Housing Finance Agency to rescind credits for noncompliance following
a notice and cure period.
DETAILED ANALYSIS
Continuing law authorizes the Ohio Housing Finance Agency (OHFA) to allocate federal
and state tax credits to residential developers who agree to reserve units for low-income tenants.
The state credit is awarded to projects that have received an allocation of the federal credit,
generally in an amount that assures a project’s financial feasibility.1
The bill prohibits OHFA from awarding a state low-income housing tax credit to any
housing project without first obtaining a written declaration from the project owner. The
declaration must state that the owner will take certain actions to limit rental of the completed
project to individuals who are legally present in the United States.
In the certification, a project owner must commit to do the following:
▪ Prohibit any part of the project from being leased to a person who is unlawfully present
in the United States;
1
R.C. 175.16, not in the bill.
December 13, 2024
Office of Research and Drafting LSC Legislative Budget Office
▪ Require every prospective tenant to present proof of legal presence in the United States
by providing one of the following documents:
 An original or certified copy of a birth certificate;
 A current and valid United States passport or passport card;
 A consular report of birth abroad from the U.S. State Department;
 A certificate of naturalization or citizenship from the U.S. Department of Homeland
Security;
 A document issued by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services showing the person’s
dates of the tenant’s legal presence;
 A valid and current driver’s license or state-issued identification card.
▪ Maintain a copy of each document used to verify legal presence until the tenant’s tenancy
ends and allow access to the Attorney General.
The Attorney General may investigate alleged violations of the bill’s requirements. If there
is an investigation and cause to believe a violation has occurred, the Attorney General must refer
the evidence to OHFA. If OHFA determines that a project owner has failed to comply with the
bill’s requirements, then OHFA must give the project owner notice of each specific instance of
noncompliance. The owner then has 90 days to cure each instance of noncompliance, extendable
by OHFA to 180 days if it determines there is good cause to do so. Project owners are deemed in
compliance if they bring eviction actions within 45 days of receiving a notice and do not
voluntarily dismiss the actions, regardless of their outcomes.
If a project owner does not remedy the noncompliance by the required date, OHFA must
revoke the credit. Revocations are prorated under the bill and must be made in proportion to the
number of units out of compliance compared to the total number of units. Project owners who
have credits revoked under the bill may again claim them by bringing units back into compliance.2
HISTORY
Action Date
Introduced 05-15-24
Reported, H. Economic and Workforce Development 12-04-24
ANHB0547RH-135/ar
2
R.C. 175.061.
P a g e |2 H.B. 547
As Reported by House Economic and Workforce Development