The Affordable Housing Credit Carryback Act amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow taxpayers to claim a five-year carryback for unused low-income housing tax credits. This provision enables developers and investors who have not fully utilized their allocated credits in the current year to apply them against taxes owed in previous years. By extending this refund mechanism, the bill provides financial flexibility to entities involved in affordable housing projects, potentially accelerating the development of such units.
The Data Center Community Reinvestment Act of 2026 imposes a federal excise tax of one cent per kilowatt-hour on electricity consumed by data centers with a peak power load exceeding one megawatt. The revenue generated from this tax is divided equally among five specific government funds: the Land and Water Conservation Fund, the Housing Trust Fund, the Hazardous Substance Superfund, the Highway Trust Fund, and a newly established Energy Technology Trust Fund. This legislation directly affects large-scale data center operators by adding a cost to their energy usage, while directing the collected funds toward infrastructure, environmental cleanup, housing, and energy technology initiatives.
The EGG SAVE Act of 2026 creates a new tax credit for commercial egg hatcheries that purchase and install equipment capable of identifying the sex of avian embryos before they hatch. To qualify for the credit, the technology must achieve at least 95 percent accuracy in sex determination and be used at a facility located in the United States. The credit amount is set at 50 percent of qualified expenditures for equipment placed in service in 2027, decreasing to 40 percent in 2028 and 30 percent in 2029. This incentive program terminates for any property placed in service after December 31, 2029.
The PERFORM Act restricts the ability to award bonuses and other performance-based compensation to the Postmaster General of the United States Postal Service under specific conditions. These restrictions apply if the Postal Service runs a budget deficit, fails to meet nationwide service targets, receives a negative financial audit opinion, or does not submit a required annual report to Congress. The bill mandates that the Postmaster General provide a detailed report each year outlining compensation paid to senior executives, the metrics used to justify those payments, and data on financial and service performance. Additionally, the Postal Service Inspector General is required to review these annual reports to ensure compliance with the new reporting and compensation rules.
The American Hiring Transparency Act introduces a new fee for employers who file applications to hire foreign workers, requiring them to pay a charge equal to the standard nonimmigrant visa fee at the time of filing. Starting in fiscal year 2027, this initial fee will be at least $10,000, with the amount adjusted annually for inflation to keep pace with rising costs. The revenue generated from these fees is split evenly between the Department of Labor and the Office of Personnel Management, with half of the Labor Department's share designated for unspecified purposes and the other half used to improve the USAJOBS job platform. This measure applies specifically to employers seeking permanent employment certification and does not allow for any waivers or reductions of the required payment.
This bill, signed into law on July 8, 2026, requires Hawaiian counties to conduct specific studies before implementing or changing rules that mandate developers build affordable housing units. Under the new law, any requirement forcing developers to include affordable units is treated legally as a fee, meaning counties must prove the rule is necessary and financially feasible before adopting it. If a county wants to set an affordable housing requirement above ten percent, it must provide written evidence showing the rule is proportional and won't make projects unbuildable. These new rules aim to ensure that policies requiring affordable housing are based on data and do not inadvertently reduce the overall supply of homes available to residents.
This bill, known as the Trump-Reagan Election Enforcement Act, would require all U.S. states to implement strict new rules proving U.S. citizenship for anyone registering to vote in federal elections. Under the proposed law, states that fail to enforce these specific documentation requirements by fiscal year 2027 would face federal funding penalties, with 10 percent of certain transportation funds withheld initially and an additional 5 percent cut each subsequent year. The legislation mandates that applicants provide specific documents like a passport or certified birth certificate, requires states to actively remove noncitizens from voter rolls, and allows private lawsuits or criminal charges against election officials who register ineligible individuals.
This bill limits how much school districts that span multiple counties or municipalities can increase their property tax rates. It allows a district's tax rate to rise only by the amount of a specific index adjustment plus any prior year's rate, unless the increase is due to a formal reassessment of property values or a successful voter referendum. The rules apply to tax years starting after June 30, 2026, and are designed to prevent significant jumps in local property taxes for these multi-jurisdictional districts.
HB 5801 amends the State Finance Act to require the transfer of specific funds from various state accounts into the Budget Reserve for Immediate Disbursements and Governmental Emergencies Fund. This bill directly affects multiple state funds, including those for open space lands, medical cannabis, law enforcement, and wildlife conservation, by mandating that the State Comptroller and Treasurer move designated amounts from each into the reserve. The legislation sets a deadline of July 31, 2025, for completing these transfers, which range from small sums like $43,000 to larger amounts like $15 million. By repealing previous rules that required transfers to the reserve from certain funds, this act establishes a new, comprehensive list of sources for the budget reserve.
The No GRIFT Act of 2026 prohibits the Department of Justice from awarding grants to certain nonprofit organizations in a given fiscal year. To qualify for a grant, a nonprofit must certify that it is not a "covered nonprofit," which is defined as an organization where over 50% of its recent revenue came from DOJ grants and where it paid an officer or employee more than the Attorney General's annual salary. This provision directly affects 501(c)(3) organizations that have received significant federal funding and have high executive compensation, requiring them to disclose their financial history before applying for new grants.
