Ohio lawmakers try to tackle affordable housing shortage in bipartisan bill • Ohio Capital Journal

Ohio is facing a major affordable housing shortage, and lawmakers on each side of the aisle have teamed up to propose assistance to local governments.State Reps. DaniIsaacsohn(D-Cincinnati)and Adam Mathews (R-Lebanon) introduced legislation to create an annual housing fund of up to $200 million a year dedicated exclusively to providing grants to municipalities that adopt “pro-housing” policies.“We need to be laser-focused on making sure that everyone in Ohio has access to a home that they can afford — and feel safe and secure,” Isaacsohn said. How it would workThe Ohio Housing Financing Agency (OFHA) will be in charge of the fund, and local governments would need to prove that they are a “pro-housing jurisdiction” to get a cut of the money.This money will come from eliminating non-business credits given to owners of multiple properties.A jurisdiction would be designated as “pro-housing” if it puts forward three of the following policies:Have a process to increase rate of permits review...