MN HF2739

Allows tax increment financing (TIF) revenue from economic development districts to be used for workforce housing projects that meet specified requirements, adding a new eligible use category to existing TIF restrictions.

Permits challenge grants or loans from the Minnesota Housing Finance Agency to include tax increment financing as a contribution type, expanding funding sources for affordable housing proposals addressing local workforce needs.

Establishes two categories of qualifying workforce housing projects: standard projects requiring municipal findings about employment rates, housing vacancy, and business recruitment needs (paragraph f); and chronic shortage projects with additional requirements including city population over 1,500, location outside metropolitan area, and low residential construction rates over ten years (paragraph g).

Extends the TIF duration limit to 25 years for economic development districts used for workforce housing projects addressing chronic shortages, compared to the standard 8-year limit for other economic development districts.

Applies income limits from the Minnesota Housing Finance Agency challenge program as substitutes for standard TIF income limits for projects receiving those agency loans or grants, effective for districts certified after June 30, 2014.