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PRESERVATION ACTION LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
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LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
VOLUME 22, NUMBER 04
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Historic Preservation Caucus Dear Colleague Letter Sent. Urge Your Representative to Join!
 This week, the Historic Preservation Caucus, led by co-chairs, Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) and Rep. Mike Turner (R-OH) sent a Dear Colleague letter urging members of the House to join the caucus. The bipartisan Historic Preservation Caucus was established in 2003 and brings together members of Congress who understand the value of America's historic places as definers of our national character. Its members support and encourage preservation and thoughtful economic development in their states, districts, and territories as a matter of national policy.
The beginning of a new congress is an important time to recruit new members to join the Historic Preservation Caucus, especially with more than 100 new members joining congress. Is your Representative a member of the Historic Preservation Caucus? Check out the
current list of caucus members. If not,
contact your Representative and urge them to join! Check out Preservation Action's
website and the Historic Preservation Caucus
Dear Colleague letter for more information. Interested members can contact either Jon Bosworth in Rep. Blumenauer's office at
[email protected] or Jeffrey Wilson in Rep. Turner's office at
[email protected].
Preservation Action and the preservation community in general, continue to be grateful Representatives Blumenauer and Turner for their continued support and leadership.
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New Leadership and Committee Members Selected for House Natural Resources Committee
As members of the new congress are wrapping up their first month in office, positions on key committees important to preservation are beginning to take shape. This week the
House Natural Resources Committee, led by
Chairman Raul Grijalva (D-AZ) and
Ranking Member Rob Bishop (R-UT), adopted their rules package for the 116th Congress and announced key committee and subcommittee memberships for the new Congress.
Stay tuned for more information as House and Senate committee assignments continue to take shape.
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Legislation to Establish a Historic Tax Credit Introduced in Michigan
Legislation has been introduced in the Michigan Senate and House to establish a state historic tax credit.
Senate Bill 54 and
House Bill 4100 were introduced and referred to the Senate Finance Committee and House Tax Policy Committee. Both bills would establish a 25% historic tax credit toward qualified rehabilitation expenses.
Michigan has been without a state historic tax credit program since the program was zeroed out in 2011. Despite strong support for the program, legislation to restore a historic tax credit came up short last year. If passed, Michigan would become the 35th state with a historic tax credit program.
This is great news for Michigan! Both bills were introduced with bipartisan support and
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has expressed support for historic tax credit programs in the past. While advocates are optimistic, grassroots support for the historic tax credit will be critical.
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Registration Now Open for National Historic Preservation Advocacy Week!
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Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) speaking at last year's National Preservation Advocacy Week.
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Registration for National Historic Preservation Advocacy Week 2019 is now open! Register before February 15th to lock in the best rates.
Advocacy Week registration includes in-depth training, policy briefings, meetings with elected officials and white papers from an array of preservation and policy professionals. Ticketed events offer additional meetings with elected officials, their staff, and a national network of preservation advocates.
Check out our
Advocacy Week
page for more information.
We Need Your Voice!
One of the most effective ways of sharing information with Congress is through direct meetings, and Advocacy Week is our annual opportunity to have a mass impact on opinion leaders and policy makers.
This is especially important as a new Congress will be sworn-in in January. With more than 100 new members of Congress coming to Washington, educating members on historic preservation issues will be critical.
Together with a cohesive message in support of preservation-positive legislation we can ensure a strong future for the federal historic preservation program.
Advocacy Scholars Program
Do you know of any students or recent graduates who are exceptional preservation advocates? Urge them to apply for Preservation Action Foundation's Advocacy Scholars program. The program highlights the importance of training and educating the next generation of preservation advocates. We are pleased to offer a limited number of competitive scholarships that invites scholars to attend and fully participate in Historic Preservation Advocacy Week. Submissions are due by February 8th. Learn more and apply today!
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