[Excerpts]

Several organizations, including Coloradans for the Common Good, have met with Arvada and Jefferson County leaders for many years to discuss the need to address the affordable housing crisis in the region, they said.

“Our message is that they cannot just rely on the faith communities and nonprofits to solve this problem,” according to a press release from Coloradans for the Common Good. “Government agencies have a role to help ensure that everyone has a safe roof over their heads.”

City of Arvada and Jefferson County leaders recently received more than $120 million in stimulus payments from the federal government, and Coloradans for the Common Good and their allies are asking elected officials to put a substantial sum of the money toward preserving and expanding affordable housing, so that the trend does not continue in the community.

[Photo Credit: Olivia Sun, Colorado Sun]

One Apartment Building Changing Hands Sheds Light on the Dire Shortage of Affordable Housing in Arvada, Colorado Sun [pdf]

Following an opposition campaign by Texas IAF organizations, Comptroller Glenn Hegar is backing away from his proposal to gut Chapter 313 reporting and accountability requirements in the program’s final year of existence. Hegar signaled the change Friday after significant pushback by Chapter 313 critics, including a press conference held by Texas IAF organizations in December, and a barrage of public comments submitted to his office against the proposal, with the largest portion coming from Texas IAF leaders.

During the 2021 Legislative Session, the Texas IAF, along with allies, stopped the reauthorization of Chapter 313, the State’s largest corporate tax subsidy program. Though the current program, which costs taxpayers $1-2 Billion per year, is set to expire in December of 2022, Comptroller Hegar had proposed in November to reduce the reporting requirements on jobs, wages, and overall costs to taxpayers.

“Comptroller Hegar has recognized the voices of voters from across the political spectrum, including our organizations, and now says the data we are concerned will continue to be available,” said Bob Fleming, a leader with The Metropolitan Organization, the IAF affiliate in Houston. “However, we remain vigilant because he says the rules will still be revised and made ‘more efficient’. Given the history of this failed and discontinued program, we need even more transparency and accountability, not less.”

 

[Photo Credit: Mark Mulligan, Houston Chronicle]

After Backlash, Texas Comptroller Abandons Plan to Hide Details of Controversial Tax Break Program, Houston Chronicle [pdf]

Network of Texas IAF Organizations, Press Release

[Excerpt]

"Lawmakers have ordered Comptroller Glenn Hegar to wrap up Texas’s biggest corporate tax break program, but he wants to give companies one last gift: an end to public accountability.

[Excerpts]

Members of Arizona's faith community gathered at the Arizona Capitol on Thursday to condemn the proposed 2.5% flat tax, saying it would disproportionately impact marginalized communities and that they would be "among the first" to call for a referendum if it passes.

The Arizona Interfaith Network, a statewide coalition of organizations including the Valley Interfaith Project, Northern Arizona Interfaith Council and Yuma County Interfaith, held the news conference at 10 a.m.

The Rev. Martha Seaman, a deacon at Church of the Epiphany-Tempe who also serves as president of the Valley Interfaith Project board, began the conference by calling the flat tax a "dangerous" proposal....

The Rev. Hunter Ruffin, a senior pastor at Church of the Ephiphany-Tempe, said the lost tax revenue would "cripple our state for generations to come" and called the state budget "one of our most basic moral documents" that reflects who and what is prioritized in Arizona.

Ruffin said the "immoral" flat tax would benefit wealthy Arizonans at the cost of the poor and middle class, which he described as antithetical to religious teaching.  "You can turn to Leviticus, to Ezekiel, to Zachariah, to Malachi, to the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, to the whole of the Pauline epistles....

"we're taught to care for the most vulnerable among us first, not simply when we have extra in our pockets and we feel charitable."

If the flat tax passes, Ruffin said the Arizona Interfaith Network would be "among the first" to call for a referendum, a measure in which voters can veto a law by gathering enough signatures to get the issue on the ballot.

He said the network would also be launching a series of community and congregational study sessions to further explore the flat tax and its implications.

[Photo credit: (right) Matthew Casey, KJZZ; (left) ABC News]

Oped: First the Pandemic, Now a Flat Tax. Haven't Arizona's Most Vulnerable Suffered Enough?” The Arizona Republic [pdf]

Arizona Faith Leaders Condemn Proposed Flat Tax, Say They Will Call Referendum, The Arizona Republic [pdf]

Arizona State Senate Cannot Find Agreement on the Budget, Joins the House in Recess, ABC Arizona [pdf]

Faith Coalition Calls Arizona Budget Proposal Immoral, KJZZ [pdf]

AIN Clergy Denounce the Flat Tax Proposal, Valley Interfaith Project

Those who had considered TBR little more than an annoyance suddenly realized it was a force with which to be reckoned. The gloves came off....

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When Baton Rouge Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome's announcement of an overhaul of the police department's use-of-force policies, Together Baton Rouge expressed pride in the role they played in its development and extended public congratulations. The organization claims that with the announced changes, the Baton Rouge Police Department's (BRPD) go "from being among the weakest 30% of cities in the nation to being among the strongest 7% in terms of alignment with national best practices."

Together Baton Rouge leaders are continuing their work on law enforcement practices, including the recent release of a study on neighborhood disparities in drug possession enforcement.

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After a year of observing juvenile judicial hearings at the Polk County Courthouse, and identifying a 767% increase in misdemeanor holds for African American youth, AMOS leaders identified several ways to better protect youthful offenders. 200 leaders strategized about desired reforms at their 'Restorative Justice' conference, and voted to support a Polk Courthouse renovation plan, which includes several of AMOS' ideas , and which would require passage of a bond proposal in early November. The proposed plans include space for pretrial conferences and mediation; a system to keep youthful offenders away from adult offenders; discreet spaces that keep youth out of the public eye when brought into the courtroom; and a setup allowing for juveniles to sit eye-to-eye with judges in the courtroom.

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In an unprecedented collaboration between leaders from two Chambers of Commerce and judicatories from Muslim, Jewish and Christian faith traditions, 200 Austin-area stakeholders gathered for an afternoon of learning about economic, business and legal perspectives on immigration reform. This was the second event in a campaign organized by clergy leadership to support compassionate immigration reform, with the number of attendees doubling since the first event.

Austin Interfaith Hosts Immigration Reform Event, Austin American Statesman

At least 70 leaders from Communities Organized for Relational Power (COPA) organized a meeting with the Santa Cruz County Sheriff to address immigrants' fears about reporting crime and the preponderance of racial profiling.

Participants included people like Johnny Delmar, a UCSC student who shared his story about being profiled recently by rifle-armed police looking for robbery suspects.

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Leaders of the Northern Arizona Interfaith Council succeeded in persuading the city council of Flagstaff to adopt a resolution supporting immigration reform that reflects the essential economic role immigrants play as workers, the importance of family unity and the need for a path to citizenship. Flagstaff is the only municipality in Arizona to pass a resolution with these elements.

Flagstaff City Council Approves Resolution Supporting Comprehensive Immigration Reform, Amigos NAZ