[This post is from CEDAM Policy Associate Katie Johnson.]

On behalf of the Policy Committee and the Board of Directors, I am happy to announce that CEDAM’s 2010 policy agenda is now available on the website. The agenda, created each year with input from members and the board, guides our advocacy activities in Lansing and Washington.

The 2010 agenda consists of an inclusive list of issues that CEDAM supports on behalf of its members, along with a list of five outcomes we seek to achieve by the year’s end. These five outcomes are:

• Fast, fair, and effective distribution of NSP1 and NSP2 funds with a focus on collaboration.
• Increased Low Income Housing Tax Credit investment in Michigan.
• Restrictions on predatory lending practices.
• Strong FY 2011 federal budget allocations for housing and community economic development programs, including the National Housing Trust Fund and the HEARTH Act.
• Increased public access to broadband in local libraries, public schools, and other public facilities in rural Michigan as well as increased and cost-effective availability of broadband access to rural homes and businesses.

To view the complete list of policy priorities that CEDAM supports, please visit the policy agenda webpage. You can also download the full 2010 policy agenda [229KB PDF]. Along with advocating around these issues, policy staff will be publishing online voter resource guides later this year. These guides will let you see where State House, State Senate, and Michigan Gubernatorial candidates stand on important community development issues.

If you have any questions, please contact me at johnson@cedamichigan.org. I look forward to working with you this year to advance community economic development policy.

CEDAM_2010_Policy_Agenda [download the PDF]