Alabama has minimal standards relating to the health of occupants, as the Alabama Housing Finance Authority only mandates radon-resistant new construction and radon testing for rehabilitation projects and incentivizes low-VOC wall and flooring finishes. While not comprehensively addressing racial equity issues, Alabama’s QAP does target location and environmental health exposures and incentivizes applicants that are minority or women-owned entities or projects which promise to award 10% of building costs to minority or women-owned businesses.

Arizona met nationwide average scores in the Healthy Building Practices and Energy Efficiency sections. It supplements their incentive of green building certifications for new construction by mandating low-VOC adhesives/caulks/sealants and requiring carpets to be Green Label Plus certified. To address energy efficiency, Arizona’s QAP awards points for applicants with a HERS Index score of 55 or better for new construction while rehabilitation projects must improve building energy performance by at least 15%. While Arizona’s QAP incentivizes applicants to include a comprehensive plan for conversion to ownership by tenants after 15 years and projects built within ten miles of eligible amenities, it otherwise offers little to address racial disparities.

Colorado requires all projects to obtain a green building certification, listing Enterprise Green Communities, LEED, and the National Green Building Standards as certification options for developers. Given the competitive nature of LIHTC funding, Colorado also encourages applicants to align with the state’s climate action goals and obtain an additional certification through Zero Energy Ready Homes or Passive House. Colorado is unique in that it requires applicants to show “in measurable terms” how a neighborhood will be improved through community revitalization efforts.

The District of Columbia received an A-, one of the highest grades in the scorecard. D.C. received As in the Healthy Building Practices and Energy Efficiency sections partly due to its requirement that all LIHTC projects with at least 50,000 square feet of gross floor area must be certified by Enterprise Green Communities or a “substantially similar standard.” D.C’s QAP met all criteria within the report’s “Unit Size and Design” Racial Equity sub-section, as it prioritizes projects with at least 30% of units to have three or more bedrooms and incentivizes housing for seniors and people with disabilities.

Florida has its own green building certification from the Florida Green Building Coalition. Housing developers must choose to use this standard or a similar certification framework to receive federal tax credits for new construction projects. Rehabilitation projects are incentivized to use Green Label carpeting and limit formaldehyde in cabinetry. Florida met all the criteria in the QAP in the tenant screening category, as they prohibit screening for any arrests and previous evictions in a household’s application for tenancy.

Hawaii incentivizes certifications of Enterprise Green Communities, LEED and NGBS, along with EPA’s ENERGY STAR under its “Sustainable Building Practices” criteria. Requiring these certifications would raise Hawaii’s overall grade considerably. Despite offering points for project applicants targeting high opportunity areas and incentivizing tenant ownership, Hawaii’s QAP has limited provisions related to racial equity.

To meet Idaho’s green building requirement, a proposed development must either incorporate one of six green building certified program standards or include a combination of individual green building and energy efficiency components. The latter criteria includes Green Label certified low-emission carpeting, “no added urea-formaldehyde” cabinets, and HERS scores of 100 or less for rehabilitation developments or 70 or less for new construction developments. Aside from encouraging developments located in close proximity to selective criteria and affordability measures, Idaho doesn’t include many racial equity objectives.

The City of Chicago is unique in that it is one of the few non-states that receives housing tax credits to allocate each year and has a QAP separate from the state of Illinois. Chicago received a low score as its QAP lacks provisions relating to occupancy health and it doesn’t detail energy efficiency requirements. In 2021, the Chicago Department of Housing released a Racial Equity Impact Assessment aimed at examining its QAP through a racial equity lens and how to incorporate racial equity into its design, but it is not yet implemented.

Kansas has limited healthy building components and only includes an incentive for ENERGY STAR of new construction projects.. As part of receiving a grade of B for racial equity, Kansas’ QAP offers ownership for tenants after 15 years for single-family structures and offers integrated supportive housing to aid populations with a particular vulnerability to housing instability.

Louisiana requires a third-party certification from either Enterprise Green Communities, LEED, NGBS or EarthCraft for new construction projects, and incentivizes a green building certification for rehabilitation projects. It is also one of the only states with local sourcing and local hiring provisions within its QAP, as project developers must detail efforts to maximize the use of regional material, labor and services.

Maryland received B’s across the board, receiving one of the top ten scores nationally. Its QAP mandates several healthy building provisions in its base level green standards for all projects. For energy efficiency, Maryland requires an ENERGY STAR certification for new construction and minimum energy savings for rehabilitation buildings.

All projects in Michigan receiving Low-Income Housing Tax Credits are required to incorporate either Enterprise Green Communities, LEED, or NGBS, which led to high scores in the QAP report’s Healthy Building Practices and Energy Efficiency sections. Michigan is also one of several states that encourages the use of in-state products, as it requires all projects “to demonstrate the use of products and goods that are manufactured by Michigan-based corporations and incorporate them into the proposed development.” Meeting a majority of the criteria in the “Access” and “Location and Siting” categories helped Michigan receive one of the higher grades in the Racial Equity section.

All new construction projects in Missouri must meet certification standards for either Enterprise Green Communities, LEED or NGBS, but otherwise there are minimal energy efficiency or occupant-health related provisions. Missouri’s QAP includes a target for approved applicants from MBE/WBE developers, development amenities and tenant ownership.

Montana has one of the lowest overall scores and is one of the few states who scored poorly in both the Healthy Building Practices and Energy Efficiency sections. It cites the Passive House building standard, energy efficiency and water conservation, and material and resource efficiency  but only mentions them as voluntary initiatives.

North Dakota’s “Green Communities” category incentivizes projects to meet mandatory criteria within Enterprise Green Communities, with maximum points awarded to projects certifying an Enterprise certification (or LEED/NGBS). No other health-related or energy efficiency-related criteria are mentioned. North Dakota received a C in the report’s Racial Equity section, with universal design and tenant demographic reporting among  several of the criteria the state met.

Incentivizing green building certifications and requiring ENERGY STAR certifications for all projects is the reason New Hampshire received B grades in the Healthy Building Practices and Energy Efficiency sections. Unfortunately, the state didn’t score as well in the Racial Equity section and didn’t meet any of the criteria in a majority of the categories, including Outreach and Affirmative Marketing, Unit Size and Design, and Tenant Screening.

New Mexico does not reference building certifications, and only requires low-VOC paints/sealants and carpet to be Green Label Plus certified for all projects. For energy conservation, all newly constructed projects must obtain a HERS score of at least 55 and rehabilitation projects must obtain a score of 65 or better. New Mexico only met minimal racial equity criteria, but incentivizes women and/or minorities to participate in the ownership, development or management of the project.

New York had the highest score in the Healthy Building Practices section, as it requires a “certification from a responsible green and/or energy professional” and requires spray foam insulation to limit residual off-gassing. New York scored poorly in the Racial Equity section, although it does incentivize minority, women and service-disabled business participation and the  participation of non-profit applicant organizations.

Ohio garnered one of the highest scores nationwide, receiving A grades in the Healthy Building Practices and Energy Efficiency sections and a B in Racial Equity. The Buckeye state mandates all multifamily developments to obtain either an Enterprise Green Communities, LEED, or NGBS certification and offers several paths to meet the ENERGY STAR requirement. Ohio’s QAP makes owners of developments adopt Tenant Selection Plans, which “prohibits the denial of admission, termination of assistance or eviction on the basis of arrest records alone,” among other provisions.

Oregon tied for the 2nd highest score overall. It mandates housing developers to integrate a ‘Sustainable Building Path’ and select either Enterprise Green Communities, LEED, or Earth Advantage certification, the latter of which specializes in low-income housing. Oregon tied with Illinois in receiving the highest score in the Racial Equity section. Devised by Oregon Housing and Community Services, the state’s QAP requires applicants to identify strategies for contracting with MBE/WBE contractors and subcontractors, incentivizes tenant ownership, and disincentivizes projects sited on tracts with greater health risks due to environmental factors, as determined by EPA’s Environmental Justice Screening and Mapping Tool.

Rhode Island incentivizes the use of net zero or Passive House standards and has their own residential construction standards, which can combine with ENERGY STAR standards to obtain a higher level of energy efficiency. It would score higher in the Healthy Building Practices section, but Rhode Island’s QAP merely encourages, rather than requires or incentivizes, low-VOC finishes and paints. Rhode Island does ban the use of formaldehyde for cabinetry.

South Dakota does not reference green building certifications, and instead just requires formaldehyde free insulation and the use of low-VOC paints/stains/adhesives and sealants for all projects. For energy conservation measures, South Dakota offers points to projects that become ENERGY STAR certified or have a HERS score of 60 or better. While the state QAP does incentivize participation by minority or women owned or operated business enterprises, it otherwise offers minimal racial equity provisions.

In the “Green Buildings Features” section of its QAP, Texas aims to “promote energy and water conservation, operational savings and sustainable building practices.” It incentivizes projects to incorporate applicable criteria to the type of construction (new or rehabilitation) for Enterprise Green Communities, LEED or NGBS. While encouraging  the use of ENERGY STAR appliances, it does not incentivize an ENERGY STAR certification or energy reduction measure, but does offer a point for EPA WaterSense toilets, showerheads, and faucets.

Virginia offers no specific building material-related health provisions in their QAP, but the state QAP does incentivize LIHTC applicants to obtain either an EarthCraft, LEED, NGBS or Enterprise Green Communities certification. Each applicant must also meet all requirements for an ENERGY STAR certification for new construction projects and rehabilitation projects must result in a 30% HERS score decrease or achieve a score of 80 or lower.

Washington has one of the highest scores in the QAP report and received an overall B+ grade. The Evergreen state requires all projects to comply with the state’s Evergreen Sustainable Development criteria, a detailed building performance standards designed for affordable housing projects. Washington met all the criteria in the ‘Community Engagement’ and ‘Amenities and Services’ subsections of the report’s Racial Equity section.

West Virginia has the second lowest overall score, as its “Energy Efficiency and Quality Housing” section doesn’t target occupant-health or performance-related energy reduction provisions. Despite earning  a D in the Racial Equity section, West Virginia does incentivize minority and women business enterprises and development in high-opportunity areas.