Reference

Glossary

Acronyms and jargon that surface across our coverage, defined in plain language. Posts can link directly to a definition: the URL /glossary#tifa jumps to the TIFA entry.

B

BWL — Lansing Board of Water and Light: The municipal utility serving Lansing. Provides electricity, water, and steam (transitioning to hot water). Governed by an eight-member Board of Commissioners appointed by the mayor.

F

FOIA — Freedom of Information Act; Michigan Freedom of Information Act: The Michigan Freedom of Information Act (MCL 15.231 et seq.) gives the public the right to request records held by state and local government bodies. Federal FOIA covers records held by federal agencies. Agencies generally have five business days to respond to an initial request.

H

HCV — Housing Choice Voucher; Section 8: A federal rental subsidy administered by HUD and local housing authorities. Tenants pay roughly 30% of income; the voucher covers the rest, paid directly to the landlord.

L

LBRA — Lansing Brownfield Redevelopment Authority: A Lansing public body that finances cleanup and reuse of contaminated property via tax-increment financing and revolving-loan funds.
LDHA — Limited Dividend Housing Association: A Michigan corporate form (MCL 125.1411) used to operate subsidized rental housing. LDHAs typically receive PILOT (payment in lieu of taxes) treatment in exchange for affordability covenants.
LEAP — Lansing Economic Area Partnership: A regional economic-development organization covering Lansing, East Lansing, and surrounding municipalities. Coordinates business attraction and retention activity across the metro.
LEDC — Lansing Economic Development Corporation: A public corporation that finances economic-development projects in Lansing. Funds business loans, OPRA designations, and incentive packages. Board includes city staff and outside members.
LEPFA — Lansing Entertainment and Public Facilities Authority: A Lansing public authority that manages public-event facilities including the Lansing Center, Cooley Law School Stadium, and the Groesbeck Golf Course. Operates as a city-affiliated nonprofit.
LIHTC — Low-Income Housing Tax Credit: A federal tax credit (IRC §42) that finances most new affordable rental construction in the U.S. Allocated by state housing finance agencies; investors buy credits in exchange for equity contributions to the project.
LRC-PAC — Lansing Regional Chamber PAC: The political action committee of the Lansing Regional Chamber of Commerce (LRCC). Reports expenditures via Michigan Bureau of Elections committee 000516.
LRCC — Lansing Regional Chamber of Commerce: The regional business association serving the Lansing area. Operates an affiliated political action committee (LRC-PAC), a 501(c)(6) trade association, and a related 527 organization.

M

MCL — Michigan Compiled Laws: The codified body of Michigan state statutes. Citations look like MCL 15.243(1)(d). Available at legislature.mi.gov.
MiTN — Michigan Transparency Network: Michigan's online portal for committee finance, expenditure, and lobbying disclosures. Operated by the Bureau of Elections at the Michigan Secretary of State.

N

NDA — non-disclosure agreement: A contract restricting one or more parties from disclosing specified information. When executed by a public body, the NDA itself can be a public record under FOIA depending on the underlying matter and exemption claims.

O

OPRA — Obsolete Property Rehabilitation Act: A Michigan tax-abatement program (MCL 125.2781 et seq.) that freezes the property tax of a rehabilitated commercial or mixed-use building for up to 12 years. Designated by local governments and approved by the State Tax Commission.

P

PBV — Project-Based Voucher: A Section 8 rental subsidy attached to a specific apartment unit rather than the tenant. PBVs let housing authorities reserve units in private buildings as affordable.
PHAS — Public Housing Assessment System: HUD's annual scoring system for public housing authorities. Composite score (0-100) covers physical condition, financial condition, management, and capital fund. Sub-90 triggers HUD oversight.
PILOT — Payment In Lieu Of Taxes: An agreement under which a property owner pays a reduced fee instead of property tax, typically tied to affordability or public-purpose conditions. Common for affordable-housing projects organized as LDHAs.
PPA — Power Purchase Agreement: A long-term contract under which a buyer (often a utility) agrees to purchase electricity from a generator at specified terms. PPAs are central to financing for new generation projects.

R

RAD — Rental Assistance Demonstration: A HUD program that converts traditional public housing units to project-based Section 8. Designed to recapitalize aging public-housing stock; requires multi-year tenant protections.

S

Section 18: A HUD program (Section 18 of the U.S. Housing Act of 1937) that allows public-housing authorities to demolish or dispose of obsolete units in exchange for tenant-protection vouchers (TPVs).
SOS — Michigan Secretary of State: Michigan's elected secretary of state. Administers elections, motor-vehicle services, and the Bureau of Elections, which oversees campaign finance and lobbying disclosures.

T

TIFA — Tax Increment Finance Authority: A Michigan local body that captures property-tax growth in a designated district to fund public improvements. Capture continues until the underlying debt is repaid or the district expires.
TPV — Tenant Protection Voucher: A Section 8 voucher issued specifically to displaced public-housing tenants when units are demolished or disposed of under Section 18. Portable; tenant can use at any HCV-accepting unit.

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