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The Real Story has been talking with Cliff Staton from Renewable Funding about the untimely end to PACE (Property Assessment Clean Energy) programs throughout the country. What happened? Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have determined that PACE assessments are actually loans that make their position in the mortgage-lending food chain risky.

The latest development in the saga is the lawsuit that California Attorney General Jerry Brown has filed again the Federal Housing Financing Agency, which oversees the quasi-independent Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The AG’s contention is that this is a case of over-reach—the Federal government is stopping a program that is within the jurisdiction of local governments.

At the same time, Congressman Mike Thompson of Sonoma County, has drafted the PACE Assessment Protection Act of 2010, asking for and end to discrimination against homeowners who want to take on the assessments and communities who want to provide PACE programs. Inasmuch as PACE is not considered a partisan issue, this piece of legislation should pass—IF it gets voted on in this session of Congress.