Affordable housing advocates are backing a measure in the State House to give up to $80 million in tax incentives to double the number of low-income housing units built in Maine over the next four years.

The bill would give developers access to refundable tax credits to finance the construction of  low-income housing. The bill, proposed by Rep. Ryan Fecteau, D-Biddeford, caps the credits at $20 million per year.

Credits give housing developers or investors a refund on their state income taxes. Fecteau’s proposal is designed to mirror a federal credit a program responsible for nearly all new low-income housing construction in the U.S.