A bill in the Legislature to direct $80 million to affordable housing projects has the potential to double the number of units built over the next four years, supporters of the measure say.

Rep. Ryan Fecteau, sponsor of the affordable-housing bill, says, “This is really taking a hammer to the top of the iceberg. We have a lot more work to do.”

The proposed law would provide state income tax breaks to trigger investment in new low-income housing projects, a crucial incentive to ease Maine’s affordable housing crisis.

The full text of the bill has not been released, but at least 30 percent of the new units would be reserved for seniors and 20 percent would be built in rural areas. About 10 percent of the funding would preserve existing subsidized housing in rural areas.