1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to housing; creating a pilot home ownership 
  1.3             program under the rental assistance to family 
  1.4             stabilization program; appropriating money; amending 
  1.5             Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 462A.205, by adding a 
  1.6             subdivision. 
  1.7   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.8      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 462A.205, is 
  1.9   amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
  1.10     Subd. 10.  [HOME OWNERSHIP PILOT PROJECT.] (a) An eligible 
  1.11  family may receive assistance with paying a home mortgage if 
  1.12  funds are specifically appropriated to the agency for that 
  1.13  purpose.  A family is eligible for home ownership assistance if 
  1.14  a caretaker parent:  
  1.15     (1) has been employed for at least six months; 
  1.16     (2) has a gross annualized wage of at least $16,000; and 
  1.17     (3) agrees to participate in home ownership and credit 
  1.18  counseling courses.  
  1.19     (b) The maximum duration of the assistance is 36 months and 
  1.20  the maximum assistance amount is $250 a month.  The assistance 
  1.21  must be allocated between payment on the mortgage and an escrow 
  1.22  for emergencies as follows: 
  1.23     (1) in the first year, no more than $200 to the mortgage 
  1.24  and no more than $50 to escrow; 
  1.25     (2) in year two, no more than $150 to the mortgage and no 
  1.26  more than $100 to escrow; and 
  2.1      (3) in year three, no more than $100 to the mortgage and no 
  2.2   more than $150 to escrow. 
  2.3      Escrowed money shall be under the control of the local 
  2.4   housing organization.  At the end of the three-year period, any 
  2.5   balance in an escrow account and earnings on the account must be 
  2.6   transferred to the eligible family. 
  2.7      (c) The agency may contract with a local housing 
  2.8   organization to administer the mortgage assistance under this 
  2.9   subdivision.  The agency may pay the local housing organization 
  2.10  an administrative fee.  The fee may not exceed $40 per mortgage 
  2.11  per month. 
  2.12     (d) The agency must coordinate assistance under this 
  2.13  subdivision with other home ownership programs it administers.  
  2.14  Assistance under this section can be considered an asset in 
  2.15  meeting eligibility requirements of other programs but cannot be 
  2.16  considered an asset for purposes of making a participant 
  2.17  ineligible for other programs. 
  2.18     Sec. 2.  [APPROPRIATION.] 
  2.19     $....... is appropriated from the federal TANF reserve fund 
  2.20  in fiscal year 2000 for transfer to the housing development fund 
  2.21  for the purposes of section 1.