1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to housing; providing funding for existing 
  1.3             and new housing programs; creating housing programs; 
  1.4             appropriating money; amending Minnesota Statutes 2000, 
  1.5             section 462A.201, subdivision 2; proposing coding for 
  1.6             new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 462A. 
  1.7   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.8      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 462A.201, 
  1.9   subdivision 2, is amended to read: 
  1.10     Subd. 2.  [LOW-INCOME HOUSING.] (a) The agency may, in 
  1.11  consultation with the advisory committee, use money from the 
  1.12  housing trust fund account for operational costs for providing 
  1.13  permanent housing and to provide loans or grants for projects 
  1.14  for the development, construction, acquisition, preservation, 
  1.15  and rehabilitation of low-income rental and limited equity 
  1.16  cooperative housing units, including temporary and transitional 
  1.17  housing, and homes for ownership.  For purposes of this section, 
  1.18  "transitional housing" means housing that is provided for a 
  1.19  limited duration not exceeding 24 months, except that up to 
  1.20  one-third of the residents may live in the housing for up to 36 
  1.21  months.  Loans or grants for residential housing for migrant 
  1.22  farmworkers may be made under this section.  No more than 20 
  1.23  percent of available funds may be used for home ownership 
  1.24  projects.  
  1.25     (b) A rental or limited equity cooperative permanent 
  1.26  housing project must meet one of the following income tests: 
  2.1      (1) at least 75 percent of the rental and cooperative units 
  2.2   must be rented to or cooperatively owned by persons and families 
  2.3   whose income does not exceed 30 percent of the median family 
  2.4   income for the metropolitan area as defined in section 473.121, 
  2.5   subdivision 2; or 
  2.6      (2) all of the units funded by the housing trust fund 
  2.7   account must be used for the benefit of persons and families 
  2.8   whose income does not exceed 30 percent of the median family 
  2.9   income for the metropolitan area as defined in section 473.121, 
  2.10  subdivision 2. 
  2.11     The median family income may be adjusted for families of 
  2.12  five or more. 
  2.13     (c) Homes for ownership must be owned or purchased by 
  2.14  persons and families whose income does not exceed 50 percent of 
  2.15  the metropolitan area median income, adjusted for family size. 
  2.16     (d) In making the grants, the agency shall determine the 
  2.17  terms and conditions of repayment and the appropriate security, 
  2.18  if any, should repayment be required.  To promote the geographic 
  2.19  distribution of grants and loans, the agency may designate a 
  2.20  portion of the grant or loan awards to be set aside for projects 
  2.21  located in specified congressional districts or other 
  2.22  geographical regions specified by the agency.  The agency may 
  2.23  adopt rules for awarding grants and loans under this subdivision.
  2.24     Sec. 2.  [462A.34] [LOCAL INITIATIVE BLOCK GRANT PROGRAM.] 
  2.25     The commissioner may make block grants to local governments 
  2.26  or nonprofit organizations in partnership with local governments 
  2.27  for housing production and preservation programs for persons 
  2.28  with incomes at or below 80 percent of statewide median income.  
  2.29  The commissioner may use existing processes for making grants or 
  2.30  may establish a request for proposal process specifically for 
  2.31  this block grant program.  Grants shall be made to satisfy 
  2.32  specific housing needs, however, grants do not need to be tied 
  2.33  to any particular project, but rather, should be available to 
  2.34  flexibly meet the identified need.  
  2.35     Sec. 3.  [HOUSING FINANCE AGENCY; APPROPRIATION.] 
  2.36     Subdivision 1.  [TOTAL APPROPRIATION.] $322,000,000 is 
  3.1   appropriated from the general fund for the biennium ending June 
  3.2   30, 2003, for transfer to the housing development fund for the 
  3.3   programs specified.  The amounts that may be spent from this 
  3.4   appropriation for certain programs are specified in the 
  3.5   following subdivisions.  
  3.6      Subd. 2.  [CHALLENGE PROGRAM.] $20,000,000 is for the 
  3.7   economic development and housing challenge program created by 
  3.8   Minnesota Statutes, section 462A.33.  
  3.9      Subd. 3.  [RENTER ASSISTANCE.] $2,000,000 is for grants to 
  3.10  organizations providing case management for persons that need 
  3.11  assistance to rehabilitate their rental history and find rental 
  3.12  housing.  Case management services include, but are not limited 
  3.13  to, assisting tenants in correcting tenant screening reports, 
  3.14  providing intensive training and certification for tenants, 
  3.15  creating a bonding program to encourage landlords to accept 
  3.16  high-risk tenants with poor rent histories, paying security 
  3.17  deposits for high-risk tenants, and agreeing to pay landlord 
  3.18  expenses for filing unlawful detainer actions.  
  3.19     Subd. 4.  [HOUSING TRUST FUND.] $75,000,000 is for the 
  3.20  housing trust fund to be deposited in the housing trust fund 
  3.21  account created under Minnesota Statutes, section 462A.201, and 
  3.22  used for the purposes provided in that section.  Of this amount, 
  3.23  $....... each year must be used for transitional housing. 
  3.24     Subd. 5.  [AFFORDABLE RENTAL INVESTMENT FUND.] $67,986,000 
  3.25  is for family rental housing assistance under Minnesota 
  3.26  Statutes, section 462A.21, subdivision 8b.  Of this amount, 
  3.27  $15,000,000 the first year and $15,000,000 the second year are 
  3.28  to finance the acquisition, rehabilitation, and debt 
  3.29  restructuring of federally assisted rental property and for 
  3.30  making equity take-out loans under Minnesota Statutes, section 
  3.31  462A.05, subdivision 39.  The owner of the federally assisted 
  3.32  rental property must agree to participate in the applicable 
  3.33  federally assisted housing program and to extend any existing 
  3.34  low-income affordability restrictions on the housing for the 
  3.35  maximum term permitted.  The owner must also enter into an 
  3.36  agreement that gives local units of government, housing and 
  4.1   redevelopment authorities, and nonprofit housing organizations 
  4.2   the right of first refusal if the rental property is offered for 
  4.3   sale.  Priority must be given among comparable properties to 
  4.4   properties with the longest remaining term under an agreement 
  4.5   for federal rental assistance.  Priority must also be given 
  4.6   among comparable rental housing developments to developments 
  4.7   that are or will be owned by local government units, a housing 
  4.8   and redevelopment authority, or a nonprofit housing organization.
  4.9      To the extent practicable, this appropriation shall be used 
  4.10  so that an approximately equal number of housing units are 
  4.11  financed in the metropolitan area, as defined in Minnesota 
  4.12  Statutes, section 473.121, subdivision 2, and in the 
  4.13  nonmetropolitan area. 
  4.14     Subd. 6.  [COMMUNITY REHABILITATION PROGRAM.] $24,700,000 
  4.15  is for the community rehabilitation fund account under Minnesota 
  4.16  Statutes, section 462A.206.  
  4.17     Subd. 7.  [INCLUSIONARY HOUSING PROGRAMS.] $11,000,000 is 
  4.18  for transfer to the metropolitan council for deposit in the 
  4.19  inclusionary housing account created in Minnesota Statutes, 
  4.20  section 473.251.  The metropolitan council may use this transfer 
  4.21  only for projects that are consistent with Minnesota Statutes, 
  4.22  section 473.255.  This is a one-time appropriation and is not 
  4.23  added to the agency's permanent base. 
  4.24     Subd. 8.  [LOCAL INITIATIVE BLOCK GRANTS.] $20,000,000 is 
  4.25  for the local initiative block grant program in Minnesota 
  4.26  Statutes, section 462A.34. 
  4.27     Subd. 9.  [LEAD ABATEMENT.] $10,000,000 is for lead 
  4.28  abatement activities under Minnesota Statutes, section 462A.05, 
  4.29  subdivision 15c. 
  4.30     Subd. 10.  [TRANSITIONAL HOUSING.] $6,000,000 is for the 
  4.31  local government housing account for transitional housing loans 
  4.32  under Minnesota Statutes, section 462A.202, subdivision 2.