1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to housing; housing finance agency; making 
  1.3             various clarifying, technical, and other changes to 
  1.4             agency programs; increasing debt ceiling; amending 
  1.5             Minnesota Statutes 2002, sections 462A.05, by adding a 
  1.6             subdivision; 462A.057, subdivision 1; 462A.073, 
  1.7             subdivision 2; 462A.21, subdivision 3a; 462A.22, 
  1.8             subdivisions 1, 7. 
  1.9   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.10     Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 462A.05, is 
  1.11  amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
  1.12     Subd. 3b.  [REFINANCING MORTGAGES.] The agency may make 
  1.13  loans to refinance the existing indebtedness, of owners of 
  1.14  rental property, secured by federally assisted housing for the 
  1.15  purpose of obtaining agreement of the owner to participate in 
  1.16  the federally assisted rental housing program and to extend any 
  1.17  existing low-income affordability restrictions on the housing 
  1.18  for the maximum term permitted.  For purposes of this 
  1.19  subdivision, "federally assisted rental housing" includes 
  1.20  housing that is: 
  1.21     (1) subject to a project-based housing or rental assistance 
  1.22  payment contract funded by the federal government; 
  1.23     (2) financed by the Rural Housing Service of the United 
  1.24  States Department of Agriculture under section 515 of the 
  1.25  Housing Act of 1949, as amended; or 
  1.26     (3) financed under section 236; section 221(d)(3) below 
  1.27  market interest rate program; section 202; or section 811 of the 
  2.1   Housing and Urban Development Act of 1968, as amended. 
  2.2      Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 462A.057, 
  2.3   subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
  2.4      Subdivision 1.  [ESTABLISHMENT; PURPOSE.] The agency may 
  2.5   establish the Minnesota urban and rural homesteading program for 
  2.6   the purpose of making grants or loans to eligible applicants to 
  2.7   acquire, rehabilitate, demolish or remove existing structures 
  2.8   and construct new housing, and sell single family residential 
  2.9   properties in need of rehabilitation to home buyers committed to 
  2.10  strengthening the neighborhood and following a good neighbor 
  2.11  policy.  If the grant or loan is used for demolition or removal 
  2.12  of existing structures, the cleared land must be used for 
  2.13  construction of housing owned by persons who meet the income 
  2.14  limits of this program and the demolition and new construction 
  2.15  must be less expensive than acquisition and rehabilitation.  
  2.16     Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 462A.073, 
  2.17  subdivision 2, is amended to read: 
  2.18     Subd. 2.  [LIMITATION; ORIGINATION PERIOD.] During the 
  2.19  first ten months of an origination period, the agency may make 
  2.20  loans financed with proceeds of mortgage bonds for the purchase 
  2.21  of existing housing.  Loans financed with the proceeds of 
  2.22  mortgage bonds for new housing in the metropolitan area may be 
  2.23  made during the first ten months of an origination period only 
  2.24  if at least one of the following conditions is met: 
  2.25     (1) the new housing is located in a redevelopment area; 
  2.26     (2) the new housing is replacing a structurally substandard 
  2.27  structure or structures; 
  2.28     (3) the new housing is part of a housing affordability 
  2.29  initiative, other than those financed with the proceeds from the 
  2.30  sale of bonds, in which federal, state, or local assistance is 
  2.31  used to substantially improve the terms of the financing or to 
  2.32  substantially write down the purchase price of the new housing; 
  2.33     (4) the new housing is accessible housing and the borrower 
  2.34  or a member of the borrower's family is a person with a 
  2.35  disability.  For the purposes of this clause, "accessible 
  2.36  housing" means a dwelling unit with the modifications necessary 
  3.1   to enable a person with a disability to function in a 
  3.2   residential setting.  "A person with a disability" means a 
  3.3   person who has a permanent physical condition which is not 
  3.4   correctable and which substantially reduces the person's ability 
  3.5   to function in a residential setting.  A person with a physical 
  3.6   condition which does not require the use of a device to increase 
  3.7   mobility must be deemed a person with a disability upon written 
  3.8   certification of a licensed physician that the physical 
  3.9   condition substantially limits the person's ability to function 
  3.10  in a residential setting; or 
  3.11     (5) the new housing is part of an effort to meet the 
  3.12  affordable housing goals negotiated under section 473.254 the 
  3.13  new housing is serviced by the regional wastewater treatment 
  3.14  system or by a wastewater treatment system operated and 
  3.15  maintained by a local unit of government.  
  3.16     Upon expiration of the first ten-month period, the agency 
  3.17  may make loans financed with the proceeds of mortgage bonds for 
  3.18  the purchase of new and existing housing.  
  3.19     Sec. 4.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 462A.21, 
  3.20  subdivision 3a, is amended to read: 
  3.21     Subd. 3a.  [CAPACITY BUILDING REVOLVING LOAN FUND.] It may 
  3.22  establish a revolving loan fund for predevelopment costs for 
  3.23  nonprofit organizations and local government units engaged in 
  3.24  the construction or rehabilitation of low- and moderate-income 
  3.25  housing, and for the purposes specified in sections 462A.05, 
  3.26  subdivision 5; and 462A.07, subdivisions 2, 3, 3a, 5, 5a, 6, 7, 
  3.27  11, and 16.  The agency may delegate the authority to administer 
  3.28  the revolving loan fund for designated areas in the state to 
  3.29  existing nonprofit organizations.  For purposes of the authority 
  3.30  to administer the revolving loan fund under this subdivision, a 
  3.31  nonprofit organization includes a private nonprofit corporation 
  3.32  that is formed under laws other than the laws of this state, 
  3.33  provided that the nonprofit corporation has an office located in 
  3.34  this state.  Nonprofit entities selected to exercise such 
  3.35  delegated powers must have sufficient professional housing 
  3.36  development expertise, as determined by the agency, to evaluate 
  4.1   the economic feasibility of an applicant's proposed project.  
  4.2   Loans to nonprofit organizations or local government units under 
  4.3   this subdivision may be made with or without interest as 
  4.4   determined by the agency. 
  4.5      Sec. 5.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 462A.22, 
  4.6   subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
  4.7      Subdivision 1.  [UP TO $2,400,000,000 OUTSTANDING DEBT 
  4.8   CEILING.] The aggregate principal amount of bonds and notes 
  4.9   which are outstanding at any time, excluding the principal 
  4.10  amount of any bonds and notes refunded by the issuance of new 
  4.11  bonds or notes, shall not exceed the sum 
  4.12  of $2,400,000,000 $3,000,000,000. 
  4.13     Sec. 6.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 462A.22, 
  4.14  subdivision 7, is amended to read: 
  4.15     Subd. 7.  [TRANSFER OF YEAR-END EXCESS.] To the extent 
  4.16  consistent with the resolutions and indentures securing 
  4.17  outstanding bonds and notes, the agency may at the close of any 
  4.18  fiscal year periodically transfer to any other fund or account 
  4.19  from any debt service reserve fund, any excess in that fund over 
  4.20  the amount deemed by the agency to be reasonably necessary for 
  4.21  the purpose of the fund.