HF 2559 (LSB 6090YH (2) 91)

HOUSE FILE 2559

BY  LATHAM

A BILL FOR

An Act relating to the housing renewal pilot program, including repayments of interest and income, and recaptures or returns of financial assistance awards.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

    Section 1.  2022 Iowa Acts, chapter 1148, section 20, subsection 2, as amended by 2023 Iowa Acts, chapter 110, section 18, is amended to read as follows:
   2.  a.  A housing renewal program fund is created in the state treasury under the control of the Iowa finance authority. The fund shall consist of moneys appropriated to or deposited in the fund. Moneys in the fund are appropriated to the Iowa finance authority to establish and administer a housing renewal pilot program.
   b.  For the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2022, and ending June 30, 2023, there is appropriated from the general fund of the state to the Iowa finance authority five hundred thousand dollars for deposit in the housing renewal program fund.
   c.  Notwithstanding section 8.33, moneys appropriated in this section that remain unencumbered or unobligated at the close of the fiscal year shall not revert but shall remain available for expenditure for the purposes designated until the close of the succeeding fiscal year.
   d.  Notwithstanding section 12C.7, subsection 2, interest or earnings on moneys in the housing renewal program fund shall be credited to the fund. Payment of interest, income generated from the sale of an ownership unit pursuant to subsection 6, recaptures of financial assistance awards, and other repayments under the housing renewal pilot program shall be deposited in the fund retained by the nonprofit Iowa affiliate for the purpose of awarding financial assistance under the housing renewal pilot program to eligible participants.
    Sec. 2.  2022 Iowa Acts, chapter 1148, section 20, subsection 5, paragraph c, subparagraph (2), as amended by 2023 Iowa Acts, chapter 110, section 18, is amended to read as follows:
   (2)  Unless the nonprofit Iowa affiliate authorizes additional time for good cause shown, if an eligible participant has no project activity within twelve months from the date a contract is executed between the nonprofit Iowa affiliate and the eligible participant, the financial assistance award shall be returned to the Iowa finance authority for deposit in the housing renewal program fund nonprofit Iowa affiliate to be used to award financial assistance under the housing renewal pilot program to eligible participants.
    Sec. 3.  2022 Iowa Acts, chapter 1148, section 20, subsection 5, paragraph d, as amended by 2023 Iowa Acts, chapter 110, section 18, is amended to read as follows:
   d.  An eligible participant shall sell each completed ownership unit to a homebuyer whose income is under equal to or less than the one hundred twenty percent area median income and who must occupy the ownership unit as the homebuyer’s primary residence. The deed to the ownership unit must contain a restrictive resale requirement that prohibits the homebuyer or a subsequent owner from selling the ownership unit to a person with an income above the one hundred twenty percent area median income for five calendar years from the date the eligible participant sold the ownership unit to the first homebuyer whose income is under equal to or less than the one hundred twenty percent area median income.
EXPLANATION
The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
   This bill relates to the housing renewal pilot program, including repayments of interest and income, and recaptures or returns of financial assistance awards. The housing renewal pilot program (program) was established in 2022 and amended in 2023, and is administered by the Iowa finance authority (authority).
   Under the current program, payments of interest, income generated from the sale of an ownership unit, recaptures of financial assistance awards, and other repayments under the program are deposited in the housing renewal program fund. Under the bill, such repayments shall be retained by the nonprofit Iowa affiliate (affiliate) selected by the authority to provide financial assistance under the program to eligible participants.
   Under the current program, unless the affiliate authorizes additional time for good cause shown, if an eligible participant has no project activity within 12 months from the date a contract is executed between the affiliate and the eligible participant, the financial assistance award shall be returned to the authority for deposit in the program fund. Under the bill, such financial assistance award shall be returned to the affiliate to be used to provide financial assistance to eligible participants.
   The bill clarifies that an eligible participant shall sell each completed ownership unit to a homebuyer whose income is less than or equal to the 120 percent area median income.