2018 Second Extraordinary Session ENROLLED
SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 28
BY SENATOR WHITE
A RESOLUTION
To urge and request the state of Louisiana and future legislators of this state to take steps
toward establishing programs and other incentives to assist and encourage first-time
homebuyers to purchase homes in this state.
WHEREAS, House Bill No. 383 of the 2018 Regular Legislative Session, authored
by Representative Paula Davis, sought to create a rebate for eligible costs a first-time
homebuyer expends from his savings account for the purchase of a single-family residence
in this state; and
WHEREAS, the House Committee on Ways and Means reported the bill with
amendments, but due to the attached fiscal note, the bill was recommitted to the House
Committee on Appropriations; and
WHEREAS, when the bill was heard in the House Committee on Appropriations, the
state budget was in a precarious position, and due to concerns regarding the state budget,
Representative Davis requested to voluntarily defer the bill; and
WHEREAS, legislators and other parties were in favor of the concept of assisting
first-time homebuyers, but were hesitant to do so during a time when the state was facing
fiscal uncertainty; and
WHEREAS, home ownership provides shelter and security to families and fosters
involvement in community life as well as participation in democratic institutions; and
WHEREAS, for every two homes sold, a job is created, with home sales in this
country supporting more than two and one-half million private-sector jobs in an average
year; and
WHEREAS, of the nonhomeowners who were surveyed to complete the January
2018 Aspiring Home Buyers Profile of the National Association of Realtors®, forty-six
percent were thirty-four years old or under, fifty-seven percent earned an income of less than
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fifty-thousand dollars per year, eighty percent said homeownership is part of their American
dream, and thirty-six percent of all respondents in the study, including both homeowners and
nonhomeowners, stated that saving for a down payment in their current financial situation
would be very difficult; and
WHEREAS, states across the country have passed legislation creating First-Time
Homebuyer Savings Accounts as an incentive to encourage homeownership and assist
nonhomeowners with realizing their American dream; and
WHEREAS, Louisiana should take similar steps to provide such homeownership
incentives, because homeownership creates a myriad of benefits for the homeowner, society,
and the economy.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Senate of the Legislature of Louisiana
does hereby urge and request the state of Louisiana and future legislators of this state to take
steps toward establishing programs and other incentives to assist and encourage first-time
homebuyers to purchase homes in this state, which may also be a realization of their
American dream.
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
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