Texas 2009 - 81st Regular

Texas House Bill HB3215 Compare Versions

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1	1	By: Farias (Senate Sponsor - Uresti) H.B. No. 3215
2	2	(In the Senate - Received from the House May 13, 2009;
3	3	May 14, 2009, read first time and referred to Committee on
4	4	Intergovernmental Relations; May 23, 2009, reported favorably by
5	5	the following vote: Yeas 4, Nays 0; May 23, 2009, sent to
6	6	printer.)
7	7
8	8
9	9	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
10	10	AN ACT
11	11	relating to the establishment of a down payment assistance program
12	12	for certain professional educators by the Texas State Affordable
13	13	Housing Corporation.
14	14	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
15	15	SECTION 1. Subchapter Y, Chapter 2306, Government Code, is
16	16	amended by adding Section 2306.5622 to read as follows:
17	17	Sec. 2306.5622. PROFESSIONAL EDUCATORS DOWN PAYMENT
18	18	ASSISTANCE PROGRAM IN CERTAIN COUNTIES. (a) In this section:
19	19	(1) "Low-wealth school district" means a school
20	20	district that:
21	21	(A) has a low wealth per student, as determined
22	22	jointly by the commissioner of education and the corporation; and
23	23	(B) is located in a county with a population of
24	24	more than one million and in which more than 80 percent of the
25	25	population resides in a single municipality.
26	26	(2) "Professional educator" means a classroom
27	27	teacher, full-time paid teacher's aide, full-time librarian,
28	28	full-time counselor certified under Subchapter B, Chapter 21,
29	29	Education Code, or full-time school nurse.
30	30	(3) "Wealth per student" means the taxable value of
31	31	property in a school district, as determined under Subchapter M,
32	32	Chapter 403, divided by the number of students enrolled in the
33	33	district.
34	34	(b) The corporation, in consultation with the commissioner
35	35	of education and low-wealth school districts, shall establish a
36	36	program providing to eligible professional educators down payment
37	37	assistance in the form of deferred forgivable second-lien loans.
38	38	Loans provided under this section must:
39	39	(1) with a total matching amount not to exceed $4,000
40	40	as described by this subdivision, match each dollar of an eligible
41	41	professional educator's down payment contribution toward the
42	42	purchase of a home, with:
43	43	(A) a mandatory contribution, as funds are
44	44	available and not to exceed $2,000, from the corporation; and
45	45	(B) an additional optional contribution, not to
46	46	exceed $2,000, from the applicable low-wealth school district; and
47	47	(2) be forgiven at the rate of one-third of the
48	48	original balance of the loan for each year that the professional
49	49	educator remains employed by the district after the issuance of the
50	50	loan.
51	51	(c) To be eligible for down payment assistance under this
52	52	section, a professional educator must:
53	53	(1) be employed by a low-wealth school district for
54	54	the six-month period preceding the application date;
55	55	(2) have an income that does not exceed the greater of:
56	56	(A) 115 percent of area median family income,
57	57	adjusted for family size; or
58	58	(B) the maximum amount permitted by Section
59	59	143(f), Internal Revenue Code of 1986;
60	60	(3) meet the creditworthiness and purchase price
61	61	standards established by corporation rule;
62	62	(4) complete a homebuyer education course;
63	63	(5) occupy the purchased home as the educator's
64	64	primary residence; and
65	65	(6) purchase a home in the low-wealth school district
66	66	in which the professional educator is employed.
67	67	(d) A professional educator who receives down payment
68	68	assistance through a second-lien loan under this section shall
69	69	repay the outstanding balance of the loan if the person:
70	70	(1) ceases to be a professional educator employed by
71	71	the low-wealth school district in which the home is located; or
72	72	(2) ceases to occupy the home as the educator's primary
73	73	residence.
74	74	(e) The corporation may contract with the State Board for
75	75	Educator Certification, the Texas Education Agency, or other
76	76	agencies of the state or with private entities to:
77	77	(1) determine whether applicants qualify as
78	78	professional educators under this section; or
79	79	(2) otherwise administer all or part of this section.
80	80	(f) The board of directors of the corporation may set and
81	81	collect from each applicant any fees the board considers reasonable
82	82	and necessary to cover the expenses of administering the program.
83	83	(g) The board of directors of the corporation shall adopt
84	84	program guidelines governing:
85	85	(1) the administration of the program;
86	86	(2) the issuance of down payment assistance under the
87	87	program;
88	88	(3) creditworthiness and purchase price standards;
89	89	and
90	90	(4) the verification of occupancy of the home as the
91	91	professional educator's principal residence.
92	92	(h) The corporation shall ensure that down payment
93	93	assistance under this section is structured in a way that complies
94	94	with any requirements associated with the source of the funds used
95	95	for the assistance.
96	96	(i) The corporation may solicit and accept funding for the
97	97	program from the following sources:
98	98	(1) low-wealth school districts;
99	99	(2) gifts and grants for the purposes of this section;
100	100	(3) any state or federal programs that provide money
101	101	that may be used for the purposes of this section; and
102	102	(4) amounts received by the corporation in any
103	103	repayments of loans made under this section.
104	104	SECTION 2. The Texas State Affordable Housing Corporation
105	105	shall adopt the program guidelines required by Section
106	106	2306.5622(g), Government Code, as added by this Act, not later than
107	107	December 1, 2009.
108	108	SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009.
109	109	* * * * *