Amend HB 2577 by adding the following appropriately numbered
SECTIONS to the bill and renumbering existing SECTIONS of the bill
appropriately:
      SECTION ____. Subchapter K, Chapter 2306, Government Code, is
amended by adding Section 2306.253 to read as follows:
      Sec. 2306.253.  HOME BUYER EDUCATION PROGRAM. (a)  The
department shall develop and implement a statewide home buyer
education program designed to provide information and counseling to
prospective home buyers about the home buying process. The
department shall implement the program by contracting with the
Texas Agricultural Extension Service to provide the information and
counseling on behalf of the department.
      (b)  The department and the extension service shall develop
the program in cooperation with the Texas Department of Human
Services, the Real Estate Research Center at Texas A&M University,
the Texas Workforce Commission, and advocates of affordable
housing.  The department and the extension service shall implement
the program through self-help centers when feasible.
      (c)  The department and the extension service shall make full
use of existing training and informational materials available from
sources such as the federal Department of Housing and Urban
Development, the cooperative extension system, and the Neighborhood
Reinvestment Corporation.
      (d)  To pay the extension service for the service's costs
under the contract, the department may use money available to the
department for housing purposes that the department is not
prohibited from spending on the home buyer education program,
including the amount of administrative or service fees the
department receives from the issuance or refunding of bonds that
exceeds the amount the department needs to pay its overhead costs
in administering its bond programs.
      SECTION ____. The Texas Department of Housing and Community
Affairs shall begin to implement Section 2306.253, Government Code,
as added by this Act, as soon as possible and shall fully implement
the home buyer education program with educational materials
available in all counties not later than September 1, 1998.