By Ellis                                              S.B. No. 1704
         76R3561 KEL-D                           
                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 1-1                                   AN ACT
 1-2     relating to down-payment assistance provided by and mortgage
 1-3     lending programs administered by the Texas Department of Housing
 1-4     and Community Affairs.
 1-5           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
 1-6           SECTION 1.  Subchapter F, Chapter 2306, Government Code, is
 1-7     amended by adding Section 2306.1115 to read as follows:
 1-8           Sec. 2306.1115.  HOUSING FUNDS USED FOR DOWN-PAYMENT
 1-9     ASSISTANCE.  The department may not use funds allocated to the
1-10     department under the federal HOME Investment Partnerships program
1-11     established under Title II of the Cranston-Gonzalez National
1-12     Affordable Housing Act (42 U.S.C. Section 12701 et seq.) to provide
1-13     down-payment assistance under this chapter in the form of a grant
1-14     or forgivable loan.
1-15           SECTION 2.  As soon as possible after the effective date of
1-16     this Act, the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs, in
1-17     consultation with the Legislative Budget Board, shall restructure
1-18     the mortgage lending programs administered by the department to:
1-19                 (1)  leverage state and federal funds used in those
1-20     programs;
1-21                 (2)  enhance mortgage loan affordability; and
1-22                 (3)  provide for recovery of appropriate federal funds
1-23     from program participants so that the funds may be recycled and
1-24     used to provide assistance to additional participants.
 2-1           SECTION 3.  The change in law made by Section 1 of this Act
 2-2     applies only to down-payment assistance provided on or after the
 2-3     effective date of this Act.  Down-payment assistance provided
 2-4     before the effective date of this Act is covered by the law in
 2-5     effect when the assistance was provided, and the former law is
 2-6     continued in effect for that purpose.
 2-7           SECTION 4.  This Act takes effect September 1, 1999.
 2-8           SECTION 5.  The importance of this legislation and the
 2-9     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
2-10     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
2-11     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
2-12     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.