BILL ANALYSIS |
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C.S.H.B. 2473 |
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By: Davis, Yvonne |
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Investments & Financial Services |
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Committee Report (Substituted) |
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BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE
Interested parties observe that a joint state-federal settlement was recently reached with several large mortgage servicers in response to questionable misconduct that resulted in the premature and unauthorized foreclosure of single-family residential mortgages in Texas and other states. The parties note that Texas received over $100 million under the settlement, with several million dollars of that amount deposited in a dedicated judicial fund for civil penalties and the remaining amount deposited to the general revenue fund. However, the parties assert that under the terms of the settlement, the remaining funds were intended to be used for certain housing-related purposes. C.S.H.B. 2473 aims to ensure that the received funds are used in accordance with the objective of the settlement.
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CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT
It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly create a criminal offense, increase the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or change the eligibility of a person for community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision.
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RULEMAKING AUTHORITY
It is the committee's opinion that rulemaking authority is expressly granted to the governing board of the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs in SECTION 1 of this bill.
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ANALYSIS
C.S.H.B. 2473 amends the Government Code to require the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (TDHCA) to create and administer an affordable homeownership assistance program to provide grants to assist organizations in making below-market rate residential mortgage loans to residents of neighborhoods with homeownership rates of less than 50 percent. The bill requires an organization, as conditions of eligibility to receive a grant under the program, to have a history of making below-market rate residential mortgage loans to low and moderate income households, to provide homebuyer education services, and to provide post-home purchase counseling and support services. The bill requires TDHCA's governing board, not later than December 1, 2015, to adopt rules to implement the program and, in adopting such rules, to require an organization to use grant money awarded under the program to make residential mortgage loans to certain Texas residents at a below-market interest rate and to give priority to organizations that qualify for matching funds from federal or private sources in awarding grants under the program.
C.S.H.B. 2473 requires an organization awarded a grant under the affordable homeownership assistance program to submit an annual report to TDHCA that contains information regarding the organization's use of the grant money and the reinvestment of loan principal and interest payments made to the organization. The bill requires TDHCA to consult with the Department of Savings and Mortgage Lending in creating and administering the program.
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EFFECTIVE DATE
September 1, 2015.
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COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL AND SUBSTITUTE
While C.S.H.B. 2473 may differ from the original in minor or nonsubstantive ways, the following comparison is organized and formatted in a manner that indicates the substantial differences between the introduced and committee substitute versions of the bill.
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