PRINTER'S NO. 1544
No. 1336 Session of 1989
INTRODUCED BY RICHARDSON, DeWEESE, KUKOVICH, VEON, JOSEPHS,
NAHILL, MORRIS, ROBINSON, RITTER, ACOSTA, BISHOP, CARN,
EVANS, HARPER, HUGHES, JAMES, LINTON, OLIVER, PRESTON,
ROEBUCK, THOMAS, WILLIAMS AND R. C. WRIGHT, APRIL 26, 1989
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON URBAN AFFAIRS, APRIL 26, 1989
AN ACT
1 To promote the health, safety and welfare of the people of this
2 Commonwealth by supporting and expanding the network of
3 Neighborhood Housing Services Programs which work to halt the
4 deterioration of homes and the decline of neighborhoods, and
5 to broaden the availability of the programs and services
6 offered by Neighborhood Housing Services Programs, especially
7 to persons of low and moderate income, by establishing within
8 the Department of Community Affairs a State Neighborhood
9 Housing Services Program; and making an appropriation.
10 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
11 hereby enacts as follows:
12 Section 1. Short title.
13 This act shall be known and may be cited as the Neighborhood
14 Housing Services Act.
15 Section 2. Legislative findings and purpose.
16 It is hereby determined and declared as a matter of
17 legislative finding that:
18 (1) A substantial number of living units in this
19 Commonwealth are in deteriorating condition, with many
20 residents of this Commonwealth residing in homes which do not
1 conform to applicable health and safety ordinances. This
2 situation impedes the development of healthy, safe and viable
3 communities in this Commonwealth.
4 (2) The problems of declining neighborhoods, including
5 deteriorating housing with a concomitant loss of property
6 values and erosion of the tax bases of the affected
7 communities, negatively impact on the health, safety and
8 welfare of residents of this Commonwealth.
9 (3) The encouragement of public-private partnerships
10 between State and municipal governmental entities and private
11 financial and corporate institutions to coordinate and
12 optimize their respective resources is critical to any
13 serious effort to halt deterioration and revitalize declining
14 neighborhoods.
15 (4) The Commonwealth can maximize the number of low-
16 income and moderate-income housing units by encouraging the
17 rehabilitation of existing structures.
18 (5) The Neighborhood Housing Services Programs, as
19 organized and supported by the Federal Neighborhood
20 Reinvestment Corporation, have proven themselves as highly
21 effective and innovative mechanisms for halting the decline
22 of neighborhoods and stemming the deterioration of housing
23 units by bringing together the public and private sectors in
24 a partnership dedicated to the rehabilitation of existing
25 housing and the restoration of self-worth and self-reliance
26 to neighborhoods.
27 (6) State support for the Neighborhood Housing Services
28 Programs holds promise for the improvement of the quality of
29 life in those neighborhoods beset with the problems
30 associated with deteriorating and substandard housing, and
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1 these programs can serve as a model of an effective and
2 innovative strategy to remedy these problems.
3 Therefore, it is hereby declared to be the policy of the
4 Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to promote the health, safety and
5 welfare of its inhabitants by the creation of the Pennsylvania
6 Neighborhood Housing Services Program. This program will provide
7 funds to assist in the creation, expansion and support of
8 Neighborhood Housing Services Programs to stem deterioration and
9 decline in identified neighborhoods, which impair economic
10 value, and public revenues, discourage private investment and
11 detract from the overall quality of life in this Commonwealth.
12 Section 3. Definitions.
13 The following words and phrases when used in this act shall
14 have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
15 context clearly indicates otherwise:
16 "Department." The Department of Community Affairs of the
17 Commonwealth.
18 "Neighborhood Housing Services Programs." Private,
19 nonprofit, community-based corporation, established pursuant to
20 the Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation Act (Public Law 95-
21 557, 42 U.S.C. § 8101 et seq.) and working to stem neighborhood
22 decline.
23 "Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation." The Neighborhood
24 Reinvestment Corporation as established by the Neighborhood
25 Reinvestment Corporation Act (Public Law 95-557, 42 U.S.C. §
26 8101 et seq.).
27 "Secretary." The Secretary of Community Affairs of the
28 Commonwealth.
29 Section 4. Neighborhood Housing Services Program.
30 There is hereby established a Neighborhood Housing Services
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1 Program, to be administered by the department. Its purpose shall
2 be to create a partnership among private financial and business
3 institutions, governments and residents in a given community to
4 undertake the rehabilitation and revitalization of specific
5 neighborhoods or geographical areas.
6 Section 5. Powers and duties of department.
7 (a) Grants.--The department shall provide annual grants to
8 Neighborhood Housing Services Programs which meet the
9 qualifications set forth in this act. These annual grants shall
10 not total more than 150% of the contributions raised from
11 private sources.
12 (b) Inspections and audits.--The department may inspect any
13 Neighborhood Housing Services Program receiving a grant under
14 this act. The department may audit and examine all books or
15 records of the corporation, require periodic reports and request
16 information necessary to ensure proper use of State funds.
17 (c) Application procedures.--The department shall publish
18 procedures regarding applications for grants under this act
19 within 60 days of the effective date of this act.
20 Section 6. Eligibility requirements.
21 To receive funding under this act, an applicant must:
22 (1) Be a Neighborhood Housing Services Program operating
23 within this State and be certified by the Neighborhood
24 Reinvestment Corporation that the applicant is registered and
25 in good standing with it.
26 (2) Be governed by a board of directors or trustees
27 which is composed of neighborhood residents, representatives
28 of financial institutions and businesses and representatives
29 of local political subdivisions.
30 (3) Be certified by the Internal Revenue Service of the
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1 United States Department of the Treasury as a charitable
2 organization exempt from Federal income tax.
3 (4) Submit to the department a description of the
4 geographic boundaries served by the applicant and a plan
5 which outlines the strategy that the applicant will employ or
6 is employing to utilize both private and public resources to
7 bring neighborhood dwellings to acceptable levels of health
8 and safety, stem further deterioration of housing units, halt
9 the overall decline of the neighborhood and stimulate
10 reinvestment.
11 (5) Certify the amount of contributions from private
12 sources raised during the preceding fiscal year. Where the
13 applicant is in its first year of existence, the applicant
14 must certify the amount of contribution pledges from private
15 sources for that year.
16 (6) Maintain or plan to maintain and administer a high
17 risk revolving loan fund which makes loans at flexible
18 interest rates and repayment terms to neighborhood residents
19 who are unable to obtain financing through normal lending
20 channels for home repairs which are required to maintain
21 their homes at acceptable levels of health and safety.
22 Section 7. Appropriation.
23 The sum of $450,000, or as much thereof as may be necessary,
24 is hereby appropriated to the Department of Community Affairs
25 for the fiscal year July 1, 1989, to June 30, 1990, to carry out
26 the provisions of this act.
27 Section 8. Effective date.
28 This act shall take effect immediately.
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