THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA

SENATE BILL

INTRODUCED BY WASHINGTON, BREWSTER, ERICKSON, FONTANA, HUGHES, SOLOBAY AND McILHINNEY, JANUARY 17, 2012

REFERRED TO COMMUNITY, ECONOMIC AND RECREATIONAL DEVELOPMENT, JANUARY 17, 2012  

AN ACT

Amending the act of December 3, 1959 (P.L.1688, No.621),

entitled, as amended, "An act to promote the health, safety

and welfare of the people of the Commonwealth by broadening

the market for housing for persons and families of low and

moderate income and alleviating shortages thereof, and by

assisting in the provision of housing for elderly persons

through the creation of the Pennsylvania Housing Finance

Agency as a public corporation and government

instrumentality; providing for the organization, membership

and administration of the agency, prescribing its general

powers and duties and the manner in which its funds are kept

and audited, empowering the agency to make housing loans to

qualified mortgagors upon the security of insured and

uninsured mortgages, defining qualified mortgagors and

providing for priorities among tenants in certain instances,

prescribing interest rates and other terms of housing loans,

permitting the agency to acquire real or personal property,

permitting the agency to make agreements with financial

institutions and Federal agencies, providing for the purchase

by persons of low and moderate income of housing units, and

approving the sale of housing units, permitting the agency to

sell housing loans, providing for the promulgation of

regulations and forms by the agency, prescribing penalties

for furnishing false information, empowering the agency to

borrow money upon its own credit by the issuance and sale of

bonds and notes and by giving security therefor, permitting

the refunding, redemption and purchase of such obligations by

the agency, prescribing remedies of holders of such bonds and

notes, exempting bonds and notes of the agency, the income

therefrom, and the income and revenues of the agency from

taxation, except transfer, death and gift taxes; making such

bonds and notes legal investments for certain purposes; and

indicating how the act shall become effective," providing for

an annual transfer to the Homeowner's Emergency Mortgage

Assistance Fund.

The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

hereby enacts as follows:

Section 1.  Section 408-C of the act of December 3, 1959

(P.L.1688, No.621), known as the Housing Finance Agency Law,

amended December 21, 1998 (P.L.1248, No.160), is amended to

read:

Section 408-C.  Homeowner's Emergency Mortgage Assistance

Fund.--The Homeowner's Emergency Mortgage Assistance Fund is

hereby created as a separate account within the agency for the

sole purpose of implementing the provisions of this article.

Beginning July 1, 2012, and each July 1 thereafter, the

Department of Revenue shall transfer the sum of $15,000,000 from

the amount received by the Department of Revenue under 4 Pa.C.S.

§ 13A62 (relating to table games taxes) to the agency for

deposit into the fund. No other agency funds, moneys or interest

earnings shall be utilized for the purposes of this article.

Investment and interest earnings on moneys from this fund may be

used by the agency for the administrative costs of the program.

The Homeowner's Emergency Mortgage Assistance Fund shall operate

as a revolving loan fund to which shall be credited all

repayment of principal and interest by mortgagors to the agency

to repay loans provided by the agency pursuant to this article

as well as grants or donations from other sources and any funds

that may be appropriated by the General Assembly.

Section 2.  This act shall take effect immediately.