Whereas , The deferred operation of this act would tend to defeat its purpose, which is to authorize forthwith the consolidation of certain loans of the Massachusetts Housing Finance Agency, therefore it is hereby declared to be an emergency law, necessary for the immediate preservation of the public convenience.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:

SECTION 1. Paragraph (b) of section 8 of chapter 708 of the acts of 1966 is hereby further amended by striking out the sixth sentence, as most recently amended by section 1 of chapter 581 of the acts of 1989, and inserting in place thereof the following sentence:- The aggregate principal amount of notes and bonds of the MHFA issued to make mortgage loans pursuant to section 5 and to make or purchase loans pursuant to section 5A, outstanding at any 1 time, shall not exceed the sum of $4,900,000,000, of which $150,000,000 shall be used only to make mortgage loans pursuant to said section 5 in cities and towns which have been found to have a rate of unemployment of at least 6 per cent in the issue of "Area Trends in Employment and Unemployment" published by the United States Department of Labor for the October preceding the making of any such loan.

SECTION 2. Said paragraph (b) of said section 8 of said chapter 708 is hereby further amended by striking out the last sentence as most recently amended by section 14 of chapter 239 of the acts of 1998.