Budget Amendment ID: FY2014-S3-284

ECO 284

Housing Preservation and Stabilization Trust Fund

Mr. Eldridge moved that the proposed new text be amended by inserting, after Section_, the following outside section :-

SECTION XXX. Said chapter 121B is hereby amended by adding the following section:-

Section 60. (a) There is hereby established a Housing Preservation and Stabilization Trust Fund, in this section called the fund, to be administered by the undersecretary of housing and community development, in this section called the undersecretary. Monies in the fund shall be deposited with the state treasurer in a manner that will secure the highest interest rate available consistent with safety of the fund and with the requirement that all amounts on deposit be available for the immediate use.

(b) The undersecretary shall appoint the fund's trustee, who shall serve until a successor is appointed.

(c) There shall be credited to the fund: (1) any unexpended funds from items 7004-0100, 7004-0101, 7004-0108, 7004-9024 and 7004-9316, which shall not revert to the General Fund, but instead be deposited in the fund; (2) other funds appropriated or transferred by the general court; and (3) all interest earned on monies in the fund.

(d) Expenditures from the fund shall not be subject to appropriation, and balances remaining at the end of a fiscal year shall not revert to the General Fund. Expenditures from the fund shall be made only for providing affordable housing for low-income families and individuals in the commonwealth, particularly those most at risk of becoming homeless.

(e) Before making expenditures from the fund, each fiscal year the undersecretary shall submit a spending plan to the secretary of administration and finance and the house and senate committees on ways and means. Spending from the fund shall be subject to the approval of the secretary of administration and finance. For the purpose of accommodating discrepancies between the receipt of revenues and related expenditures, the undersecretary may incur obligations and the comptroller may certify payment amounts not to exceed the most recent revenue estimate submitted by the undersecretary and approved by the secretary of administration and finance, but the fund shall be in balance by the close of each fiscal year.

(f) The undersecretary shall determine eligibility and benefit levels for programs supported by the fund, but programs shall be structured in a sustainable manner.

(g) Eligible grantees of the fund shall include but are not limited to: local housing agencies, regional housing centers, private housing providers of affordable housing, other state agencies and municipalities.