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S. B. No. 5 As IntroducedAs Introduced
128th General Assembly | Regular Session | 2009-2010 |
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A BILL
To amend sections 175.01 and 175.04 and to enact
sections 175.30 to 175.35 of the Revised Code to
create the Grants for Grads Program.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:
Section 1. That sections 175.01 and 175.04 be amended and
sections 175.30, 175.31, 175.32, 175.33, 175.34, and 175.35 of the
Revised Code be enacted to read as follows:
Sec. 175.01. As used in this chapter sections 175.01 to
175.13 of the Revised Code:
(A) "Bonds" means bonds, notes, debentures, refunding
bonds,
refunding notes, and other obligations.
(B) "Financial assistance" means grants, loans, loan
guarantees, an equity position in a
project, and loan subsidies.
(C) "Grant" means funding for which repayment is not
required.
(D) "Homeownership program" means any program for which the
Ohio housing finance agency provides financing, directly or
indirectly, for the purchase of housing for owner-occupancy.
(E) "Housing" means housing for owner-occupancy and
multifamily rental housing.
(F)
"Housing development fund" means the housing development
fund created and administered pursuant to section 175.11 of the
Revised Code.
(G) "Housing finance agency personal services fund" means the
housing finance agency personal services fund created and
administered pursuant to section 175.051 of the Revised Code.
(H) "Housing for owner-occupancy" means housing that is
intended for occupancy by an owner as a principal residence.
"Housing for owner-occupancy" may be any type of structure and may
be owned in any form of ownership.
(I) "Housing trust fund" means the low- and moderate-income
housing trust fund created and administered pursuant to Chapter
174. of the Revised Code.
(J) "Improvement" means any alteration, remodeling,
addition,
or repair that substantially protects or improves the
basic
habitability or energy efficiency of housing.
(K) "Lending institution" means any financial institution
qualified to conduct business in this state, a subsidiary
corporation that is wholly owned by a financial institution
qualified to conduct business in this state, and a mortgage lender
whose regular
business is originating, servicing, or brokering
real estate loans
and who is qualified to do business in this
state.
(L) "Loan" means any extension of credit or other form of
financing or indebtedness extended directly or indirectly to a
borrower with the expectation that it will be repaid in accordance
with the terms of the underlying loan agreement or other pertinent
document. "Loan" includes financing
the Ohio housing finance
agency extends to lending institutions and indebtedness the agency
purchases from lending institutions.
(M) "Loan guarantee" means any agreement in favor of a
lending institution, bondholder, or other lender in which the
credit and resources of the housing finance agency or the housing
trust fund are pledged to secure the payment or collection of
financing extended to a borrower for the acquisition,
construction, improvement, rehabilitation, or preservation of
housing or to refinance any financing previously extended for
those purposes.
(N) "Loan subsidy" means any deposit of funds the Ohio
housing finance agency holds or administers into a lending
institution with the authorization or direction that the income or
revenues the deposit earns, or could have earned at competitive
rates, be applied directly or indirectly to the benefit of housing
assistance or financial assistance.
(O) "Low- and moderate-income persons" means individuals and
families who qualify as low- and moderate-income persons pursuant
to guidelines the agency establishes.
(P) "Multifamily rental housing" means multiple unit housing
intended for rental occupancy.
(Q) "Nonprofit organization" means a nonprofit organization
in good standing and qualified to conduct business in this state
including any corporation whose members are members of a
metropolitan housing authority.
(R)
"Owner" means any person who, jointly or severally, has
legal or equitable title to housing
together with the right to
control or possess that housing. "Owner" includes a purchaser of
housing pursuant to a land installment contract if that contract
vests possession and maintenance responsibilities in the
purchaser, and a person who has care or control of housing as
executor, administrator, assignee,
trustee, or guardian of the
estate of the owner of that housing.
(S) "Security interest" means any lien, encumbrance, pledge,
assignment, mortgage, or other form of
collateral the Ohio housing
finance agency holds as security for financial
assistance the
agency extends or a loan the
agency acquires.
Sec. 175.04. (A) The governor shall appoint
a chairperson
from among the members of the Ohio housing finance agency. The
agency members shall elect a member as vice-chairperson. The
agency members may appoint
other officers, who need not be members
of the agency, as the agency deems
necessary.
(B) Six members of the agency constitute a quorum and the
affirmative vote of six members is necessary for any action the
agency takes. No vacancy in agency membership impairs the right
of
a quorum to exercise all of the agency's rights and perform all
the agency's duties. Agency meetings may be held at any place
within the state. Meetings shall comply with section 121.22 of the
Revised Code.
(C) The agency shall maintain accounting records in
accordance with generally accepted accounting principals and other
required accounting standards.
(D) The agency shall develop policies
and guidelines for the
administration of its programs and annually shall conduct at least
one public hearing to obtain input from any interested party
regarding the
administration of its programs. The hearing shall be
held at a time and place as the agency determines and when
a
quorum of the agency is present.
(E) The agency shall appoint committees and subcommittees
comprised of members of the agency
to handle matters it deems
appropriate.
(1) The agency shall adopt an annual plan to address this
state's housing needs. The agency shall appoint an annual plan
committee to develop the plan and present it to the agency for
consideration.
(2) The annual plan committee shall select an advisory board
from a list of interested individuals the executive director
provides or on its own recommendation. The advisory board shall
provide input on the plan at committee meetings prior to the
annual public hearing. At the public hearing, the committee shall
discuss advisory board comments.
The advisory board may include,
but is not
limited to, persons who represent state agencies,
local
governments, public corporations, nonprofit organizations,
community
development corporations, housing advocacy organizations
for low-
and moderate-income persons, realtors, syndicators,
investors,
lending institutions as recommended by a statewide
banking organization, and other entities participating in the
agency's programs.
Each agency program that allows for loans to be made to
finance housing for owner occupancy that benefits other than low-
and moderate-income households, or for loans to be made to
individuals under bonds issued pursuant to division (B) of section
175.08 of the Revised Code, shall be presented to the advisory
board and included in the annual plan as approved by the agency
before the program's implementation.
(F) The agency shall prepare an annual financial report
describing its activities during the reporting year and submit
that report to the governor, the speaker of the house of
representatives, and the president of the senate within three
months after the end of the reporting year. The report shall
include the agency's audited financial statements, prepared in
accordance with generally accepted accounting principles and
appropriate accounting standards.
(G) The agency shall prepare an annual report of its programs
describing how the programs have met this state's housing needs.
The agency shall submit the report to
the governor, the speaker of
the house of
representatives, and the
president of the senate
within three
months after the end of the
reporting year.
(H) The agency shall prepare an annual report regarding the
grants for grads program created under section 175.31 of the
Revised Code describing the number and dollar amount of grants
awarded, and the activities of the agency under sections 175.30 to
175.35 of the Revised Code, during the previous calendar year. The
agency shall submit the report to the governor, director of
development, chancellor of the Ohio board of regents, president of
the senate, and speaker of the house of representatives.
Sec. 175.30. As used in sections 175.30 to 175.35 of the
Revised Code:
(A) "First home" or "home" means the first residential real
property located in this state to be purchased by a grantee, which
property serves as the grantee's primary residence, upon its
acquisition, for not less than five years, but does not include a
home purchased from an immediate family member of the grantee or
from a business in which an immediate family member of the grantee
owns more than a ten per cent interest.
(B) "Graduate" means an individual who has graduated from an
institution of higher education and who is eligible under division
(B) of section 175.31 of the Revised Code to apply for a grant
awarded under the grants for grads program.
(C) "Grant" means a cash payment awarded to a grantee by the
Ohio housing finance agency under section 175.32 of the Revised
Code.
(D) "Grantee" means an individual who has been awarded a
grant under the program.
(E) "Institution of higher education" means a state
university or college located in this state, a private college or
university located in this state that possesses a certificate of
authorization issued by the Ohio board of regents under Chapter
1713. of the Revised Code, or an accredited college or university
located outside this state that is accredited by an accrediting
organization or professional accrediting association recognized by
the Ohio board of regents.
(F) "Ohio resident" means any of the following:
(1) An individual who was a resident of this state at the
time of the individual's graduation from an Ohio public or
nonpublic high school that is approved by the state board of
education, and who is a resident of this state at the time of
applying for the program;
(2) An individual who was a resident of this state at the
time of completing, through the twelfth-grade level, a home study
program approved by the state board of education, and who is a
resident of this state at the time of applying for the program;
(3) An individual who attended an out-of-state high school
that was accredited by a regional accrediting organization
recognized by the United States department of education and met
standards at least equivalent to those adopted by the state board
of education for approval of nonpublic schools in this state, or
from a high school approved by the United States department of
defense and whose parent was a resident of this state at the time
of the individual's graduation from such high school, and who is a
resident of this state at the time of applying for the program.
(G) "Program" means the grants for grads program created
under section 175.31 of the Revised Code.
Sec. 175.31. (A) There is the grants for grads program for
the purpose of providing grants to Ohio residents who have
received an associate, baccalaureate, master's, doctoral, or other
postgraduate degree, which grants shall be used by a grantee to
pay for the down payment or closing costs on the purchase of a
first home. The program shall be administered by the Ohio housing
finance agency. Participation in the program shall require a
graduate to be eligible under division (B) of this section and to
file an application for the grant in accordance with division (C)
of this section.
(B)(1) A graduate is eligible to participate in the program
if the graduate:
(a) Is an Ohio resident who has received an associate,
baccalaureate, master's, doctoral, or other postgraduate degree
from an institution of higher education;
(b) Is able to provide to the agency evidence documenting the
graduate's Ohio residency and documenting graduation from a high
school and an institution of higher education;
(c) Intends to live and work in this state for at least five
years after the graduate's graduation or completion of a
postgraduate degree; and
(d) Intends to purchase a first home in this state.
(2) Married graduates may both apply for grants under the
program and both graduates, if eligible, shall be included in the
lottery pool under section 175.32 of the Revised Code.
(3) A graduate who is married to an individual who has
previously received a grant under the program is ineligible to
apply for a grant under this section.
(C) A graduate who is eligible under division (B) of this
section to participate in the program shall file an application
with the Ohio housing finance agency not later than the sixtieth
day after the graduate's graduation date or date of completion of
a postgraduate degree. Married graduates who both are eligible for
a grant under the program shall apply individually. The agency
shall provide for the content and format of the application. A
graduate who files an application under this division is
ineligible to file an application for a grant in any other year.
(D) The application shall include information as determined
by rule of the Ohio housing finance agency under section 175.34 of
the Revised Code, but at a minimum shall include evidence of
meeting the requirements in division (B) of this section.
(E) A graduate who, at any time during the period from filing
the application for a grant until a grant is awarded, has been
found by the state to be delinquent in the payment of individual
income taxes is ineligible to receive a grant under the program.
Sec. 175.32. (A) The Ohio housing finance agency shall review
each application filed under section 175.31 of the Revised Code
for compliance and accuracy, and shall determine whether a
graduate is eligible to receive a grant and the amount thereof,
based on the information provided to the agency in the
application. An application found by the agency to be insufficient
may be resubmitted by the graduate within the sixty-day period
within which the graduate may apply for a grant.
(B)(1) Grants shall be provided from moneys in the grants for
grads fund. A grant shall be given to a graduate whose application
has been determined by the agency to meet the requirements of
section 175.31 of the Revised Code and to be timely and complete,
and who has been selected as one of three hundred grantees in a
random lottery conducted by the agency by the thirty-first day of
January of each year. The lottery pool shall include all graduate
applicants who have filed applications within the calendar year
immediately preceding the year in which the lottery is conducted.
In addition, one hundred alternate grantees shall be selected in
the random lottery if additional moneys are available in the
grants for grads fund after grants are awarded to the three
hundred grantees first selected for that calendar year. The
alternate grantees shall receive grants in the order they were
selected in the lottery until moneys for the year are exhausted.
(2) If there are less than three hundred applicants for
grants in a given calendar year, the lottery shall be dispensed
with and all applicants the agency determines under this section
to be eligible for grants shall be awarded grants.
(C) The awarding of a grant shall be evidenced by written
notification to the grantee, which notification shall clearly
state the amount of the grant and the starting and ending dates of
the award period. The agency shall provide the notification within
sixty days after completion of the lottery. The award period shall
be from the start date through the last day of the twelfth month
thereafter.
(D) The amount of each grant awarded to a grantee who
received a notification under division (C) of this section shall
be as follows:
(1) For a grantee who received an associate degree, two
thousand five hundred dollars;
(2) For a grantee who received a baccalaureate degree, five
thousand dollars;
(3) For a grantee who received a post-graduate degree, ten
thousand dollars.
(E) The grant shall be provided to the grantee as a cash
payment when the grantee obtains a mortgage loan, and the amount
of the cash payment shall be applied in full only to pay all or a
portion of the closing costs or down payment on the purchase of
the grantee's first home. The grantee shall not receive any cash
back at the time of the closing. The grantee must take receipt of
the grant within the award period designated in the notification,
after which the grant shall expire.
Sec. 175.33. (A) If the Ohio housing finance agency finds
that a grantee failed to comply with the first home ownership
criteria in division (A) of section 175.30 of the Revised Code, or
otherwise applied for a grant using fraudulent information, the
grantee's state income tax liability for the applicable taxable
period shall be increased by any amount necessary for the
recapture of the amount of the grant awarded under section 175.32
of the Revised Code subject to division (B) of this section.
(B)(1) If a grantee becomes a resident of another state and
does not reside at least five years in a first home purchased with
a grant awarded under the program, the amount of the grant
recaptured under division (A) of this section shall be determined
as follows:
Months resided in first home |
|
Amount of grant recaptured |
Less than 12 months |
|
100% |
12 months and a day to 24 months |
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80% |
24 months and a day to 36 months |
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60% |
36 months and a day to 48 months |
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40% |
48 months and a day to 60 months |
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20% |
(2) Recapture of a grant under division (B)(1) of this
section does not apply if the grantee, within the five-year
period, moves to another residence located in this state.
(C) An action to recapture a grant awarded under the program
shall be initiated within three years from and after the
thirty-first day of December of the year in which the grant was
awarded.
Sec. 175.34. (A) The Ohio housing finance agency shall adopt
rules under Chapter 119. of the Revised Code to carry out the
purposes of the grants for grads program.
(B) The agency shall establish an internal audit program for
the program and the grants for grads fund before the beginning of
each calendar year, subject to the approval of the auditor of
state. At the end of each calendar year, the agency shall prepare
and submit an annual report to the auditor of state for the
auditor of state's review and approval, specifying the internal
audit work completed by the end of that calendar year and
reporting on compliance with the annual internal audit program.
The form and content of the report shall be prescribed by the
auditor of state under division (C) of section 117.20 of the
Revised Code.
Sec. 175.35. There is in the state treasury the grants for
grads fund. The fund shall consist of all appropriations made to
the fund and grants, gifts, and contributions of money made from
any source to the Ohio housing finance agency for deposit in the
fund. The fund shall be administered by the agency and is for use
in providing grants to graduates participating in, and for
implementing and administering, the program. Moneys in the fund
shall be invested by the treasurer of state in the same manner as
moneys in the general revenue fund, and earnings on the
investments of the fund shall be deposited into the fund.
Section 2. That existing sections 175.01 and 175.04 of the
Revised Code are hereby repealed.
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