ENROLLED
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
Senate Bill No. 194
(Senators McCabe, Yoder, Foster, Sharpe, Jenkins and
Barnes, original sponsors)
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[Passed April 9, 2005; in effect ninety days from passage.]
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AN ACT to
amend and reenact §31-18D-5, §31-18D-6, §31-18D-7 and
§31-18D-9
of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
relating to the West Virginia Affordable Housing Trust Fund
generally; changing the composition of the Board of Directors
of the West Virginia Affordable Housing Trust Fund by reducing
the number of members appointed representing nonprofit
organizations; adding additional members representing real
estate, manufactured housing and homebuilding entities;
reducing the number of votes necessary for Board action;
providing that the West Virginia Housing Development Fund
shall establish best practices for recipients of trust fund moneys; permitting trust fund moneys to be used for initial
operational expenses of local governmental programs to reduce
substandard housing or inappropriate land use patterns; and
eliminating certain restrictions on application procedures for
trust fund moneys.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §31-18D-5, §31-18D-6, §31-18D-7 and §31-18D-9 of the Code
of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended and reenacted, all
to read as follows:
CHAPTER 31. CORPORATIONS.
ARTICLE 18D. WEST VIRGINIA AFFORDABLE HOUSING TRUST FUND.
§31-18D-5. Housing Trust Fund Board of Directors.
(a) The Affordable Housing Trust Fund has a Board of
Directors, which consists of eleven voting members. The members of
the Board are responsible for administering the Trust Fund.
(b) The Trust Fund Board of Directors consists of:
(1) The Secretary of the Department of Health and Human
Resources, ex officio, or his or her designee;
(2) The Executive Director of the West Virginia Development
Office, ex officio, or his or her designee;
(3) The Executive Director of the West Virginia Housing
Development Fund, ex officio, or his or her designee;
(4) One member representative of the manufactured housing
sales industry, with special consideration of three nominees
submitted by the West Virginia Manufactured Housing Association;
(5) One member representative of the real estate development
or real estate sales industry, with special consideration of three
nominees submitted by the West Virginia Association of Realtors;
(6) One member who is an executive director or an officer of
a local, community-based not-for-profit organization currently
licensed to do business in West Virginia and which is exempt from
federal income tax under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue
Code, as amended, codified in 26 U. S. C. §501 (c)(3), and are
organized and operated exclusively for charitable purposes within
the meaning of that section, and in accordance with those purposes,
provide housing assistance to low or moderate income citizens of
this state;
(7) One member representative of the banking industry;
(8) One member who is an officer or member of a municipality
or county commission, or his or her designee;
(9) One member who is an executive director of a public
housing authority operating in a county or municipality in this
state;
(10) One member who is an executive director or officer of a
statewide not-for-profit organization which has as one of its
primary missions the provision of housing assistance to low and
moderate income citizens of this state, currently licensed to do
business in West Virginia and is exempt from federal income tax
under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, as amended,
codified in 26 U. S. C. §501 (c)(3), and is organized and
operated exclusively for charitable purposes within the meaning of that section; and
(11) One member representative of the homebuilding industry,
with special consideration of three nominees submitted by the
Homebuilders Association of West Virginia.
(c) Not more than four of the members, excluding the ex
officio members, may belong to the same political party. Except
for midterm special appointments made to fill irregular vacancies
on the Board, members shall be appointed for terms of three years
each. Members are eligible for reappointment. However, no member
may serve for more than two consecutive full terms. Except for
midterm special appointments made to fill irregular vacancies on
the Board, appointment terms shall begin on the first day of July
of the beginning year. All appointment terms, special and regular,
end on the thirtieth day of June of the final year of the term.
(d) All members of the Board except those who serve ex officio
shall be appointed by the Governor, with the advice and consent of
the Senate.
(e) The Governor may remove any appointed member in case of
incompetency, neglect of duty, moral turpitude or malfeasance in
office, and the Governor may declare the office vacant and fill the
vacancy as provided in other cases of vacancy.
(f) The Board shall annually select its chairperson.
(g) The Board shall meet not less than four times during the
fiscal year, and additional meetings may be held upon a call of the
chairperson or of a majority of the members. Board members shall
be reimbursed for sums necessary to carry out responsibilities of the Board and for reasonable travel expenses to attend Board
meetings. The ex officio members may not be reimbursed by the Fund
for travel expenses to attend Board meetings.
(h) Six members of the Board is a quorum. No vacancy in the
membership of the Board impairs the right of a quorum to exercise
all the rights and perform all the duties of the Board. Action may
be taken by the affirmative vote of a majority of members present
at a properly noticed and legally convened meeting of the Board.
§31-18D-6. Powers and responsibilities of the Board.
(a) The Board shall manage and control the Affordable Housing
Trust Fund. In order to carry out the day-to-day management and
control of the Trust Fund and effectuate the purposes of this
article, the Board may appoint an Executive Director and other
staff. The Board shall fix the Executive Director's duties and
compensation as well as that of other staff. The Executive
Director and other staff serve at the will and pleasure of the
Board. The Board may provide for staff payroll and employee
benefits in the same manner as the West Virginia Housing
Development Fund provides for its employees.
(b) The members of the Board and its officers are not liable
personally, either jointly or severally, for any debt or obligation
created by the Board.
(c) Members of the Board and its officers and employees shall
be provided insurance coverage by the state's Risk and Insurance
Management Board to the same extent and in the same manner the
coverage is applicable to state government agencies and appointed state officials and employees. The Board may elect to obtain other
forms of insurance coverage it considers reasonable for its
operations.
(d) The acts of the Board are solely acts of its corporation
and are not those of an agent of the state, nor is any debt or
obligation of the Board a debt or obligation of the state.
(e) The Board shall:
(1) Develop and implement comprehensive policies and programs
for the use of the Trust Fund that ensures the equitable
distribution of moneys from the Trust Fund throughout the various
geographic areas of this state and between urban and rural areas of
this state;
(2) Develop and implement an application and selection system
to identify housing sponsors or providers of affordable housing
developments or programs that qualify to receive assistance from
the Trust Fund for eligible activities;
(3) Provide funds for technical assistance to prospective
applicants;
(4) Monitor services, developments, projects or programs
receiving assistance from the Trust Fund to ensure that the
developments are operated in a manner consistent with this article
and in accordance with the representations made to the Trust Fund
Board by the sponsors of the services, developments, projects or
programs;
(5) Recommend legislation to further its mission of providing
housing for low to moderate income citizens of this state;
(6) Provide funding to increase the capacity of nonprofit
community housing organizations to serve their communities;
(7) Research and study housing needs and potential solutions
to the substandard quality or lack of affordable housing;
(8) Coordinate programs with other entities when doing so
fulfills its mission to provide housing to low to moderate income
citizens of this state;
(9) Convene public meetings to gather information or receive
public comments regarding housing policy or issues;
(10) Distribute available funds pursuant to policies
established by it which may permit the establishment of a permanent
endowment; and
(11) Serve as a clearinghouse for information regarding
housing services and providers within this state.
(f) The West Virginia Housing Development Fund shall provide
office space and staff support services for the Executive Director
and the Board, shall act as fiscal agent for the Board and, as
such, shall provide accounting services for the Board, invest all
funds as directed by the Board, service all investment and loan
activities of the Board as requested, and shall make the
disbursements of all funds as directed by the Board, and establish
best practices for recipient organizations, for which the West
Virginia Housing Development Fund shall be reasonably compensated,
as determined by the Board.
§31-18D-7. Eligible activities; eligible organizations.
(a) The Board shall use the moneys from the Trust Fund to make, or participate in the making of, loans or grants for eligible
activities that shall include, but not be limited to:
(1) Providing funds for new construction, rehabilitation,
repair or acquisition of housing to assist low or moderate income
citizens including land and land improvements;
(2) Providing matching funds for federal housing moneys
requiring a local or state match;
(3) Providing funds for administrative costs for housing
assistance programs or nonprofit organizations eligible for funding
pursuant to subsection (b) of this section if the grants or loans
provided will substantially increase the recipient's access to
housing funds or increase its capacity to supply affordable
housing;
(4) Providing loan guarantees and other financial mechanisms
to facilitate the provision of housing products or services;
(5) Providing funds for down payments, closing costs,
foreclosure prevention, home ownership counseling and security
bonds which facilitate the construction, rehabilitation, repair or
acquisition of housing by low to moderate income citizens;
(6) Providing risk underwriting products not provided by
private sector entities to facilitate broader accessibility of
citizens to other federal or state housing funds or loan programs.
The products shall be established using professional risk
underwriting standards and separate corporate vehicles may be
created and capitalized by the Trust Fund to provide the products;
and
(7) Providing start-up funds for initial operational expenses
of local government programs to reduce substandard housing or
inappropriate land use patterns.
(b) Organizations eligible for funding from the Trust Fund
include the following: (1) Local governments; (2) local government
housing authorities; (3) nonprofit organizations recognized as
exempt from federal income tax under Section 501(c)(3) of the
Internal Revenue Code, as amended, codified in 26 U. S. C. §501
(c)(3), and which are organized and operated exclusively for
charitable purposes within the meaning of that section, and in
accordance with those purposes provide assistance to low or
moderate income citizens of this state; and (4) regional or
statewide housing assistance organizations that have been
recognized as exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal
Revenue Code, as amended, and which provide assistance to low and
moderate income or low income citizens of this state.
§31-18D-9. Applications and selection criteria.
(a) No moneys may be expended from the Trust Fund for projects
that discriminate against any buyer or renter because of race,
religion, sex, familial status or national origin.
(b) The Board shall forward to the West Virginia Housing
Development Fund for its review and information approved requests,
applications and proposals for funding containing information as is
necessary to permit the West Virginia Housing Development Fund to
carry out its duties under this article.
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