AN ACT Relating to
mortgage and rental assistance for dislocated forest products workers; amending
RCW 43.63A.600, 43.63A.610, 43.63A.620, 43.63A.630, and 43.63A.640; and
providing an effective date.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF
WASHINGTON:
Sec. 1. RCW 43.63A.600 and 1993
c 280 s 77 are each amended to read as follows:
(1) The department of
community, trade, and economic development, as a member of the agency timber
task force and in consultation with the economic recovery coordination board,
shall establish and administer the emergency mortgage and rental assistance
program. The department shall identify the communities most adversely affected
by reductions in timber harvest levels and shall prioritize assistance under
this program to these communities. The department shall work with the
department of social and health services and the timber recovery coordinator to
develop the program in timber impact areas. Organizations eligible to receive grant
funds for distribution under the program are those organizations that are
eligible to receive assistance through the Washington housing trust fund. The
department shall disburse the funds to eligible local organizations as grants.
The local organizations shall use the funds to make grants or loans as
specified in RCW 43.63A.600 through 43.63A.640. If funds are disbursed as
loans, the local organization shall establish a revolving grant and loan fund
with funds received as loan repayments and shall continue to make grants or
loans or both grants and loans from funds received as loan repayments to
dislocated forest products workers eligible under the provisions of RCW
43.63A.600 through 43.63A.640 and to other persons residing in timber impact
areas who meet the requirements of RCW 43.63A.600 through 43.63A.640.
(2) The goals of the
program are to:
(a) Provide temporary
emergency mortgage loans or rental assistance grants or loans on
behalf of dislocated forest products workers in timber impact areas who are
unable to make ((current)) mortgage, property tax, or rental
payments on their permanent residences and are subject to immediate eviction
for nonpayment of mortgage installments, property taxes, or nonpayment
of rent;
(b) Prevent the dislocation
of individuals and families from their permanent residences and their
communities; and
(c) Maintain economic
and social stability in timber impact areas.
Sec. 2. RCW 43.63A.610 and 1991
c 315 s 24 are each amended to read as follows:
Emergency mortgage
assistance shall be provided under the following general guidelines:
(1) Loans provided
under the program shall not exceed an amount equal to twenty-four months of
mortgage payments.
(2) The maximum loan
amount allowed under the program shall not exceed twenty thousand dollars.
(3) Loans shall be made
to applicants who meet specific income guidelines established by the
department.
(4) Loan payments shall
be made directly to the mortgage lender.
(5) Loans shall be
granted on a first-come, first-served basis.
(6) Repayment of loans
provided under the program shall be made to eligible local organizations,
and must not take more than twenty years. Funds repaid to the program
shall be used as grants or loans under the provisions of RCW 43.63A.600 through
43.63A.640.
(((7) The department
may provide for emergency short-term loans.))
Sec. 3. RCW 43.63A.620 and 1991
c 315 s 25 are each amended to read as follows:
Emergency rental
assistance shall be provided under the following general guidelines:
(1) Rental assistance
provided under the program may be in the form of loans or grants and shall not
exceed an amount equal to twenty-four months of ((mortgage)) rental
payments.
(2) Rental assistance
shall be made to applicants who meet specific income guidelines established by
the department.
(3) Rental payments
shall be made directly to the landlord.
(4) Rental assistance
shall be granted on a first-come, first-served basis.
Sec. 4. RCW 43.63A.630 and 1991
c 315 s 26 are each amended to read as follows:
To be eligible for
assistance under the program, an applicant must:
(1) Be unable to keep
mortgage or rental payments current, due to a loss of employment, and shall be
at significant risk of eviction;
(2) Have his or her
permanent residence located in an eligible community;
(3) If requesting
emergency mortgage assistance, be the owner of an equitable interest in the
permanent residence and intend to reside in the home being financed;
(4) Be actively seeking
new employment or be enrolled in a training program approved by the director;
and
(5) Submit an
application for assistance to an organization eligible to receive funds under
RCW 43.63A.600 ((by June 30, 1996)).
Sec. 5. RCW 43.63A.640 and 1991
c 315 s 27 are each amended to read as follows:
The department shall
carry out the following duties:
(1) Administer the
program;
(2) Identify
organizations eligible to receive funds to implement the program;
(3) Develop and adopt
the necessary rules and procedures for implementation of the program and for
dispersal of program funds to eligible organizations;
(4) Establish the
interest rate for repayment of loans at two percent below the market rate;
(5) Work with lending
institutions and social service providers in the eligible communities to assure
that all eligible persons are informed about the program;
(6) Utilize federal and
state programs that complement or facilitate carrying out the program;
(7) ((Submit a
report to the senate commerce and labor committee and the house of
representatives housing committee by January 31, 1992)) Ensure that
local eligible organizations that dissolve or become ineligible assign their
program funds, rights to loan repayments, and loan security instruments, to the
government of the county in which the local organization is located. If the
county government accepts the program assets described in this subsection, it
shall act as a local eligible organization under the provisions of RCW
43.63A.600 through 43.63A.640. If the county government declines to
participate, the program assets shall revert to the department.
NEW SECTION.
Sec. 6. This act shall take
effect July 1, 1994.
