Sec. 2306.142. AUTHORIZATION OF BONDS. (a) Subject to the requirements of this section, the board shall authorize all bonds issued by the department.

(b) If the issuance is authorized by the board, the department shall issue single-family mortgage revenue bonds to make home mortgage credit available for the purchase of newly constructed or previously owned single-family homes to economic and geographic submarkets of borrowers who are not served or who are substantially underserved by the conventional, Federal National Mortgage Association, Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation, or Federal Housing Administration home mortgage lending industry or by housing finance corporations organized under Chapter 394, Local Government Code.

(c) The board by rule shall adopt a methodology for determining through a market study the home mortgage credit needs in underserved economic and geographic submarkets in the state. In conducting the market study required by this subsection, the department or its designee shall analyze for the underserved economic and geographic submarkets, at a minimum, the following factors:

(1) home ownership rates;

(2) loan volume;

(3) loan approval ratios;

(4) loan interest rates;

(5) loan terms;

(6) loan availability;

(7) type and number of dwelling units; and

(8) use of subprime mortgage loan products, comparing the volume amount of subprime loans and interest rates to "A" paper mortgage loans as defined by Standard and Poor's credit underwriting criteria.

(d) The department or its designee shall analyze the potential market demand, loan availability, and private sector home mortgage lending rates available to extremely low, very low, low, and moderate income borrowers in the rural counties of the state, in census tracts in which the median family income is less than 80 percent of the median family income for the county in which the census tract is located, and in the region of the state adjacent to the international border of the state. The department or its designee shall establish a process for serving those counties, census tracts, and regions through the single-family mortgage revenue bond program in a manner proportionate to the credit needs of those areas as determined through the department's market study.

(e) Using the market study and the analysis required by this section, the board shall evaluate the feasibility of a single-family mortgage revenue bond program with loan marketing, eligibility, underwriting, structuring, collection, and foreclosure criteria and with loan services practices that are designed to meet the credit needs of the underserved economic and geographic submarkets of the state, including those submarkets served disproportionately by subprime lenders.

(f) In evaluating a proposed bond program under this section, the board shall consider, consistent with the reasonable financial operation of the department, specific set-asides or reservations of mortgage loans for underserved economic and geographic submarkets in the state, including the reservation of funds to serve borrowers who have "A-" to "B-" credit according to Standard and Poor's credit underwriting criteria.

(g) The department may use any source of funds or subsidy available to the department to provide credit enhancement, down payment assistance, pre-homebuyer and post-homebuyer counseling, interest rate reduction, and payment of incentive lender points to accomplish the purposes of this section in a manner considered by the board to be consistent with the reasonable financial operation of the department.

(h) In allocating funds under Subsection (g), the department's highest priority is to provide assistance to borrowers in underserved economic and geographic submarkets in the state. If the board determines that sufficient funds are available after fully meeting the credit needs of borrowers in those submarkets, the department may provide assistance to other borrowers.

(i) The board shall certify that each single-family mortgage revenue bond issued by the department under this section is structured in a manner that serves the credit needs of borrowers in underserved economic and geographic submarkets in the state.

(j) After any board approval and certification of a single-family mortgage revenue bond issuance, the department shall submit the proposed bond issuance to the Bond Review Board for review.

(k) In the state fiscal year beginning on September 1, 2001, the department shall:

(1) adopt by rule a market study methodology as required by Subsection (c);

(2) conduct the market study;

(3) propose for board review a single-family mortgage revenue bond program, including loan feature details, a program for borrower subsidies as provided by Subsections (g) and (h), and origination and servicing infrastructure;

(4) identify reasonable capital markets financing;

(5) conduct a public hearing on the market study results and the proposed bond program; and

(6) submit for review by the Bond Review Board the market study results and, if approved and certified by the board, the proposed bond program.

(l) In the state fiscal year beginning on September 1, 2002, and in each subsequent state fiscal year, the department shall allocate not less than 40 percent of the total single-family mortgage revenue bond loan volume to meet the credit needs of borrowers in underserved economic and geographic submarkets in the state, subject to the identification of a satisfactory market volume demand through the market study.

(m) On completion of the market study, if the board determines in any year that bonds intended to be issued to achieve the purposes of this section are unfeasible or would damage the financial condition of the department, the board may formally appeal to the Bond Review Board the requirements of Subsection (k) or (l), as applicable. The Bond Review Board has sole authority to modify or waive the required allocation levels.

(n) In addition to any other loan originators selected by the department, the department shall authorize colonia self-help centers and any other community-based, nonprofit institutions considered appropriate by the board to originate loans on behalf of the department. All non-financial institutions acting as loan originators under this subsection must undergo adequate training, as prescribed by the department, to participate in the bond program. The department may require lenders to participate in ongoing training and underwriting compliance audits to maintain good standing to participate in the bond program. The department may require that lenders meet appropriate eligibility standards as prescribed by the department.

(o) The department shall structure all single-family mortgage revenue bond issuances in a manner designed to recover the full costs associated with conducting the activities required by this section.

Added by Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 268, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1993. Amended by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 980, Sec. 24, eff. Sept. 1, 1997; Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 1367, Sec. 2.02, eff. Sept. 1, 2001.