46th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2003

RELATING TO HOME OWNERSHIP; CREATING A PROGRAM IN THE MORTGAGE FINANCE AUTHORITY TO PROVIDE HOME LOAN ASSISTANCE FOR CERTAIN ENTRY-LEVEL TEACHERS; PROVIDING POWERS AND DUTIES; PROVIDING FOR REPAYMENT OF LOANS THROUGH SERVICE; PROVIDING FOR ENFORCEMENT OF LOANS BY LIENS; MAKING AN APPROPRIATION.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:

Section 1. A new section of the Mortgage Finance Authority Act is enacted to read:

"[NEW MATERIAL] TEACHER HOME LOAN ASSISTANCE PROGRAM--ELIGIBILITY--POWERS AND DUTIES--REPAYMENT--LIENS.--

A. The authority shall establish a "teacher home loan assistance program" to provide low-interest loans to entry-level teachers for assistance in paying down payments and closing costs required for home ownership.

B. The authority shall adopt rules to implement the teacher home loan assistance program, including:

(1) income guidelines that consider local home prices related to participant income;

(2) loan guidelines that provide a sliding scale for loan amounts that are related to local home prices and the price of the home for which the applicant is seeking down payment assistance; and

(3) procedures for encumbering the property for which a home loan assistance loan is granted with a lien securing the repayment of the loan.

C. To be eligible for the program, an applicant shall be a certified school instructor who has taught for less than three years and who is employed in a school district as a classroom teacher. The applicant shall apply for the program through a local lender.

D. The state and the authority shall each provide forty percent of the cost of the teacher home loan assistance loan and the school district in which the teacher is employed shall provide twenty percent of the cost of the loan.

E. Teacher home loan assistance loans may be forgiven at the rate of one-fifth of the outstanding balance each year for each year of teaching service in the school district as provided by authority rule or due on sale, refinance or transfer to an ineligible recipient."

Section 2. APPROPRIATION.--Four hundred thousand dollars ($400,000) is appropriated from the general fund to the department of finance and administration for expenditure in fiscal year 2004 to contract with the New Mexico mortgage finance authority to establish the teacher home loan assistance program. Any unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of fiscal year 2004 shall revert to the general fund.