To direct the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to carry out a 3-year pilot program to assist law enforcement officers purchasing homes in locally designated at-risk areas.

Directs the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to carry out a three-year pilot program of mortgage assistance (downpayment, closing costs, insurance premium) for qualifying law enforcement officers buying homes in locally-designated high-crime areas.

[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 729 Introduced in House (IH)]






108th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 729

To direct the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to carry out a 
  3-year pilot program to assist law enforcement officers purchasing 
               homes in locally designated at-risk areas.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           February 12, 2003

 Mr. Green of Wisconsin (for himself, Mr. Houghton, Mr. McGovern, Mr. 
    Payne, Mr. Kennedy of Minnesota, Ms. Hooley of Oregon, and Mrs. 
McCarthy of New York) introduced the following bill; which was referred 
                 to the Committee on Financial Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To direct the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to carry out a 
  3-year pilot program to assist law enforcement officers purchasing 
               homes in locally designated at-risk areas.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER HOMEOWNERSHIP PILOT PROGRAM.

    (a) Assistance for Law Enforcement Officers.--For the 3 years 
following the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 
Housing and Urban Development shall carry out a pilot program to assist 
Federal, State, and local law enforcement officers purchasing homes in 
locally designated at-risk areas in accordance with this Act.
    (b) Eligibility.--To be eligible for assistance under this Act, a 
law enforcement officer shall--
            (1) have completed not less than 6 months of service as a 
        law enforcement officer as of the date that the law enforcement 
        officer applies for such assistance; and
            (2) agree, in writing, to use the residence purchased with 
        such assistance as the primary residence of the law enforcement 
        officer for not less than 3 years after the date of purchase.
    (c) Mortgage Assistance.--If a law enforcement officer purchases a 
home in a locally designated at-risk area and finances such purchase 
through a mortgage insured under title II of the National Housing Act 
(12 U.S.C. 1707 et seq.), notwithstanding any provision of section 203 
or any other provision of the National Housing Act, the following shall 
apply:
            (1) Downpayment.--
                    (A) In general.--There shall be no downpayment 
                required if the purchase price of the property is not 
                more than the reasonable value of the property, as 
                determined by the Secretary.
                    (B) Purchase price exceeds value.--If the purchase 
                price of the property exceeds the reasonable value of 
                the property, as determined by the Secretary, the 
                required downpayment shall be the difference between 
                such reasonable value and the purchase price.
            (2) Closing costs.--The closing costs and origination fee 
        for such mortgage may be included in the loan amount.
            (3) Insurance premium payment.--There shall be 1 insurance 
        premium payment due on the mortgage. Such insurance premium 
        payment--
                    (A) shall be equal to 1 percent of the loan amount;
                    (B) shall be due and considered earned by the 
                Secretary at the time of the loan closing; and
                    (C) may be included in the loan amount and paid 
                from the loan proceeds.
    (d) Locally Designated At-Risk Area.--
            (1) In general.--Any unit of local government may request 
        that the Secretary designate any area within the jurisdiction 
        of that unit of local government as a locally designated at-
        risk area for purposes of this Act if the proposed area--
                    (A) has a crime rate that is significantly higher 
                than the crime rate of the non-designated area that is 
                within the jurisdiction of the unit of local 
                government; and
                    (B) has a population that is not more than 25 
                percent of the total population of area within the 
                jurisdiction of the unit of local government.
            (2) Deadline for consideration of request.--Not later than 
        60 days after receiving a request under paragraph (1), the 
        Secretary shall approve or disapprove the request.
    (e) Sunset.--The Secretary shall not approve any application for 
assistance under this Act that is received by the Secretary more than 3 
years after the date of the enactment of this Act.
                                 <all>