1.1                          A bill for an act
  1.2             relating to housing; establishing an affordable 
  1.3             housing demonstration project; appropriating money. 
  1.4   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.5      Section 1.  [APPROPRIATION.] 
  1.6      (a) $1,600,000 is appropriated from the general fund to the 
  1.7   commissioner of the Minnesota housing finance agency for 
  1.8   transfer to the housing development fund for the community 
  1.9   rehabilitation program under Minnesota Statutes, section 
  1.10  462A.206.  This appropriation is for at least three, and not 
  1.11  more than six, innovative affordable housing demonstration 
  1.12  projects.  
  1.13     (b) These pilot projects are to create owner-occupied 
  1.14  single or multifamily homes which are affordable to families 
  1.15  with incomes at or below ... percent of the median family income 
  1.16  in the area, and which use innovative building techniques or 
  1.17  materials to lower construction costs while maintaining high 
  1.18  quality construction and livability.  At least one pilot project 
  1.19  must be in a city of the first class and at least one must be in 
  1.20  a suburb located in the seven-county metropolitan area. 
  1.21     (c) The commissioner will develop procedures to implement 
  1.22  this demonstration project and establish criteria upon which to 
  1.23  judge grant applications.  These criteria must include:  (1) 
  1.24  local effort by the community; (2) the community's willingness 
  2.1   to waive restrictions which would otherwise increase costs of 
  2.2   construction; and (3) the extent to which a grant would leverage 
  2.3   funding from nonstate sources.  
  2.4      (d) This appropriation must be used principally for 
  2.5   projects which close the gap between the market price of housing 
  2.6   in an area and the price affordable to the targeted income 
  2.7   level.  This is a one-time appropriation and is not added to the 
  2.8   agency's permanent base.