(a) A Neighborhood Housing Services Program Fund is hereby created. There shall be deposited in said fund all moneys received by or appropriated to the Department of Housing from time to time therefor. Amounts in said fund shall be used for the purpose of making grants-in-aid to any duly organized neighborhood housing services corporation in the state, pursuant to subsection (b) of this section.

(b) In order to stimulate development of partnerships of the public and private sectors of the urban community committed to stemming neighborhood decline, the state, acting by and in the discretion of the Commissioner of Housing, may enter into a contract with any duly organized neighborhood housing services corporation in the state. Such contract shall provide for state financial assistance in the form of a state grant-in-aid equal to twice the amount of the federal grant-in-aid received by such corporation but not to exceed one hundred thousand dollars.

(c) “Neighborhood housing services program” means a program developed by the Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation of the United States government to stimulate reinvestment in the urban neighborhood. “Neighborhood housing services corporation” means a private, nonprofit, community based corporation organized pursuant to the establishment of a neighborhood housing services program. The significant features of a neighborhood housing services corporation include: (1) Government by a local board of directors composed of neighborhood residents and financial industry representatives; (2) use of a revolving loan fund to make loans to residents of the neighborhood who cannot meet normal commercial credit requirements for the purpose of bringing homes in the neighborhood up to code standards; (3) contributions to the loan fund by, among others, foundations, local business and industry, local government and the Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation; and (4) operation of a systematic housing inspection and code compliance program for homeowners which includes rehabilitation counseling, construction monitoring and financial counseling.

(P.A. 78-317, S. 2, 4, 5; P.A. 79-299, S. 1, 2; 79-598, S. 12; 79-631, S. 89, 111; P.A. 86-107, S. 2, 19; P.A. 95-250, S. 1; P.A. 96-211, S. 1, 5, 6; P.A. 05-288, S. 43; P.A. 13-234, S. 2.)

History: P.A. 79-299 amended Subsecs. (a) and (b) by replacing references to the Urban Reinvestment Task Force of the United States government with references to duly organized neighborhood housing services corporations, further amended Subsec. (b) by deleting reference to two-program limit for programs established in a given year, deleted Subsec. (c) which had contained provisions for assistance to neighborhood corporations and relettered former Subsec. (d) as Subsec. (c), substituting Urban Reinvestment Corporation for Urban Reinvestment Task Force; P.A. 79-598 substituted commissioner of housing for commissioner of economic development; P.A. 79-631 substituted Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation for Urban Reinvestment Corporation; P.A. 86-107 removed reference in Subsec. (a) to state treasurer as trustee of fund; P.A. 95-250 and P.A. 96-211 replaced Commissioner and Department of Housing with Commissioner and Department of Economic and Community Development; P.A. 05-288 made a technical change in Subsec. (a), effective July 13, 2005; pursuant to P.A. 13-234, references to Commissioner of Economic and Community Development and Department of Economic and Community Development were changed editorially by the Revisors to references to Commissioner of Housing and Department of Housing, respectively, effective June 19, 2013.