Legislature(2003 - 2004)
03/06/2003 09:04 AM Senate FIN
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* first hearing in first committee of referral
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= bill was previously heard/scheduled
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= bill was previously heard/scheduled
CS FOR SENATE BILL NO. 25(HES)
"An Act relating to the teachers' housing loan program in the
Alaska Housing Finance Corporation; and providing for an
effective date."
This was the first hearing for this bill in the Senate Finance
Committee.
Co-Chair Wilken informed he has prepared a committee substitute for
consideration.
SHEILA PETERSON, Staff to Co-Chair Wilken, asserted this
legislation "is about recruiting and retaining the best teachers
possible for our students." She read the sponsor statement into the
record as follows.
Senate Bill 25 establishes a housing loan program within the
Alaska Housing Finance Corporation (AHFC) for teachers,
counselors, and administrators who are required to be
certified. The new teacher-housing loan offered through AHFC
permits a qualified applicant to purchase an owner-occupied
home without paying a conventional down payment.
This legislation will provide Alaska school districts with a
tool to help to attract and keep qualified public school
teachers. The recruitment and retention of a qualified
workforce is paramount to the operation of a successful K-12
educational program. Unfortunately many school districts are
experiencing a shortage of experienced, talented teachers and
spend thousands of dollars to recruit the necessary educators.
The proposed new housing loan program provides an incentive
for trained teachers, counselors, and administrators to enter
into the profession and settle down in local communities.
Senate Bill 25 addresses one of the concerns highlighted in
the October 2001 "Committee Report on the Statewide Teacher
Shortage" by the House Special Committee on Education. As
indicated in this report, the high cost of purchasing a home,
or, in some areas of the state, the lack of available teacher
housing is a frequent reason for teachers to leave the
profession. Senate Bill 25 recognizes this concern and helps
facilitate educators to obtain the necessary financing to
purchase a home by eliminating the requirement of a down
payment. Senate Bill 25 makes a small, but positive step,
towards ensuring that Alaska school districts have the best,
stable workforce possible.
Senator Taylor moved to adopt CS SB 25, 23-LS0080\Q, Cook, 3/3/03,
as a working draft.
Co-Chair Wilken detailed the changes proposed in the committee
substitute resulting from discussions of the Senate Health
Education and Social Services Committee on this legislation. He
stated the committee substitute allows teachers, counselors and
administrators to participate in the program only once. He also
noted the committee substitute provides that this legislation must
be reauthorized in five years to allow review of the program.
AT EASE 9:10 AM / 9:11 AM
Co-Chair Wilken overviewed the information contained in the bill
packet, including a report by the AHFC on the shortage of teacher
housing, and statements in support of this legislation. [Copies on
file] He gave examples of efforts of other states to attract and
retain teachers. He noted that not only is the "pool" of qualified
teachers smaller, competition from other states for these teachers
is increasing.
Senator Bunde commented that signing bonuses have been unsuccessful
at retaining qualified teachers. He explained that once the
required term of employment has been served as a condition of
receiving the bonus, teachers seek employment in another school
district to secure yet another signing bonus. He asked how the
program would ensure that teachers stay in the residences that
these loans were used to purchase.
Co-Chair Wilken understood that once the mortgage is in place it
would be difficult to track whether the teacher maintains residency
or relocates and collects rental income on the property.
DAN FAUSKE, Chief Operating Officer/Executive Director, AHFC,
deferred to Mr. Kapansky.
PAUL KAPANSKY, Mortgage Operations Director, AHFC, testified via
teleconference from an off net location in Anchorage, that once a
mortgage is issued the AHFC does not track the occupancy of the
residence. He stated that the concern of the Corporation is that
the loan payments are made.
Senator Bunde voiced concerns that a teacher could secure the
financing, move from the community and become a landlord utilizing
the benefit of the subsidized loan.
Mr. Kapansky clarified that this is technically not a subsidized
loan but rather allows qualified borrowers to secure a housing loan
with no down payment. However he agreed that such a situation could
occur.
Senator Bunde asked why other financial institutions require a down
payment on the purchase of housing.
Mr. Kapansky replied that some loan programs exist that provide 100
percent financing, but that state statute currently requires AHFC
to obtain at least five-percent down payment. He informed that risk
of default decreases in instances where borrowers have a vested
interest in the property.
Senator Bunde opined that because no down payment is required, this
program would be a subsidy. He explained this is due to the
increased potential that AHFC could sustain a loss.
Mr. Kapansky responded that the risk is "covered to some extent" by
mortgage insurance, which reimburses a percentage of the loss in
the event a lender forecloses on a property. He explained the
borrower is required to pay the premiums on this insurance.
Mr. Fauske furthered that any loan of 80 percent or greater loan-
to-value ratio requires mortgage insurance coverage. He noted that
once the 80 percent loan-to-value ratio is reached, the borrower's
loan payments are reduced because premiums are no longer collected.
Senator Olson asserted that rural residents do not view housing as
investments in the same manner as many urban residents because of
the lack of appreciable interest on rural properties. He informed
that teachers moving into villages are often faced with substandard
housing. He opined that teachers are not normally businesspeople
"looking at something from a for-profit perspective". He added that
often teachers who have purchased homes in rural communities have
suffered a loss when reselling their property.
Senator Taylor referenced language on page 2, line 4 of the
committee substitute " A teachers housing loan must be equal to 100
percent of the value of the property for which the loan is made."
He asked if loans could be issued only in the amount of 100 percent
of the property's market value.
Mr. Fauske understood the language to reiterate that no down
payment is required.
Senator Taylor predicted that if an appraisal determined a property
to be of a higher value than the market value, the borrower could
only secure a loan for the higher value under this program. He also
ascertained the language to prohibit the borrower from making a
down payment. He suggested "equity to value" or similar
terminology.
Mr. Fauske did not interpret the language to prohibit a borrower
from making a down payment.
Mr. Kapansky explained the advantage of this program to teachers is
the exemption from making a down payment and that this program
provides no other benefit to borrowers. He explained that the
appraisal or the sales price, whichever is lower, determines the
loan-to-value. He suggested the language could be clarified and
changed from "must" to "may".
Amendment #2: This amendment deletes "must" and inserts "may" on
page 2 line 4. The amended language reads, "A teachers' housing
loan may be equal to 100 percent of the value of the property for
which the loan is made."
Senator Taylor moved for adoption.
Co-Chair Green objected and pointed out this change would imply
that the loan could be issued for more than 100 percent of the
value of the property.
Mr. Fauske assured that this would not be practiced due to the
Corporation's underwriting criteria. He informed that borrowers
could obtain loans in amounts greater than the value for the
purpose of make improvements to the property; however borrowers
could not receive cash in excess of the value.
Co-Chair Green asked the incentive for a borrower willing to make a
down payment.
Mr. Fauske stressed that a borrower could make a down payment if
they chose under this program. He reiterated that this would lessen
the risk of default as well as shorten the term of the loan. He
surmised that if a borrower had a down payment, they might choose a
different AHFC loan.
Co-Chair Green wanted to ensure that this amendment does not
provide something that is unintended.
Mr. Kapansky recommended alternate language, "may be made up to 100
percent of the value of the property", which is similar to statutes
governing other AHFC loans.
Senator Taylor offered an amendment to the amendment to delete "be
equal to" and insert "be no greater than". The amended language
reads, "A teachers' housing may be no greater than 100 percent of
the value of the property for which the loan is made.
Co-Chair Wilken clarified "value of property" is defined as the
sales price or appraisal, whichever is less.
Mr. Fauske deemed this language compatible with the Corporation's
underwriting criteria.
Senator Bunde asked for a comparison of interest rates offered by
AHFC to that of other lenders.
Mr. Fauske responded that currently, the interest rates for AHFC
loans for rural properties are approximately five percent; tax-
exempt first-time homebuyers and veterans is 5.38; taxable and
taxable first-time homebuyers is 5.5. He commented that the
Corporation is "generally competitive" in the lending market for
conventional taxable and taxable first-time homebuyers loans.
Senator Bunde commented that the proposed AHFC loans for teachers
would have no advantage to qualified borrowers making a down
payment.
Senator Bunde asserted that he supports efforts to provide adequate
teacher housing in rural Alaska.
There was no objection and the amendment was AMENDED and ADOPTED.
Senator Bunde continued speaking to the fiscal aptitudes of
teachers. He concluded that this proposal would not provide a
significant subsidy, although the ability to obtain a home loan
without a down payment would be an advantage not available to the
general public. He was assured that this program would not impact
AHFC's "bottom line", nor would it reduce the amount of the
dividend the Corporation pays to the State general fund.
Senator Olson asked about the original teachers' loan program in
rural Alaska.
Mr. Fauske replied that the original Housing Assistance Loan Fund
(HALF) program began in the middle 1980s was intended to provide
teacher housing and was expanded to allow participation by all
citizens. He told of difficulties and efforts to provide multi-
family housing in rural communities. He noted that loan activity
for single-family dwellings occurs "in spurts". He reported little
activity of teachers purchasing homes in small villages, stating
that the teacher participation in the existing program occurs
primarily in larger "hub" communities such as Barrow, Bethel,
Kotzebue and Nome. He expressed that the Corporation supports
additional efforts to provide housing loans for teachers, as it
would provide "business" for the Corporation and housing for
teachers.
Senator Olson asked if the witness could suggest changes to the
committee substitute to streamline the process of constructing
multi-family housing facilities in villages.
Mr. Fauske informed of options under consideration that would be
possible if additional federal funding could be secured. He told of
the Section 8 voucher certificate program, whereby the federal
government subsidizes rental payments to landlords. He described
this rental assistance program in which the federal government is
no longer constructing large public housing units. He shared that
AHFC is participating in this program and told of a test program
recently implemented in Barrow to expand the rental market in that
community. He qualified that the loan programs could not be
utilized in some communities because there is no "inventory" or
true real estate market.
Amendment #1: This amendment changes the title of the bill to read
as follows.
"An Act relating to the acquisition of teachers' housing by
regional educational attendance areas and to teachers' housing
loan programs in the Alaska Housing Finance Corporation; and
providing for an effective date."
This amendment also inserts a new bill section on page 1 following
line 3 to read as follows.
Section 1. AS 14.08.101(9) is amended to read:
(9) provide housing for rental to teachers, by
leasing existing housing from a local agency or individual,
[OR] by entering into contractual arrangements with a local
agency or individual to lease housing that will be constructed
by the local agency or individual for that purpose, or by
constructing or otherwise acquiring housing that is owned and
managed by the regional educational attendance area for rental
to teachers;
New Text Underlined [DELETED TEXT BRACKETED]
This amendment also inserts a new bill section on page 2, following
line 6 to read as follows.
Sec. 3. AS 18.56.580(a) is amended to read:
(a) In addition to the powers authorized by AS 18.56.400,
the corporation shall adopt regulations under AS 18.56.088
allowing the use of money in the housing assistance loan fund
to make loans to regional education attendance areas or other
borrowers for the purchase or development of teacher housing
in small communities. The regulations must implement the
requirements of (b) of this section and establish other terms
and conditions for teacher housing loans, including those
relating to borrower eligibility and the number of loans that
may be made to a single borrower. The corporation may require
the borrower to pay costs associated with a loan.
New Text Underlined [DELETED TEXT BRACKETED]
Senator Olson moved for adoption.
Co-Chair Wilken objected for an explanation.
Senator Olson stated the intent of this amendment is to clarify how
this legislation would assist teacher housing in rural Alaska. He
recalled other legislation considered during the previous
legislation session to enhance the retention of teachers and
emphasized the need for adequate housing to retain teachers. He
proposed that some Rural Education Attendance Area (REAA) districts
could participate in this program and construct rental housing for
teachers.
Senator Bunde qualified his knowledge of rural Alaska is limited;
however, he could not understand the interest to purchase housing
in an area where the investment would depreciate. He suggested
expanding this provision to apply to urban school districts,
although this would be in competition with private industry.
Senator Olson clarified that lack of depreciation on property does
not occur in the same manner as in urban areas.
Senator B. Stevens asked the percentage of teachers in rural Alaska
that live in REAA-owned housing units.
Senator Olson did not have an exact figure, but noted that because
REAAs are not currently permitted to participate in this program,
these school districts have been unable to purchase housing. He
stated that instead, teachers have limited availability of housing
of private rental units. He told of teachers who must board
together and one teacher living in a school boiler room rather than
the substandard housing otherwise available.
Co-Chair Wilken stated that the intent of this program is to create
the buy-in of a teacher into the community. He asserted that this
amendment does not reflect this intent and instead fosters the buy-
in of a governmental entity.
Co-Chair Wilken also voiced concerns about repayment of the debt
incurred by REAAs for multi-family housing units and asked what
revenue stream could support this debt. He listed: grants, federal
funds, State funds, and local contributions as possible funding
sources. He gave an example of a $500,000 loan to construct a
fourplex unit.
Senator Olson replied that rental income would be used to pay the
mortgage on these loans. He stated that there would always be a
need for teacher housing and therefore the units would remain
occupied, unless the population of the village significantly
reduced. He clarified that multi-family dwellings are not typically
built in small villages due to the expense of constructing larger
facilities. Rather, he said, most housing units are single family
or duplexes.
Co-Chair Wilken surmised that rental income would therefore provide
the revenue stream for the 15 or 30-year term of the mortgage. He
asked the witness if this were viable.
Mr. Fauske asserted that normal underwriting criteria would be
applied to any loan application and that consideration is given to
rental income, grants and other revenues that could be dedicated to
repayment of the loan. He furthered that vacancy rates and rental
reserves are also considered.
Co-Chair Wilken asked if education foundation formula funds would
be expected to support this debt.
Senator Olson deferred to Mr. Fauske.
Mr. Fauske replied that the AHFC would consider all revenue sources
when reviewing a loan application. He informed that a revenue
source based on an annual appropriation would be of concern because
of the uncertainty that it would be available each year.
Mr. Fauske also pointed out that in some communities, the school
district subsidizes rental payments for teachers. He exampled
Kotzebue and described the leases granted for 12 months although
the teachers are only present for 9 months a year. In this
instance, he said, the school district pays the remaining three
months of rent. He stated this would be a concern in determining
the ability of the REAA to meet the loan obligation.
Senator Bunde announced that unless such a housing facility is part
of the school itself, he would not support the use of foundation
formula funds to pay a mortgage for teacher housing.
Senator Bunde declared that facilities would always experience some
vacancy. He voiced concern that unorganized communities without
taxing authority would not have an ability to generate funds to
offset the absence of sufficient rental income. He suggested this
provision should only apply to organized areas.
Senator Olson agreed that complications and potential ramifications
could be discussed, but he emphasized, "We all agree that teachers
certainly are necessary" for an education system. He remarked that
he offered this amendment as a method to attract teachers to rural
Alaska.
Co-Chair Wilken requested the sponsor withdraw the amendment and
consult with AHFC to determine whether, and how, this loan program
could be extended to REAAs while guaranteeing that no foundation
formula funding would be used in the repayment of the debt.
SFC 03 # 16, Side B 09:53 AM
Co-Chair Wilken continued, declaring "In no way will foundation
money be used to support this type of an effort until the local
contribution on behalf of these people is put in place."
Senator Olson WITHDREW his motion to adopt the amendment without
objection.
Co-Chair Green spoke to her opposition of the bill. She pointed out
that this legislation does not require that an area demonstrate a
need for teachers, nor does it require that a borrower under this
program continue to teach. She furthered that the provision does
not include a first time buyer requirement, an "age factor" or a
maximum loan amount. She opined, "If this is good for young
teachers coming into a community, it's good for the young people
who have graduated from a voc-tech school, nurses or a whole rash
of other people."
Co-Chair Wilken ordered the bill HELD in Committee.
[Note: Remainder of meeting is recorded on SFC-03 #16-II.]
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