The Florida Senate

159.8075  Qualified mortgage credit certificates.--

(1)  On or before December 29 of each year, a housing finance authority may elect, in writing to the division, to convert all or a portion of its private activity bond allocation obtained for qualified mortgage bonds under this part to the issuance of mortgage credit certificates. The election is irrevocable. A housing finance authority shall provide written notice of any election made under this section to the governing body of the county for which the housing finance authority was created.

(a)  Except as provided in paragraphs (b) and (c), with respect to allocation granted prior to July 1, a housing finance authority located in region 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, or 9 may make the election only in an amount not greater than the amount that bears the same ratio to its region's initial allocation as the population of its county bears to the population of its region, based on population figures provided by the division.

(b)  If, at any time commencing on the 5th business day before July 1 and ending on the last business day before July 1, no notices of intent to issue private activity bonds have been filed with the division for other issuers in its region which remain unfilled:

1.  A housing finance authority that seeks to make an election to issue mortgage credit certificates, whether or not it has previously made such an election, may disregard the limitation set forth in paragraph (a) with respect to allocations it has already received;

2.  A housing finance authority that has not yet applied for and received all of its region's allocation may apply for and receive, to the extent available, additional allocation from its regional pool, in an amount greater than 10 percent of its initial allocation, for the purpose of issuing qualified mortgage bonds, notwithstanding s. 159.805(7), so long as it simultaneously elects to convert that portion of such additional allocation to the issuance of mortgage credit certificates as will cause the unconverted portion, if any, to be equal to no more than 10 percent of the amount of its initial allocation remaining unconverted immediately before the receipt by the division of its additional application.

(c)  If, at any time commencing on the 5th business day before July 1 and ending on the last business day before July 1, one or more notices of intent to issue private activity bonds are pending for other issuers in its region, a housing finance authority may, if it has enough unconverted qualified mortgage bond allocation, relinquish that amount of such allocation to the division in order to fully satisfy such pending notices, and may subsequently proceed, pursuant to subparagraph (b)1., to elect to convert any remaining unconverted allocation.

(2)  All mortgage credit certificates must be issued under a certification program that is designed to ensure that the requirements of s. 25 of the Code, specifically s. 25(f)(4), are complied with and that meets all requirements adopted by the United States Secretary of Treasury as set out in applicable regulations. Any potential issuer of mortgage credit certificates must certify in writing to the division that the mortgage credit certification program is certified under s. 25 of the Code, and specifically s. 25(f)(4). The director of the division is the state official designated to make the certification required by Temporary Regulation 1.25-4T (d) under the Code.

(3)  For that portion of the allocation that the issuer has elected to use for mortgage credit certificates, the issuer need not comply with s. 159.805(2).

(4)  Each qualified issuer of mortgage credit certificates shall, for each year in which it issues mortgage credit certificates, or for each year in which it had the ability to issue mortgage credit certificates under the Code and this part, file with the division annual activity reports by December 29 stating the face amount of mortgage credit certificates issued during the then-current calendar year and such other information as the division reasonably requests.

(5)  The election referenced in subsection (1), the certification referenced in subsection (2), and the annual activity report referenced in subsection (4) may be submitted to the division by hand delivery, regular mail, overnight delivery service, or electronic transmission.

History.--s. 4, ch. 96-210.