THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA

HOUSE BILL

INTRODUCED BY BARRAR, BAKER, D. COSTA, CREIGHTON, DENLINGER, GEIST, GRELL, GROVE, HORNAMAN, KOTIK, MICCARELLI, MOUL, MUNDY, MURT, O'NEILL, ROCK, SIPTROTH AND VULAKOVICH, FEBRUARY 2, 2010

REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, FEBRUARY 2, 2010  

AN ACT

Amending the act of December 3, 1959 (P.L.1688, No.621),

entitled, as amended, "An act to promote the health, safety

and welfare of the people of the Commonwealth by broadening

the market for housing for persons and families of low and

moderate income and alleviating shortages thereof, and by

assisting in the provision of housing for elderly persons

through the creation of the Pennsylvania Housing Finance

Agency as a public corporation and government

instrumentality; providing for the organization, membership

and administration of the agency, prescribing its general

powers and duties and the manner in which its funds are kept

and audited, empowering the agency to make housing loans to

qualified mortgagors upon the security of insured and

uninsured mortgages, defining qualified mortgagors and

providing for priorities among tenants in certain instances,

prescribing interest rates and other terms of housing loans,

permitting the agency to acquire real or personal property,

permitting the agency to make agreements with financial

institutions and Federal agencies, providing for the purchase

by persons of low and moderate income of housing units, and

approving the sale of housing units, permitting the agency to

sell housing loans, providing for the promulgation of

regulations and forms by the agency, prescribing penalties

for furnishing false information, empowering the agency to

borrow money upon its own credit by the issuance and sale of

bonds and notes and by giving security therefor, permitting

the refunding, redemption and purchase of such obligations by

the agency, prescribing remedies of holders of such bonds and

notes, exempting bonds and notes of the agency, the income

therefrom, and the income and revenues of the agency from

taxation, except transfer, death and gift taxes; making such

bonds and notes legal investments for certain purposes; and

indicating how the act shall become effective," further

providing for agency powers.

The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

hereby enacts as follows:

Section 1.  Section 205 of the act of December 3, 1959

(P.L.1688, No.621), known as the Housing Finance Agency Law, is

amended by adding a clause to read:

Section 205.  Agency Powers.--The agency shall have the

following powers:

* * *

(22)  To train and certify counseling personnel as necessary

to administer the provisions of this act. The following shall

apply:

(i)  The agency shall certify counseling personnel for each

counseling program it operates or reimburses another entity to

operate. Individuals not certified by the agency shall not

provide counseling services that are directly or indirectly

funded by the agency.

(ii)  The agency shall keep a record of all persons that it

certifies to provide counseling services. The record shall be

subject to the provisions of the act of February 14, 2008

(P.L.6, No.3), known as the "Right-to-Know Law."

(iii)  The agency shall adopt guidelines for each counseling

program it operates or reimburses another entity to operate. The

guidelines shall include criteria for relevant training and

precertification examinations, as well as any other criteria for

certification the agency may require. The agency may develop

precertification training courses and examinations, or it may

contract with any outside entity to do so in accordance with

agency guidelines.

(iv)  The agency shall require a minimum of ten hours of

precertification training for each counselor it certifies and a

minimum ten hours annually of continuing education. If a

counselor certified by the agency fails to complete continuing

education as required by law or agency guidelines, the agency

shall rescind certification.

(v)  The agency shall refuse to certify an individual unless

that individual has passed a precertification examination to the

satisfaction of the agency.

(vi)  The agency shall review the criminal history of each

applicant for counseling certification, and it may refuse to

certify any applicant in accordance with 18 Pa.C.S. § 9124

(relating to use of records by licensing agencies).

(vii)  The agency may require an applicant for counseling

certification or the applicant's employer to obtain the

applicant's criminal history record from the Pennsylvania State

Police or the agency may require the applicant or the

applicant's employer to reimburse the agency for such costs the

agency may incur when obtaining the applicant's criminal history

record from the Pennsylvania State Police.

Section 2.  This act shall take effect in 60 days.