2026 -- H 7226

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LC003629

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2026

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A N   A C T

RELATING TO STATE AFFAIRS AND GOVERNMENT -- RHODE ISLAND HOUSING

AND MORTGAGE FINANCE CORPORATION

     Introduced By: Representatives Chippendale, Place, Nardone, J. Brien, Newberry,
Santucci, Paplauskas, Quattrocchi, Hopkins, and Fascia

     Date Introduced: January 21, 2026

     Referred To: House Municipal Government & Housing

     It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

     SECTION 1. Section 42-55-5 of the General Laws in Chapter 42-55 entitled "Rhode Island

Housing and Mortgage Finance Corporation" is hereby amended to read as follows:

     42-55-5. General powers.

     The corporation shall have all of the powers necessary and convenient to carry out and

effectuate the purposes and provisions of this chapter; including, but without limiting the generality

of the foregoing, the power to:

     (1) Sue and be sued in its own name;

     (2) Have an official seal and alter it at pleasure;

     (3) Have perpetual succession;

     (4) Maintain an office in the city of Providence or at any other place or places within this

state as it may designate;

     (5) Adopt and from time to time amend and repeal bylaws, rules, and regulations, not

inconsistent with this chapter, to carry into effect the powers and purposes of the corporation and

the conduct of its business, and such bylaws, rules, and regulations may contain provisions

indemnifying any person who is or was a commissioner, officer, employee, or agent of the

corporation, or is or was serving at the request of the corporation as a commissioner, director,

officer, employee, or agent of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust, or other

enterprise, in the manner and to the extent provided in § 7-1.2-814;

     (6) Make and execute contracts and all other instruments necessary or convenient for the

exercise of its powers and functions under this chapter;

     (7) Acquire real or personal property, or any interest therein, on either a temporary or long

term basis in its own name by gift, purchase, transfer, foreclosure, lease, or otherwise, including

rights or easements in property; to hold, sell, assign, lease, encumber, mortgage, or otherwise

dispose of any real or personal property or any interest therein; to hold, sell, assign, or otherwise

dispose of any mortgage interest owned by it or under its control, custody or in its possession; and

to release or relinquish any right, title, claim, lien, interest, easement, or demand, however acquired,

including any equity or right of redemption in property foreclosed by it, and to do any of the

foregoing by public or private sale, with or without public bidding, notwithstanding the provisions

of any other law;

     (8) Enter into agreements or other transactions with and accept grants and the cooperation

of the United States or any governmental agency or instrumentality thereof or of the state or any

governmental agency or instrumentality thereof in furtherance of the purposes of this chapter,

including, but not limited to, the development, maintenance, operation, and financing of any

housing development, housing project, or healthcare facility, and to do any and all things necessary

in order to avail itself of such aid and cooperation;

     (9) Make contracts with the state or any governmental agency thereof, municipalities, and

counties of the state, the federal government, public corporations or bodies, and private

corporations or individuals;

     (10) Receive and accept aid or contributions from any source of money, property, labor, or

other things of value, to be held, used, and applied to carry out the purposes of this chapter subject

to the conditions upon which the grants and contributions may be made, including, but not limited

to, gifts or grants from any governmental agency or instrumentality of the United States or this state

for payment of rent supplements to eligible persons or families or for the payment in whole or in

part of the interest expense for a housing development, housing project, or healthcare facility or for

any other purpose consistent with this chapter;

     (11) Provide, contract, or arrange for consolidated processing of any aspect of a housing

development, housing project, or healthcare facility in order to avoid duplication thereof by either

undertaking that processing in whole or in part on behalf of any governmental agency, or

instrumentality of the United States or of this state, or, in the alternative, to delegate the processing

in whole or in part to any governmental agency or instrumentality;

     (12) Stimulate environmental planning for housing for persons of low and moderate

income in order to enhance opportunities of those persons for self-development and employment;

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     (13) Employ architects, engineers, attorneys, accountants, housing construction and

financial experts, and any other advisors, consultants, and agents that may be necessary in its

judgment and to fix their compensation;

     (14) Procure insurance against any loss in connection with its property and other assets,

including mortgages and mortgage loans, in any amounts and from any insurers as it deems

desirable;

     (15) Subject to any agreement with bondholders or note holders, invest monies of the

corporation not required for immediate use, including proceeds from the sale of any bonds or notes,

in any securities, obligations, time or other deposit accounts as shall be permitted by law for

investment or deposit of state funds by the general treasurer and in secured promissory notes held

by municipal corporations which notes represent the borrowings by third parties of federal grants;

     (16) Include in any borrowing any amount deemed necessary by the corporation to pay

financing charges, interest on these obligations for any period the corporation shall permit,

consultant, advisory and legal fees, and those other expenses that are necessary or incident to this

borrowing;

     (17) Subject to any agreements with bondholders or note holders, to purchase bonds or

notes of the corporation out of any funds or money of the corporation available for this purpose,

and to hold, cancel, or resell those bonds or notes;

     (18) Make and publish rules and regulations respecting its lending programs and any other

rules and regulations that are necessary to effectuate its corporate purposes;

     (19) Make and execute contracts with mortgage bankers or other financial institutions in

this state for the servicing of mortgages acquired by the corporation pursuant to this chapter, and

pay the reasonable value of services rendered to the corporation pursuant to these contracts;

     (20) Subject to any agreement with bondholders or note holders, renegotiate, refinance, or

foreclose, or contract for the foreclosure of, any mortgage in default; waive any default or consent

to the modification of the terms of any mortgage; commence any action to protect or enforce any

right conferred upon it by any law, mortgage, contract, or other agreement, and bid for and purchase

property at any foreclosure or at any other sale, or acquire or take possession of property; operate,

manage, lease, dispose of, and otherwise deal with this property, in any manner necessary to protect

the interest of the corporation and the holders of its bonds, notes, and other obligations;

     (21) Borrow money and issue bonds and notes or other evidences of indebtedness;

     (22) Subject to any agreement with bondholders or note holders, consent to any

modification with respect to rate of interest, time, and payment of any installment of principal or

interest security or any other term of any contract, mortgage, mortgage loan, mortgage loan

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commitment, contract, or agreement of any kind to which the corporation is a party;

     (23) Procure or agree to the procurement of insurance or guarantees from the federal

government or any governmental agency or instrumentality thereof, or from any private insurance

company, of the payment of any bonds or notes or any other evidences of indebtedness issued by

the corporation including the power to pay premiums on that insurance;

     (24) Insure long-term mortgage loans made by mortgage lenders approved by the

corporation to eligible housing sponsors as determined by the corporation. The corporation may

establish any terms and conditions it deems necessary for the supervision of the holders of

corporation insured loans and for its insurance program, including the maximum amount which

may be insured, maximum interest rates, down payment requirements, refinancing terms, insurance

premium requirements, and remedies on default or foreclosure;

     (25) Make temporary loans, with or without interest, to eligible housing sponsors of single-

family residential housing units to be owned and occupied by the sponsor to defray down payment

costs and charges on mortgage loans purchased or made by the corporation;

     (26) Make and undertake to make any and all contracts and agreements, including the

payment of fees, with mortgage lenders in this state for assistance rendered to the corporation;

     (27) Subject to any agreement with bondholders or note holders, to purchase and make

commitments for the purchase of, to invest in, and dispose of securities or other obligations issued

by mortgage lenders to finance residential housing for persons and families of low and moderate

income, including, but not limited to, securities or other obligations payable from, backed by or

otherwise evidencing an interest in mortgages securing mortgage loans to finance residential

housing for persons and families of low and moderate income;

     (28) To the extent permitted under its contract with the holders of bonds, bond anticipation

notes and other obligations, enter into contracts with any mortgagor containing provisions enabling

the mortgagor to reduce the rental or carrying charges to families of persons unable to pay the

regular schedule of charges for housing where, by reason of other income or payment from any

department, agency, or instrumentality of the United States or this state, the reductions can be made

without jeopardizing the economic stability of housing being financed;

     (29) Establish any programs of compensation, including deferred compensation and

retirement plans, as the commissioner may deem appropriate;

     (30) Do any and all things necessary or convenient to carrying out its purposes and exercise

the powers given and granted in this chapter;

     (31) Issue assurances and guarantees and to secure them with any collateral that the

corporation may deem appropriate;

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     (32) Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, to make subsidies in furtherance of its

corporate purposes, whether in the form of interest cost savings or otherwise, and to require a

recipient thereof to repay all or any portion of that subsidy upon those terms and conditions that

the corporation may establish;

     (33) Establish an insurance fund and to insure therefrom, either alone or in conjunction

with private enterprise, the state, the United States, or any governmental agency or instrumentality

thereof, mortgage loans or participations whether or not made or acquired by the corporation;

     (34) Establish an equal employment and affirmative action program applicable to direct

and indirect recipients of funds of the corporation; and

     (35) To administer and manage Section 8 tenant based certificate programs and Section 8

rental voucher programs in those municipalities that do not have a local housing authority and in

those municipalities whose local housing authority elects to contract with Rhode Island housing

mortgage and finance corporation; and

     (36) To establish, revise, and administer the qualified allocation plan (“QAP”) for the

allocation of federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credits, and in exercising such authority, to

prioritize scoring criteria that maximize the production of low- and moderate-income housing,

including cost-efficiency and the total number of income-restricted units produced, and to limit the

cumulative weighting of supplemental criteria not directly related to housing production, consistent

with applicable federal law.

     SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.

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EXPLANATION

BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

OF

A N   A C T

RELATING TO STATE AFFAIRS AND GOVERNMENT -- RHODE ISLAND HOUSING

AND MORTGAGE FINANCE CORPORATION

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     This act would expand Rhode Island Housing’s authority to revise the qualified allocation

plan to prioritize cost-efficient affordable housing production and total units, while reducing the

scoring weight of non-production-related criteria.

     This act would take effect upon passage.

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