(a) The General Assembly finds that: (1) in many areas of covered counties, including areas that contain presently stable neighborhoods and middle class residential housing, families of low or moderate income cannot purchase, rehabilitate, or maintain decent, safe, and sanitary housing, and so do not have an opportunity for home ownership directly or through a condominium or cooperative; (2) the inability of families of low or moderate income under item (1) of this subsection is the result of continuing increases in: (i) the cost of construction or rehabilitation; (ii) county taxes; (iii) heating and electricity expenses; (iv) maintenance and repair expenses; (v) inflation; (vi) the cost of land; (vii) the cost of energy conservation; and (viii) borrowing costs, including interest; (3) the inability of families of low or moderate income to purchase and hold housing in covered counties results in the decline of new housing, the decay of existing housing and neighborhoods, and increased costs for welfare, police, and fire protection; (4) the decline in new housing construction and the decay of existing housing have produced a critical shortage of adequate housing, harming the economy of covered counties and the well-being of residents; (5) private enterprise cannot construct or rehabilitate adequate housing for families of low or moderate income without the assistance of a program; and (6) forcing families of low or moderate income to live in substandard housing is undesirable because it decreases the interest of the families in their communities and the maintenance of their property and their neighborhoods. (b) The General Assembly finds that: (1) it will be hard for many residents in covered counties to find decent, safe, and sanitary housing unless housing is constructed or rehabilitated; (2) unless the supply of housing and the ability of families of low or moderate income to get mortgage financing are increased significantly and expeditiously, many residents of covered counties may have to live in unsanitary, overcrowded, or unsafe conditions to the detriment of the health, welfare, and well- being of these individuals and of the whole community of which they are a part; and (3) increasing the housing supply in covered counties and the ability of families of low or moderate income to get mortgage financing will: (i) help in the clearance, replanning, development of, and redevelopment of blighted areas; (ii) reduce the critical shortage of adequate housing; and (iii) greatly enhance the maintenance and use of existing housing and neighborhoods. (c) The General Assembly finds that: (1) a major cause of the housing crisis is a lack of: (i) money that can be borrowed at a cost low enough to enable families of low or moderate income to afford to own and maintain decent, safe, and sanitary housing; and (ii) money with which private mortgage lenders can finance housing; and (2) the lack of money has frustrated the maintenance, sale, and purchase of existing housing in covered counties. (d) The General Assembly finds that covered counties have a basic public interest in: (1) providing a supplemental source of single-family residential mortgage money for families of low or moderate income at a cost lower than otherwise prevailing for residential mortgages; and (2) stimulating a steady flow of money for residential housing for families of low or moderate income and for low and middle class residential housing to help maintain: (i) a well-balanced society; (ii) existing housing; (iii) established neighborhoods; and (iv) a sound tax base. (e) The General Assembly finds that the power given by this subtitle and the spending of public money as needed to carry out a program serve a public purpose, and this subtitle is in the public interest.
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