TITLE 42

State Affairs and Government

CHAPTER 42-55

Rhode Island Housing and Mortgage Finance Corporation

SECTION 42-55-5



   § 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 by-laws,

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 by-laws, 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 health care 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 health care 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 health

care 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;



   (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 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;



   (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.



History of Section.

(P.L. 1973, ch. 262, § 1; P.L. 1977, ch. 195, § 2; P.L. 1982, ch.

295, § 3; P.L. 1986, ch. 20, § 1; P.L. 1986, ch. 454, § 1; P.L.

1986, ch. 461, § 1; P.L. 1987, ch. 287, § 1; P.L. 1988, ch. 617,

§ 2; P.L. 1998, ch. 31, art. 29, § 4; P.L. 2005, ch. 36, § 26;

P.L. 2005, ch. 72, § 26.)