Sec. 8-244. Connecticut Housing Finance Authority deemed a public instrumentality and political subdivision. Board membership. Subsidiaries. - Connecticut Statutes

      Sec. 8-244. Connecticut Housing Finance Authority deemed a public instrumentality and political subdivision. Board membership. Subsidiaries. (a) There is created a body politic and corporate to be known as the "Connecticut Housing Finance Authority". Said authority is constituted a public instrumentality and political subdivision of this state and the exercise by the authority of the powers conferred by this chapter shall be deemed and held to be the performance of an essential public and governmental function. The Connecticut Housing Finance Authority shall not be construed to be a department, institution or agency of the state. The board of directors of the authority shall consist of fifteen members as follows: (1) The Commissioner of Economic and Community Development, the Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management, the Banking Commissioner and the State Treasurer, ex officio, with the right to vote, (2) seven members to be appointed by the Governor, and (3) four members appointed as follows: One by the president pro tempore of the Senate, one by the speaker of the House of Representatives, one by the minority leader of the Senate and one by the minority leader of the House of Representatives. The member initially appointed by the speaker of the House of Representatives shall serve a term of five years; the member initially appointed by the president pro tempore of the Senate shall serve a term of four years. The members initially appointed by the Senate minority leader shall serve a term of three years. The member initially appointed by the minority leader of the House of Representatives shall serve a term of two years. Thereafter, each member appointed by a member of the General Assembly shall serve a term of five years. The members appointed by the Governor and the members of the General Assembly shall be appointed in accordance with section 4-9b and among them be experienced in all aspects of housing, including housing design, development, finance, management and state and municipal finance, and at least one of whom shall be selected from among the officers or employees of the state. At least one shall have experience in the provision of housing to very low, low and moderate income families. On or before July first, annually, the Governor shall appoint a member for a term of five years from said July first to succeed the member whose term expires and until such member's successor has been appointed, except that in 1974 and 1995 and quinquennially thereafter, the Governor shall appoint two members. The chairperson of the board shall be appointed by the Governor, with the advice and consent of both houses of the General Assembly. The board shall annually elect one of its appointed members as vice-chairperson of the board. Members shall receive no compensation for the performance of their duties hereunder but shall be reimbursed for necessary expenses incurred in the performance thereof. The Governor or appointing member of the General Assembly, as the case may be, shall fill any vacancy for the unexpired term. A member of the board shall be eligible for reappointment. Any member of the board may be removed by the Governor or appointing member of the General Assembly, as the case may be, for misfeasance, malfeasance or wilful neglect of duty. Each member of the board before entering upon such member's duties shall take and subscribe the oath of affirmation required by article XI, section 1, of the State Constitution. A record of each such oath shall be filed in the office of the Secretary of the State. Each ex-officio member may designate such member's deputy or any member of such member's staff to represent such member at meetings of the board with full power to act and vote on such member's behalf.

      (b) Notwithstanding the provisions of any other law to the contrary, it shall not constitute a conflict of interest for a trustee, director, partner or officer of any person, firm or corporation, or any individual having a financial interest in a person, firm or corporation, to serve as a member of the authority, provided such trustee, director, partner, officer or individual shall abstain from deliberation, action or vote by the authority in specific respect to such person, firm or corporation.

      (c) (1) The authority may incorporate one or more subsidiaries and may transfer to any subsidiary any moneys, real or personal property, of any housing financed by a mortgage of the authority or by the Connecticut Housing Authority and acquired as a result of a foreclosure or otherwise. Each subsidiary shall have all the privileges, immunities, tax exemptions and other exemptions of the authority, except the privileges, immunities, tax exemptions and other exemptions provided under the general statutes for special capital reserve funds. Each subsidiary shall be subject to suit and liability solely from the assets, revenues and resources of the subsidiary and without recourse to the general funds, revenues, resources or any other assets of the authority. Each such subsidiary is authorized to assume or take title to housing subject to any existing mortgage and to mortgage, convey or dispose of its assets and pledge its revenues in order to secure any borrowing, for the purpose of refinancing, rehabilitating or improving its assets, provided each such borrowing or mortgage shall be a special obligation of the subsidiary, which obligation may be in the form of bonds, bond anticipation notes and other obligations to the extent permitted under this chapter, to fund and refund the same and provide for the rights of holders thereof, and to secure the same by pledge of revenues, notes and mortgages of others, and which shall be payable solely from the assets, revenues and other resources of the subsidiary and provided further no such mortgage, borrowing or pledge of security eliminates requirements relating to housing that preserve housing for persons and families of low and moderate income without the express written consent of the authority. Such borrowing shall be in accordance with subsections (b) to (m), inclusive, of section 8-252, provided no such subsidiary shall be entitled to borrow for any purpose except with respect to property transferred to such subsidiary by the authority specified in subsection (a) of said section 8-252.

      (2) Each subsidiary shall have a board of directors and at least one-half of the board of directors of each subsidiary shall be members of the board of directors of the authority, or their designees or officers or employees of the authority. A resolution of the authority shall prescribe the purposes for which each subsidiary is to be formed.

      (3) The provisions of subsection (b) of this section and sections 8-245, 8-247 and 1-125 shall apply to any officer, director, designee or employee appointed as a member, director or officer of any such subsidiary. Any such persons so appointed shall not be personally liable for the debts, obligations or liabilities of any such subsidiary provided in section 1-125. The subsidiary shall and the authority may provide the indemnification to protect, save harmless and indemnify such officer, director, designee or employee as provided by said section 1-125.

      (4) The authority or subsidiary shall take such actions to comply with the provisions of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 or any subsequent corresponding internal revenue code of the United States, as from time to time amended, to qualify and maintain any such subsidiary as a corporation exempt from taxation under said Internal Revenue Code.

      (5) The authority is permitted to make housing mortgage loans to each such subsidiary, following standard authority procedures, from the proceeds of its bonds, notes and other obligations provided the source and security for the repayment of such mortgage loans is derived from the assets, revenues and resources of the subsidiary and without recourse to the general funds, revenues and resources pledged under its general housing mortgage finance program bond resolution.

      (1969, P.A. 795, S. 4; 1971, P.A. 840, S. 1; 1972, P.A. 208, S. 3; P.A. 73-679, S. 36, 43; P.A. 74-104, S. 5, 12; P.A. 76-41, S. 1, 3; P.A. 77-614, S. 19, 161, 593(b), 610; P.A. 79-598, S. 22; P.A. 80-482, S. 3, 345, 348; P.A. 87-9, S. 2, 3; P.A. 88-225, S. 7, 14; 88-266, S. 4, 46; P.A. 94-148, S. 2, 3; P.A. 95-250, S. 1, 24, 42; 95-309, S. 11, 12; P.A. 96-211, S. 1, 5, 6; P.A. 03-84, S. 8.)

      History: 1971 act deleted provisions for first appointments and allowed treasurer to designate deputy or staff member to represent him at authority meetings; 1972 act substituted Housing Finance Authority for Mortgage Authority, made designated state officers ex-officio members and replaced specific membership requirements re housing finance expertise and state and municipal finance expertise with general provision that members be experienced in "all aspects of housing design, development, finance" etc., (but not applicable to "membership as it exists on May 18, 1972"), required that chairman and vice chairman be selected from appointed members and replaced specific provisions allowing treasurer and commissioner of finance and control to designate stand-ins with provision allowing all ex-officio members to do so; P.A. 73-679 removed director of budget as member of authority; P.A. 74-104 changed number of appointed members from five to six, added provisions concerning members selected from officers or employees of state and deleted reference to membership in existence on May 18, 1972; P.A. 76-41 included bank commissioner as ex-officio member; P.A. 77-614 substituted secretary of the office of policy and management for commissioner of finance and control and, effective January 1, 1979, substituted banking commissioner for bank commissioner and made banking department a division within the department of business regulation and substituted commissioner of economic development for commissioner of community affairs; P.A. 79-598 substituted commissioner of housing for commissioner of economic development; P.A. 80-482 restored banking division as an independent department, retaining commissioner as its head; (Revisor's note: Pursuant to P.A. 87-9, "banking commissioner" was changed by the Revisors to "commissioner of banking"); P.A. 88-225 added Subsec. (b) re when a financial interest and membership on the authority do not constitute a conflict of interest; P.A. 88-266 inserted reference to governmental function, specified that authority is not a department, institution or agency of the state, repealed requirements that governor's appointments be made with advice and consent of senate and that one of governor's appointees be a state officer or employee, required chairperson to be appointed by governor with advice and consent of general assembly, instead of by authority members, and established board of directors as governing body of the authority; P.A. 94-148 added Subsec. (c) regarding establishment of subsidiaries, effective May 24, 1994; P.A. 95-250 amended Subsec. (a) to increase the size of the board from 10 to 15 members, adding one gubernatorial appointee and four by General Assembly, requiring that one of the members appointed by the Governor have experience in providing housing for very low, low and moderate income families and, with P.A. 96-211, replacing the Housing Commissioner with the Commissioner of Economic and Community Development and amended Subsec. (c)(1) to transfer to subsidiaries housing financed by the Connecticut Housing Authority and provide that subsidiaries have the privileges, immunities and exemptions of the authority except those provided for special capital reserve funds, effective July 1, 1995; P.A. 95-309 changed effective date of P.A. 95-250 but did not affect this section; P.A. 03-84 amended Subsec. (a) by changing "Commissioner of Banking" to "Banking Commissioner" and making technical changes for the purposes of gender neutrality, effective June 3, 2003.

      See chapter 127c (Sec. 8-37r et seq.) re housing functions of Department of Economic and Community Development.

      See Sec. 8-37uu re transfer of housing loan portfolio of Department of Economic and Community Development to authority.

      Cited. 184 C. 311.