90-6-134. Housing Montana fund -- loan capital restricted to interest on principal -- eligible applicants. (1) The money in the housing Montana fund must be used to provide financial assistance in the form of direct loans by the board to eligible applicants.

(2) After the initial principal is loaned to eligible applicants, the amount of loans made in a fiscal year is contingent on the repayment of loan principal and on the amount of interest income generated by the principal of the fund.

(3) Money from the fund must be used to provide:

(a) matching funds for public or private money available from other sources for the development of low-income and moderate-income housing;

(b) bridge financing necessary to make a low-income housing development or a moderate-income housing development financially feasible;

(c) acquisition of existing housing for the purpose of preservation of or conversion to low-income or moderate-income housing;

(d) preconstruction technical assistance to eligible recipients in rural areas and small cities and towns; or

(e) acquisition of land for housing developments, land banking and land trusts, and short-term site-based housing vouchers for needy individuals.

(4) (a) Technical assistance under subsection (3)(d) may include but is not limited to:

(i) financial planning and packaging for housing developments and projects;

(ii) project design, architectural planning, and siting;

(iii) compliance with planning and permitting requirements; or

(iv) maximizing local government contributions to project development in the form of land donations, infrastructure improvements, zoning variances, or creative local planning.

(b) The board may contract with a nonprofit organization to provide this technical assistance.

(5) Money from the fund may not be used to replace existing or available sources of funding for eligible activities.

(6) Organizations eligible for loans from the fund are state government or state agencies or programs, local governments, tribal governments, local housing authorities, nonprofit community- or neighborhood-based organizations, regional or statewide nonprofit housing assistance organizations, or for-profit housing developers.