§ 576-d. Master servicing agreement. 1. The commissioner is hereby
authorized to use the monies held in the housing development fund to
make advances to a local loan administrator that has entered into a
written master servicing agreement prescribed by the commissioner
pursuant to subdivision two of this section.

2. The commissioner, in consultation with the comptroller, shall
prescribe a master servicing agreement to be executed by the
commissioner and local loan administrators. Such agreement shall provide
that: (a) any advances made to a local loan administrator shall be used
solely for the purpose of providing loans to agricultural producers for
undertaking farmworker housing projects; (b) the total amount of loans
made to any single agricultural producer shall not exceed two hundred
thousand dollars per annum; (c) the term of any loan shall not exceed
ten years and equal payments of principal payable no less frequently
than annually shall be required to be made on such loan during the term
such loan is outstanding which payments will liquidate the entire
principal balance of the loan over its term; (d) the local loan
administrator is required to pay to the commissioner for deposit into
the housing development fund all repayments including interest, if any,
received from any agricultural producers on account of such loan, except
for that portion permitted to be retained by the local loan
administrator as a fee pursuant to the master servicing agreement. The
master servicing agreement shall also set forth: (i) the form of any
note and security agreement to be executed by the agricultural producer
in connection with any loan, which shall include a provision that use of
the loan to provide housing for a family member of the borrower or its
principals shall constitute a default under the loan and security
agreement; (ii) the rate of interest, if any, to be charged on any loan;
(iii) the amount of any fee to be retained by the local loan
administrator for servicing any loan; (iv) the form of application
required to be completed by an agricultural producer for any loan; (v)
the form of requisition and certification to be required from a local
loan administrator to obtain an advance of funds from the commissioner;
(vi) any other conditions to be imposed upon an agricultural producer as
a condition of receiving a loan; (vii) the responsibilities to be
performed by the local loan administrator in connection with reviewing,
approving and servicing the loan and the circumstances under which the
commissioner may terminate a master servicing agreement; (viii)
conditions necessary to insure prompt closing on loans for which funds
are advanced, including payment of interest of funds from the time
advanced until utilized; and (ix) such other requirements as the
commissioner may from time to time establish by rules and regulations
consistent with the purposes of this section.

3. (a) The commissioner shall, subject to the availability of funds as
appropriated by the legislature, advance from the housing development
fund to a local loan administrator the amount of funds requested in any
requisition within fifteen business days after receipt of all of the
following: a completed requisition for an advance of funds; copies of
any applications and any supporting documentation to which such
requisition pertains; and a certification from the local loan
administrator with respect to such requisition in addition to any other
representation and statement required by the commissioner. The
certification from the local loan administrator shall state that: (i)
the loan administrator has performed its responsibilities in connection
with review and approval of applications to which such requisition
pertains, (ii) to the best of the local loan administrator's knowledge
the loans, to which the advances pertain, comply with the master
servicing agreement and the provisions of this section, and (iii) the
borrowers have demonstrated their ability to make the repayments
required under the loan. In the event that funds are not available or
the commissioner determines that the requisition, application or
certification is defective, it shall so notify the local loan
administrator within fifteen business days after receipt of the
requisition.

(b) The commissioner shall establish criteria for prioritizing loan
applications in the event that the requisitions submitted to the
commissioner by one or more local loan administrators exceed the amount
then available for the purposes of this section. Such criteria shall
give a priority to housing for farmworkers and take into account: (i)
whether the farmworker housing project to which the application pertains
is for the purpose of bringing non-conforming accommodations in
compliance with the provisions of the state sanitary code or the state
fire prevention and building code; (ii) whether the farmworker housing
project to which the application pertains is the most cost effective
approach to enable the agricultural producer to construct or
rehabilitate dwelling accommodations for farmworkers; (iii) whether the
agricultural producer making application lacks the financial resources
to undertake the farmworker housing project without obtaining a loan
pursuant to this section; and (iv) such other factors as the
commissioner deems relevant. In applying the criteria to be utilized for
prioritizing loans, the commissioner shall be entitled to rely on the
information contained in the copies of the applications submitted with
the requisition.