§ 4-903. Findings

   The General Assembly finds that:

   (1) (i) many residents of the State live in dwellings that do not conform to building, health, safety, fire, occupancy, or other codes and standards applicable to housing;

      (ii) many communities or political subdivisions in the State do not have a minimum livability code; and

      (iii) these conditions impede the development and maintenance of healthy, safe, and viable communities;

   (2) private sector financing is often unavailable for rehabilitation because:

      (i) owner-occupants of housing in need of rehabilitation often have low incomes; and

      (ii) nonoccupant owners often incur high risks in owning and managing the housing;

   (3) rehabilitating suitable housing:

      (i) increases the economic life of the housing;

      (ii) is often more economical and less disruptive than replacing the housing and relocating its occupants;

      (iii) can better promote community development when it is done through organized housing rehabilitation programs;

      (iv) is essential for sound community development; and

      (v) can be helped by rehabilitating commercial buildings serving communities where housing rehabilitation is desirable;

   (4) it is a proper public purpose for which public money may be spent and property acquired to:

      (i) rehabilitate housing;

      (ii) develop healthful, safe, and viable communities;

      (iii) rehabilitate commercial buildings to help rehabilitate and develop housing; and

      (iv) provide healthful and safe housing for migratory workers to maintain and expand the agricultural activities that are dependent on the labor of these workers; and

   (5) it is a proper public purpose for which public money may be spent to:

      (i) improve, modify, and add to housing to increase the supply of special housing for special populations, such as elderly households, individuals with disabilities, and other disadvantaged residents of the State;

      (ii) prevent lead poisoning by modifying older housing to provide a lead-safe environment, as lead paint in older housing is a major source of lead poisoning in children;

      (iii) provide adequate indoor plumbing, water supply, and sewage disposal systems for dwellings;

      (iv) rehabilitate or acquire and rehabilitate large rental housing facilities for low- and moderate-income individuals and keep those facilities in a decent, safe, and sanitary condition; and

      (v) reduce or eliminate radon and asbestos, which are major detriments to the health and safety of residents, on a pilot program basis.

HISTORY: An. Code 1957, art. 83B, § 2-301; 2005, ch. 26, § 2; 2006, ch. 118, § 2.