SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 702
	WHEREAS, The Senate of the State of Texas is pleased to
	recognize the Owner-Builder Loan Program, which is better known
	as the Texas Bootstrap Loan Program, on the occasion of its 10th
	anniversary; and
	WHEREAS, Created during the 76th Legislature by Senate
	Bill 1287, authored by Senator Eddie Lucio, Jr., and administered
	by the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs, the
	Texas Bootstrap Loan Program was designed to promote and enhance
	home ownership opportunities for low-income Texans; and
	WHEREAS, Through this program, certified nonprofit
	organizations work with low-income Texans to build affordable,
	single-family homes; participating families contribute 60
	percent of the "self-help" labor toward building a new home or
	rehabilitating an existing home; in exchange for this sweat
	equity, which dramatically drives down the cost of construction,
	the department provides a zero-interest mortgage loan that
	families can afford; and
	WHEREAS, Since the program's inception, nonprofit
	organizations, in partnership with the department, have
	leveraged more than $20 million from other funding sources, such
	as private lending institutions and units of local government;
	over the last decade, the Texas Bootstrap Loan Program has helped
	more than 850 Texas families become home owners; and
	WHEREAS, The program was established to assist the poorest
	among us to obtain a home and to live out their lives in decency
	and with security; today many low-income and middle-income
	families across the nation are faced with foreclosure; the Texas
	Bootstrap Loan Program is an example to the nation of how state
	funding and legislative ingenuity can enable the American Dream
	to thrive, even in the poorest communities; and
	WHEREAS, Texans pride themselves on the ability to pull
	themselves up by their bootstraps; for 10 years, the Texas
	Bootstrap Loan Program has embodied this attitude, becoming a
	national model for self-help housing and proving that even
	families with the lowest incomes can, with support, build their
	own homes and achieve the American Dream; and
	WHEREAS, For the last decade the legislature and the Texas
	Department of Housing and Community Affairs have supported the
	Texas Bootstrap Loan Program and the Housing Trust Fund, enabling
	hardworking families across the state to help themselves build
	their own homes and transform the lives of their families and
	communities; now, therefore, be it
	RESOLVED, That the Senate of the State of Texas, 81st
	Legislature, hereby commend the Texas Bootstrap Loan Program on
	10 years of cooperative effort that have led to home ownership
	and hope for hundreds of deserving Texas families; and, be it
	further
	RESOLVED, That the Senate of the State of Texas, 81st
	Legislature, hereby commend the Texas Department of Housing and
	Community Affairs for its successful decade-long administration
	of the Texas Bootstrap Loan Program; and, be it further
	RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution be prepared in
	honor of this special occasion.
	Lucio
		________________________________
		President of the Senate
		I hereby certify that the
		above Resolution was adopted by
		the Senate on April 23, 2009.
		________________________________
		Secretary of the Senate
		________________________________
		Member, Texas Senate