Section 60. (a) There shall be a Housing Preservation and Stabilization Trust Fund, which shall be administered by the undersecretary of housing and community development. Monies in the trust fund shall be deposited with the state treasurer in a manner that will secure the highest interest rate available consistent with the safety of the trust fund and with the requirement that all amounts on deposit be available for immediate use.
(b) The undersecretary shall appoint the trustee of the fund, who shall serve until a successor is appointed.
(c) There shall be credited to the trust fund: any unexpended funds from items 7004–0100, 7004–0101, 7004–0108, 7004–9024, 7004–9030 and 7004–9316, which shall not revert to the General Fund but instead shall be deposited in the trust fund; other funds appropriated or transferred to the trust fund by the general court; and all interest earned on monies in the trust fund.
(d) Expenditures from the fund shall not be subject to appropriation and balances remaining at the end of a fiscal year shall not revert to the General Fund. Expenditures from the fund shall be made only for providing affordable housing for low-income families and individuals in the commonwealth, particularly those most at risk of becoming homeless.
(e) Not later than August 1 of each fiscal year, the undersecretary shall submit a spending plan to the secretary of administration and finance and the house and senate committees on ways and means. The spending plan shall include the specific programs that shall be supported through the fund including, if applicable, relevant state budget items through which the programs receive additional state support. The spending plan shall include the fund balance at the start of the current fiscal year and expenditures and incomes from the prior fiscal year. Spending from the fund shall be subject to approval of the secretary of administration and finance. The undersecretary shall report not less than every 6 months to the secretary of administration and finance and the house and senate committees on ways and means on how the funds have been expended and how expenditures have differed from the spending plan submitted on August 1. For the purpose of accommodating discrepancies between the receipt of revenues and related expenditures, the undersecretary may incur obligations and the comptroller may certify payment amounts not to exceed the most recent revenue estimate submitted by the undersecretary and approved by the secretary of administration and finance but the fund shall be in balance by the close of each fiscal year.
(f) The undersecretary shall determine eligibility and benefit levels for programs supported by the fund, but programs shall be structured in a sustainable manner. Any funds expended on programs that are also funded through the general appropriations act shall follow all eligibility and program requirements as described in the item language for each such program.
(g) Eligible grantees of the fund shall include, but are not limited to: local housing agencies, regional housing centers, private housing providers of affordable housing, other state agencies and municipalities.