H.B. No. 2450
AN ACT
relating to the administration of programs by the Texas Department
of Housing and Community Affairs in response to or in preparation
for a natural disaster.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter H, Chapter 2306, Government Code, is
amended by adding Section 2306.188 to read as follows:
Sec. 2306.188. ESTABLISHING HOME OWNERSHIP IN DISASTER
AREA. (a) An applicant for federally provided financial
assistance administered by the department to repair or rebuild a
home damaged by a natural disaster may establish ownership of the
home through nontraditional documentation of title. The department
shall process an application for that assistance as if the
applicant is the record title holder of the affected real property
if the applicant provides to the department:
(1) on a form prescribed by the department, an
affidavit summarizing the basis on which the applicant claims to be
the holder of record title or, if applicable, a successor in
interest to the holder of record title and stating that:
(A) there is no other person entitled to claim
any ownership interest in the property; or
(B) each person who may be entitled to claim an
ownership interest in the property has given consent to the
application or cannot be located after a reasonable effort; and
(2) other documentation, including tax receipts,
utility bills, or evidence of insurance for the home, that
indicates that the applicant exercised ownership over the property
at the time of the natural disaster.
(b) This section does not establish record ownership or
otherwise alter legal ownership of real property.
(c) The department is not liable to any claimed owner of an
interest in real property for administering financial assistance as
permitted by this section.
SECTION 2. Chapter 2306, Government Code, is amended by
adding Subchapter X-2 to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER X-2. NATURAL DISASTER HOUSING RECONSTRUCTION
INITIATIVE
Sec. 2306.541. NATURAL DISASTER HOUSING RECONSTRUCTION
ADVISORY COMMITTEE. (a) The director shall appoint a natural
disaster housing reconstruction advisory committee composed of
representatives from appropriate local, state, and federal
entities and organizations and nonprofit organizations.
(b) The advisory committee shall develop a natural disaster
housing reconstruction plan. In developing this plan, the advisory
committee shall:
(1) evaluate existing systems of providing temporary
housing to victims of natural disasters and develop alternative
systems to increase efficiency and cost-effectiveness;
(2) evaluate existing models for providing permanent
replacement housing to victims of natural disasters;
(3) design alternatives to existing models to improve
the sustainability, affordability, desirability, and quality of
housing rebuilt in the event of future natural disasters;
(4) evaluate economic circumstances of elderly,
disabled, and low-income victims of natural disasters and develop
models for providing affordable replacement housing;
(5) recommend programs for the rapid and efficient
large-scale production of temporary and permanent replacement
housing following a natural disaster; and
(6) encourage the participation, coordination, and
involvement of appropriate federal organizations.
(c) Chapter 2110 does not apply to the advisory committee.
Sec. 2306.542. HOUSING RECONSTRUCTION DEMONSTRATION PILOT
PROGRAM. (a) Using the natural disaster housing reconstruction
plan developed under this subchapter, the director and advisory
committee shall develop, for implementation under Subsections (b)
and (c), housing reconstruction demonstration pilot programs for
three areas, each of which was affected by one of the three most
recent federally declared natural disasters. The pilot programs
must provide for the replacement of at least 20 houses in each area
to test the feasibility of implementing the plan in the large-scale
production of replacement housing for victims of federally declared
natural disasters.
(b) The department shall provide to an interested council of
government, county, or local government eligible for funding for
disaster recovery under the community development block grant
program:
(1) information regarding a pilot program developed
under Subsection (a); and
(2) assistance in implementing a pilot program
developed under Subsection (a).
(c) At the discretion of the board, the department may
implement a pilot program in any of the three most recently
federally declared disaster areas in which a pilot program has not
been implemented by a council of government, county, or local
government. The department may use any available funds to
implement the pilot program.
SECTION 3. The purpose of this Act in adding Subchapter X-2,
Chapter 2306, Government Code, is to encourage the development of a
model plan for future reconstruction efforts to increase the
effective and efficient delivery of natural disaster housing
recovery services by state agencies. This Act is not meant to delay
or otherwise interfere with ongoing reconstruction efforts.
SECTION 4. (a) Not later than January 1, 2010, the
executive director of the Texas Department of Housing and Community
Affairs shall submit the natural disaster housing reconstruction
plan developed under Subsection (b), Section 2306.541, Government
Code, as added by this Act, to the governing board of the Texas
Department of Housing and Community Affairs.
(b) Not later than March 1, 2010, the executive director of
the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs shall provide
housing reconstruction demonstration pilot program information to
an interested council of government, county, or local government
eligible for funding for disaster recovery under the community
development block grant program.
SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009.
______________________________ ______________________________
President of the Senate Speaker of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 2450 was passed by the House on April
28, 2009, by the following vote: Yeas 148, Nays 1, 1 present, not
voting; and that the House concurred in Senate amendments to H.B.
No. 2450 on May 29, 2009, by the following vote: Yeas 145, Nays 0,
2 present, not voting.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 2450 was passed by the Senate, with
amendments, on May 26, 2009, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays
0.
______________________________
Secretary of the Senate
APPROVED: __________________
Date
__________________
Governor