Texas 2009 - 81st Regular

Texas House Bill HB3171 Compare Versions

The same version is selected twice. Please select two different versions to compare.

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New	Differences
1	1	81R28549 JAM-D
2	2	By: Davis of Dallas H.B. No. 3171
3	3	Substitute the following for H.B. No. 3171:
4	4	By: Gutierrez C.S.H.B. No. 3171
5	5
6	6
7	7	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
8	8	AN ACT
9	9	relating to the duties and programs of the Texas Department of
10	10	Housing and Community Affairs.
11	11	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
12	12	SECTION 1. Section 2306.001, Government Code, is amended to
13	13	read as follows:
14	14	Sec. 2306.001. PURPOSES. The purposes of the department
15	15	are to:
16	16	(1) assist local governments in:
17	17	(A) providing essential public services for
18	18	their residents; and
19	19	(B) overcoming financial, social, and
20	20	environmental problems;
21	21	(2) provide for the housing needs of individuals and
22	22	families of low, very low, and extremely low income and families of
23	23	moderate income;
24	24	(3) contribute to the preservation, development, and
25	25	redevelopment of neighborhoods and communities, including
26	26	cooperation in the preservation of government-assisted housing
27	27	occupied by individuals and families of very low and extremely low
28	28	income;
29	29	(4) assist the governor and the legislature in
30	30	coordinating federal and state programs affecting local
31	31	government;
32	32	(5) inform state officials and the public of the needs
33	33	of local government;
34	34	(6) serve as the lead agency for:
35	35	(A) addressing at the state level the problem of
36	36	homelessness in this state;
37	37	(B) coordinating interagency efforts to address
38	38	homelessness; and
39	39	(C) addressing at the state level and
40	40	coordinating interagency efforts to address any problem associated
41	41	with homelessness, including hunger; [and]
42	42	(7) serve as a source of information to the public
43	43	regarding all affordable housing resources and community support
44	44	services in the state; and
45	45	(8) administer programs to achieve the purposes
46	46	described by this section and implement procedures to improve the
47	47	efficiency of those programs and to maximize federal funding.
48	48	SECTION 2. Section 2306.041, Government Code, is amended to
49	49	read as follows:
50	50	Sec. 2306.041. IMPOSITION OF PENALTY. The board shall
51	51	[may] impose an administrative penalty on a person who violates
52	52	this chapter or a rule or order adopted under this chapter.
53	53	SECTION 3. Subchapter D, Chapter 2306, Government Code, is
54	54	amended by adding Section 2306.085 to read as follows:
55	55	Sec. 2306.085. GENERAL ENFORCEMENT AUTHORITY; STUDY. (a)
56	56	The department shall develop and implement procedures to ensure
57	57	that all programs administered by the department comply with the
58	58	requirements of this chapter and applicable federal laws.
59	59	(b) The department shall conduct a study to determine
60	60	whether the creation of new programs or expansion of existing
61	61	services would improve the department's ability to perform the
62	62	duties assigned by this chapter.
63	63	SECTION 4. Subchapter E, Chapter 2306, Government Code, is
64	64	amended by adding Section 2306.095 to read as follows:
65	65	Sec. 2306.095. FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE FOR LOCAL INITIATIVES
66	66	REGARDING THE HOMELESS. (a) The department shall provide
67	67	financial assistance to political subdivisions, housing finance
68	68	corporations, for-profit corporations, and nonprofit organizations
69	69	that provide services for individuals and families who are
70	70	homeless.
71	71	(b) Assistance provided under this section must be used only
72	72	to support local initiatives regarding homeless individuals and
73	73	families.
74	74	(c) The department shall seek any federal funding available
75	75	for the purposes of the program.
76	76	(d) The department may adopt rules to administer this
77	77	section.
78	78	SECTION 5. Section 2306.111(d-1), Government Code, is
79	79	amended to read as follows:
80	80	(d-1) In allocating low income housing tax credit
81	81	commitments under Subchapter DD, the department shall, before
82	82	applying the regional allocation formula prescribed by Section
83	83	2306.1115, set aside for at-risk developments, as defined by
84	84	Section 2306.6702, not less than the minimum amount of housing tax
85	85	credits required under Section 2306.6714. Funds or credits are
86	86	also not required to be allocated according to the regional
87	87	allocation formula under Subsection (d) if:
88	88	(1) the funds or credits are reserved for
89	89	contract-for-deed conversions or for set-asides mandated by state
90	90	or federal law, including the nonprofit set-aside mandated by
91	91	Section 42(h)(5), Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (26 U.S.C. Section
92	92	42(h)(5)), and each contract-for-deed allocation or set-aside
93	93	allocation equals not more than 10 percent of the total allocation
94	94	of funds or credits for the applicable program;
95	95	(2) the funds or credits are allocated by the
96	96	department primarily to serve persons with disabilities; or
97	97	(3) the funds are housing trust funds administered by
98	98	the department under Sections 2306.201-2306.206 that are not
99	99	otherwise required to be set aside under state or federal law and do
100	100	not exceed $3 million during each application cycle.
101	101	SECTION 6. Subchapter F, Chapter 2306, Government Code, is
102	102	amended by adding Section 2306.122 to read as follows:
103	103	Sec. 2306.122. ASSISTANCE FROM AMERICAN RECOVERY AND
104	104	REINVESTMENT ACT OF 2009. (a) To the extent permitted by federal
105	105	law, in administering money provided to the department under the
106	106	American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Pub. L. No. 111-5),
107	107	the department shall secure the interests of the state through
108	108	bonds, retention of ownership interests in the affected properties,
109	109	or restrictive covenants or liens filed in real property records
110	110	for the affected properties.
111	111	(b) The interests of the state must be secured with respect
112	112	to the use of federal money described by Subsection (a) until the
113	113	department and the state do not have any specified liability to
114	114	repay or recapture that money.
115	115	SECTION 7. Section 2306.6703(a), Government Code, is
116	116	amended to read as follows:
117	117	(a) An application is ineligible for consideration under
118	118	the low income housing tax credit program if:
119	119	(1) at the time of application or at any time during
120	120	the two-year period preceding the date the application round
121	121	begins, the applicant or a related party is or has been:
122	122	(A) a member of the board; or
123	123	(B) the director, a deputy director, the director
124	124	of housing programs, the director of compliance, the director of
125	125	underwriting, or the low income housing tax credit program manager
126	126	employed by the department;
127	127	(2) the applicant proposes to replace in less than 15
128	128	years any private activity bond financing of the development
129	129	described by the application, unless:
130	130	(A) at least one-third of all the units in the
131	131	development are public housing units or Section 8 project-based
132	132	units and the applicant proposes to maintain for a period of 30
133	133	years or more 100 percent of the [development] units supported by
134	134	housing tax credits as rent-restricted and exclusively for
135	135	occupancy by individuals and families earning not more than 50
136	136	percent of the area median income, adjusted for family size[; and
137	137	[(B) at least one-third of all the units in the
138	138	development are public housing units or Section 8 project-based
139	139	units];
140	140	(B) the applicable private activity bonds will be
141	141	redeemed only in an amount consistent with their proportionate
142	142	amortization; or
143	143	(C) if the redemption of the applicable private
144	144	activity bonds will occur in the first five years of the operation
145	145	of the development and will reduce the amount of bonds outstanding
146	146	to less than 50 percent of the cost of the real property plus
147	147	depreciable basis:
148	148	(i) the Bond Review Board determines that
149	149	there will be money available to fund all other multifamily
150	150	developments financed by the bonds without requiring any reduction
151	151	in the financing for those developments;
152	152	(ii) the applicable private activity bonds
153	153	will be redeemed according to underwriting criteria established by
154	154	the department; and
155	155	(iii) the applicable private activity bonds
156	156	will be redeemed only in an amount necessary to ensure the financial
157	157	feasibility of the development described by the application;
158	158	(3) the applicant proposes to construct a new
159	159	development that is located one linear mile or less from a
160	160	development that:
161	161	(A) serves the same type of household as the new
162	162	development, regardless of whether the developments serve
163	163	families, elderly individuals, or another type of household;
164	164	(B) has received an allocation of housing tax
165	165	credits for new construction at any time during the three-year
166	166	period preceding the date the application round begins; and
167	167	(C) has not been withdrawn or terminated from the
168	168	low income housing tax credit program; or
169	169	(4) the development is located in a municipality or,
170	170	if located outside a municipality, a county that has more than twice
171	171	the state average of units per capita supported by housing tax
172	172	credits or private activity bonds, unless the applicant:
173	173	(A) has obtained prior approval of the
174	174	development from the governing body of the appropriate municipality
175	175	or county containing the development; and
176	176	(B) has included in the application a written
177	177	statement of support from that governing body referencing this
178	178	section and authorizing an allocation of housing tax credits for
179	179	the development.
180	180	SECTION 8. Section 2306.6711, Government Code, is amended
181	181	by amending Subsection (b) and adding Subsection (g) to read as
182	182	follows:
183	183	(b) Not later than the deadline specified in the qualified
184	184	allocation plan, the board shall issue commitments for available
185	185	housing tax credits based on the application evaluation process
186	186	provided by Section 2306.6710. The board may not allocate to an
187	187	applicant housing tax credits in any unnecessary amount, as
188	188	determined by the department's underwriting policy and by federal
189	189	law, and in any event may not, except as permitted by Subsection
190	190	(g), allocate to the applicant housing tax credits in an amount
191	191	greater than $3 [$2] million in a single application round.
192	192	(g) Beginning in 2012, on January 1 of each even-numbered
193	193	year, the department may adjust the maximum amount of the
194	194	allocation prescribed by Subsection (b) by an amount equal to the
195	195	amount prescribed by that subsection multiplied by the percentage
196	196	change during the preceding state fiscal biennium in the Consumer
197	197	Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), U.S. City Average,
198	198	published monthly by the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics,
199	199	or its successor in function. The department shall publish the new
200	200	amount in the qualified allocation plan.
201	201	SECTION 9. Subchapter DD, Chapter 2306, Government Code, is
202	202	amended by adding Sections 2306.6736 and 2306.6737 to read as
203	203	follows:
204	204	Sec. 2306.6736. LOW INCOME HOUSING TAX CREDITS FINANCED
205	205	UNDER AMERICAN RECOVERY AND REINVESTMENT ACT OF 2009. (a) Except
206	206	as provided by Subsection (b), a reference in this chapter to the
207	207	administration of the low income housing tax credit program applies
208	208	to federally administered money:
209	209	(1) received by the department under the American
210	210	Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Pub. L. No. 111-5), or any
211	211	similar federal legislation that is enacted on or after January 1,
212	212	2009; and
213	213	(2) that is required to be allocated by the department
214	214	in the same manner and subject to the same limitations as
215	215	allocations of housing tax credits.
216	216	(b) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter,
217	217	including Sections 2306.1111 and 2306.6724, the department may
218	218	establish a separate application procedure for money described by
219	219	Subsection (a), the application period of which must begin on the
220	220	date the department begins accepting applications for the money and
221	221	must continue until all the available money is allocated.
222	222	(c) This section expires August 31, 2011.
223	223	Sec. 2306.6737. PROHIBITED PRACTICES. (a) Notwithstanding
224	224	any other law, a development owner of a development supported with a
225	225	housing tax credit allocation may not:
226	226	(1) lock out or threaten to lock out any person
227	227	residing in the development except by judicial process unless the
228	228	exclusion results from:
229	229	(A) a necessity to perform bona fide repairs or
230	230	construction work; or
231	231	(B) an emergency; or
232	232	(2) seize or threaten to seize the personal property
233	233	of any person residing in the development except by judicial
234	234	process unless the resident has abandoned the premises.
235	235	(b) Each development owner shall:
236	236	(1) include a conspicuous provision in the lease
237	237	agreement prohibiting the owner from engaging in a practice
238	238	described by Subsection (a); and
239	239	(2) remove in the manner specified by department rule
240	240	any provisions in the lease agreement that are contrary to
241	241	Subsection (a).
242	242	SECTION 10. The Texas Department of Housing and Community
243	243	Affairs shall adopt rules as necessary to implement and enforce
244	244	Section 2306.6737, Government Code, as added by this Act, not later
245	245	than November 1, 2009.
246	246	SECTION 11. The changes in law made by this Act in amending
247	247	Sections 2306.111(d-1), 2306.6703(a), and 2306.6711, Government
248	248	Code, and adding Section 2306.6736, Government Code, apply only to
249	249	an application for financial assistance that is submitted to the
250	250	Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs during an
251	251	application cycle that begins on or after the effective date of this
252	252	Act. An application that was submitted during an application cycle
253	253	that began before the effective date of this Act is governed by the
254	254	law in effect at the time the application cycle began, and the
255	255	former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
256	256	SECTION 12. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009.