By: Davis of Dallas H.B. No. 3540
Substitute the following for H.B. No. 3540:
By: Walle C.S.H.B. No. 3540
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the creation of a statewide initiative to increase
independent, affordable housing for elderly or homeless persons and
persons with disabilities.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 2306, Government Code, is amended by
adding Subchapter NN to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER NN. TEXAS AFFORDABLE HOUSING INITIATIVE
Sec. 2306.1081. PURPOSE. The purpose of this subchapter is
to promote housing independence and prevent unnecessary and
expensive institutionalization of the state's extremely low income
elderly and homeless populations and persons with disabilities.
Sec. 2306.1082. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
(1) "Elderly person" means a person 62 years of age or
older or of an age specified by the applicable federal program.
(2) "Extremely low income" means a household with a
combined income that is not more than 30 percent of the area median
income or applicable federal poverty line, as determined under
Section 2306.123 or 2306.1231.
(3) "Initiative plan" means the single unified plan
developed by the task force under Section 2306.1087.
(4) "Noninstitutionalized housing" means a privately
owned home, apartment, or group home.
(5) "Participating agency" means the Texas Department
of Housing and Community Affairs, the Health and Human Services
Commission, the Department of State Health Services, the Department
of Aging and Disability Services, the Public Utility Commission of
Texas, the Department of Assistive and Rehabilitative Services, or
the Office of Rural Community Affairs.
(6) "Service-enriched housing" means a living
arrangement that provides health services or social services, or
both, in an accessible, supportive environment.
(7) "Task force" means the Texas Affordable Housing
Initiative Task Force.
Sec. 2306.1083. ADMINISTRATIVE AND RULEMAKING AUTHORITY.
(a) A regulatory official has broad authority to administer,
interpret, and enforce this subchapter.
(b) A rulemaking authority has broad authority to adopt
rules to implement this subchapter to carry out the legislature's
intent.
Sec. 2306.1084. COMPOSITION OF TASK FORCE. (a) The Texas
Affordable Housing Initiative Task Force is composed of:
(1) one representative from each of the following
agencies, appointed by the head of that agency:
(A) the Health and Human Services Commission;
(B) the Department of State Health Services;
(C) the Department of Aging and Disability
Services;
(D) the Department of Assistive and
Rehabilitative Services;
(E) the Public Utility Commission of Texas; and
(F) the Office of Rural Community Affairs.
(2) two representatives from the department,
including the director and a person appointed by the director;
(3) one member representing advocacy organizations
and service providers to homeless persons, appointed by the
governor;
(4) one member representing advocacy organizations
and service providers to elderly persons, appointed by the
governor; and
(5) one member representing advocacy organizations
and service providers to persons with disabilities, appointed by
the governor.
(b) A member of the task force serves at the pleasure of the
appointing official or until termination of the member's employment
or association, as applicable, with the entity the member
represents.
(c) A member of the task force representing a state agency
must have:
(1) administrative responsibility for programs for
homeless or elderly persons or persons with disabilities or related
services provided by the agency that the member represents; and
(2) authority to make decisions for and commit
resources of the agency, subject to the approval of the head of the
agency or the board of directors of the agency.
Sec. 2306.1085. OPERATION OF TASK FORCE. (a) The director
serves as the presiding officer of the task force.
(b) The task force shall meet at least quarterly.
(c) The task force shall keep minutes and records of
attendance with respect to the meetings of the task force.
(d) An action taken by the task force must be approved by a
majority vote of the members present.
(e) The task force may select and use advisors.
(f) The department shall provide clerical and advisory
support staff to the task force.
(g) Chapter 2110 does not apply to the task force.
Sec. 2306.1086. GIFTS AND GRANTS. The task force may
solicit and accept gifts, grants, and donations from a public or
private source for use in carrying out the task force's duties under
this subchapter.
Sec. 2306.1087. DUTIES OF TASK FORCE. The task force shall:
(1) coordinate interdepartmental and interagency
plans and develop and annually update a unified initiative plan to:
(A) not later than January 1, 2020, reduce by at
least 20 percent the number of persons desiring and capable of
living independently who are compelled to reside in
Medicaid-supported nursing homes, state institutions, and publicly
supported homeless shelters by making it possible for those persons
to remain and live independently in noninstitutionalized housing,
especially their own homes;
(B) ensure that the numbers of persons and
households assisted under programs under this subchapter in each
uniform state service region are in approximate proportion to the
numbers of eligible persons and households residing in that uniform
state service region;
(C) develop new, more cost-effective programs
and strategies to use existing public and private resources to
provide housing and reduce the residential energy cost burden on
extremely low income homeless or elderly persons or persons with
disabilities;
(D) affirmatively further fair housing
opportunities by making available noninstitutionalized housing
opportunities to extremely low income homeless or elderly persons
or persons with disabilities; and
(E) coordinate housing and health services to
meet the demands of extremely low income homeless or elderly
persons or persons with disabilities by promoting service-enriched
housing opportunities within a wide range of noninstitutionalized
housing, including homes currently owned and rented by those
persons to the extent possible;
(2) determine the programmatic approaches, levels of
funding, and funding sources necessary to carry out the initiative
plan;
(3) research housing needs and programs to achieve the
goals of the initiative plan; and
(4) aggregate, analyze, and report the program
initiatives and resource commitments of each participating agency
with respect to activities under the Texas Affordable Housing
Initiative and certify whether sufficient programs have been
initiated and sufficient resources have been committed to meet the
goals of the initiative plan.
Sec. 2306.1088. REPORT. (a) Not later than September 1,
2010, the task force shall submit a copy of the initiative plan,
including an accounting of the funds allocated or expended and the
number and geographic, demographic, and economic characteristics
of persons served by each participating agency through the
initiative plan, to:
(1) the governor;
(2) the lieutenant governor;
(3) the speaker of the house of representatives;
(4) the Legislative Budget Board;
(5) the legislative oversight committees for the
department; and
(6) the legislative oversight committees for the
Office of Rural Community Affairs.
(b) This section expires December 31, 2010.
Sec. 2306.1089. SERVICE-ENRICHED HOUSING INITIATIVE. (a)
The task force shall plan and take necessary actions to improve
coordination between housing and health services programs to
increase state efforts to offer service-enriched housing,
including:
(1) identifying barriers preventing or slowing
service-enriched housing efforts, such as:
(A) regulatory, administrative, or funding
barriers; or
(B) ineffective or limited coordination among
state agencies;
(2) developing a system and plan to cross-educate
selected staff in agencies represented on the task force and other
state and local agencies to increase the number of staff with
expertise in both housing and health services programs;
(3) identifying opportunities for state housing and
health services agencies to provide technical assistance and
training to local housing and health services entities regarding
the cross-education of staff, agency and entity coordination, and
opportunities to increase local efforts to create service-enriched
housing;
(4) developing suggested performance measures to
track progress in:
(A) reducing or eliminating barriers in creating
service-enriched housing;
(B) increasing the coordination among housing
and health services agencies;
(C) increasing the number of state housing and
health services staff who have expertise in both housing and health
services programs; and
(D) increasing the instances of state housing and
health services staff providing technical assistance to local
communities to increase the number of service-enriched housing
projects; and
(5) implementing the related portions of the
initiative plan and tracking the progress of implementation.
(b) In implementing program activities described by this
section, the task force shall ensure that the provision of
service-enriched housing is available to eligible persons on an
equal basis whether they choose to move from their existing homes to
noninstitutionalized housing developments with enriched services
or whether they elect to receive the services in other
noninstitutionalized housing. The task force shall act to ensure
that no state action or policy forces an elderly person or a person
with a disability to choose between living independently and
obtaining services similar to those provided in an institutional
setting.
SECTION 2. Subchapter C, Chapter 487, Government Code, is
amended by adding Section 487.062 to read as follows:
Sec. 487.062. COMPLIANCE WITH TEXAS AFFORDABLE HOUSING
INITIATIVE. The office shall designate a representative to the
Texas Affordable Housing Initiative Task Force under Section
2306.1084, shall implement the plan enacted, and shall take all
other actions required to achieve the goals of the Texas Affordable
Housing Initiative under Subchapter NN, Chapter 2306.
SECTION 3. Subchapter B, Chapter 531, Government Code, is
amended by adding Section 531.0973 to read as follows:
Sec. 531.0973. COMPLIANCE WITH TEXAS AFFORDABLE HOUSING
INITIATIVE. The commission shall designate a representative to the
Texas Affordable Housing Initiative Task Force under Section
2306.1084, shall implement the plan enacted, and shall take all
other actions required to achieve the goals of the Texas Affordable
Housing Initiative under Subchapter NN, Chapter 2306.
SECTION 4. Subchapter C, Chapter 2306, Government Code, is
amended by adding Section 2306.058 to read as follows:
Sec. 2306.058. COMPLIANCE WITH TEXAS AFFORDABLE HOUSING
INITIATIVE. The department shall designate a representative to the
Texas Affordable Housing Initiative Task Force under Section
2306.1084, shall implement the plan enacted, and shall take all
other actions required to achieve the goals of the Texas Affordable
Housing Initiative under Subchapter NN.
SECTION 5. Subchapter D, Chapter 1001, Health and Safety
Code, is amended by adding Section 1001.076 to read as follows:
Sec. 1001.076. COMPLIANCE WITH TEXAS AFFORDABLE HOUSING
INITIATIVE. The department shall designate a representative to the
Texas Affordable Housing Initiative Task Force under Section
2306.1084, Government Code, shall implement the plan enacted, and
shall take all other actions required to achieve the goals of the
Texas Affordable Housing Initiative under Subchapter NN, Chapter
2306, Government Code.
SECTION 6. Subchapter D, Chapter 117, Human Resources Code,
is amended by adding Section 117.075 to read as follows:
Sec. 117.075. COMPLIANCE WITH TEXAS AFFORDABLE HOUSING
INITIATIVE. The department shall designate a representative to the
Texas Affordable Housing Initiative Task Force under Section
2306.1084, Government Code, shall implement the plan enacted, and
shall take all other actions required to achieve the goals of the
Texas Affordable Housing Initiative under Subchapter NN, Chapter
2306, Government Code.
SECTION 7. Subchapter D, Chapter 161, Human Resources Code,
is amended by adding Section 161.076 to read as follows:
Sec. 161.076. COMPLIANCE WITH TEXAS AFFORDABLE HOUSING
INITIATIVE. The department shall designate a representative to the
Texas Affordable Housing Initiative Task Force under Section
2306.1084, Government Code, shall implement the plan enacted, and
shall take all other actions required to achieve the goals of the
Texas Affordable Housing Initiative under Subchapter NN, Chapter
2306, Government Code.
SECTION 8. Subchapter A, Chapter 12, Utilities Code, is
amended by adding Section 12.006 to read as follows:
Sec. 12.006. COMPLIANCE WITH TEXAS AFFORDABLE HOUSING
INITIATIVE. The commission shall designate a representative to the
Texas Affordable Housing Initiative Task Force under Section
2306.1084, Government Code, shall implement the plan enacted, and
shall take all other actions required to achieve the goals of the
Texas Affordable Housing Initiative under Subchapter NN, Chapter
2306, Government Code.
SECTION 9. As soon as possible after the effective date of
this Act, the governor and the heads of the applicable state
agencies shall appoint members to the Texas Affordable Housing
Initiative Task Force in accordance with Subchapter NN, Chapter
2306, Government Code, as added by this Act.
SECTION 10. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009.