82R1318 JAM-D
By: Menendez H.B. No. 309
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the establishment of the supportive living facility
pilot program.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 2306.6710(b), Government Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(b) If an application satisfies the threshold criteria, the
department shall score and rank the application using a point
system that:
(1) prioritizes in descending order criteria
regarding:
(A) financial feasibility of the development
based on the supporting financial data required in the application
that will include a project underwriting pro forma from the
permanent or construction lender;
(B) quantifiable community participation with
respect to the development, evaluated on the basis of written
statements from any neighborhood organizations on record with the
state or county in which the development is to be located and whose
boundaries contain the proposed development site;
(C) the income levels of tenants of the
development;
(D) the size and quality of the units;
(E) the commitment of development funding by
local political subdivisions;
(F) the level of community support for the
application, evaluated on the basis of written statements from the
state representative or the state senator that represents the
district containing the proposed development site;
(G) the rent levels of the units;
(H) the cost of the development by square foot;
(I) the services to be provided to tenants of the
development; [and]
(J) whether, at the time the complete application
is submitted or at any time within the two-year period preceding the
date of submission, the proposed development site is located in an
area declared to be a disaster under Section 418.014; and
(K) whether the proposed development is a
supportive living facility developed under Section 2306.6739;
(2) uses criteria imposing penalties on applicants or
affiliates who have requested extensions of department deadlines
relating to developments supported by housing tax credit
allocations made in the application round preceding the current
round or a developer or principal of the applicant that has been
removed by the lender, equity provider, or limited partners for its
failure to perform its obligations under the loan documents or
limited partnership agreement; and
(3) encourages applicants to provide free notary
public service to the residents of the developments for which the
allocation of housing tax credits is requested.
SECTION 2. Subchapter DD, Chapter 2306, Government Code, is
amended by adding Section 2306.6739 to read as follows:
Sec. 2306.6739. SUPPORTIVE LIVING FACILITY PILOT PROGRAM
AND SET-ASIDE. (a) In this section:
(1) "Commission" means the Health and Human Services
Commission.
(2) "Health and human services agency" means an agency
listed in Section 531.001.
(3) "Pilot program" means the supportive living
facility pilot program established under this section.
(4) "Supportive living facility" means a freestanding
facility, or a distinct physical and operational entity within a
nursing facility, that:
(A) offers residents their own separate,
private, and distinct living units; and
(B) integrates housing with health care,
personal care, and other supportive services.
(b) The department shall, in coordination with the
commission and any other health and human services agency
designated by the commission, establish the supportive living
facility pilot program to:
(1) facilitate the use of housing tax credits to build
or rehabilitate supportive living facilities; and
(2) to the extent permitted by federal law, use money
received under the Medicaid program to pay for housing and services
provided by supportive living facilities.
(c) The department shall set aside for supportive living
facilities developed under the pilot program not less than five
percent of the housing tax credits available for allocation in the
calendar year. Any amount of housing tax credits set aside under
this subsection that remains after the initial allocation of
housing tax credits is available for allocation to any eligible
applicant as provided by the qualified allocation plan.
(d) The commission or designated health and human services
agency, as appropriate, shall apply for and actively pursue any
waiver to the state Medicaid plan from the federal Centers for
Medicare and Medicaid Services or any other federal agency as
necessary to implement the pilot program.
(e) The department, in conjunction with the commission and
to the extent consistent with the department's regional allocation
formula and the other set-asides provided by this chapter, shall
develop methodologies and incentives to encourage and facilitate
the completion of a supportive living facility not later than
September 1, 2015, in:
(1) each of the four most populous primary
metropolitan statistical areas; and
(2) at least two rural areas.
(f) Not later than December 31 of each year, the department,
the commission, and any health and human services agencies
designated by the commission shall collaborate to submit a report
to the legislature regarding the implementation and effectiveness
of the pilot program. The report must include an assessment of any
cost savings of the pilot program and recommendations for expanding
or modifying the pilot program.
(g) The board shall, in consultation with the commission,
adopt rules necessary to implement this section, including any
eligibility requirements required for persons to reside in
supportive living facilities.
SECTION 3. The change in law made by this Act in adding
Section 2306.6739(c), Government Code, applies only to the
allocation of low income housing tax credits for an application
cycle that begins on or after January 1, 2013. The allocation of
low income housing tax credits for an application cycle that begins
before January 1, 2013, is governed by the law in effect on the date
the application cycle began, and the former law is continued in
effect for that purpose.
SECTION 4. The board of the Texas Department of Housing and
Community Affairs shall adopt any rules required by Section
2306.6739, as added by this Act, in conjunction with the qualified
allocation plan created for the 2013 application cycle, and the
department during that cycle shall begin accepting applications for
low income housing tax credits for the development of supportive
living facilities under Section 2306.6739, Government Code, as
added by this Act.
SECTION 5. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b) of this
section, this Act takes effect September 1, 2011.
(b) Section 2306.6739(f), as added by this Act, takes effect
January 1, 2015.