| 1 | 1 | | By: Watson S.B. No. 1314 |
|---|
| 2 | 2 | | |
|---|
| 3 | 3 | | |
|---|
| 4 | 4 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
|---|
| 5 | 5 | | AN ACT |
|---|
| 6 | 6 | | relating to the award of points for affordable housing projects |
|---|
| 7 | 7 | | that are awarded low income housing tax credits. |
|---|
| 8 | 8 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
|---|
| 9 | 9 | | SECTION 1. Section 2304.6725, Government Code, is amended |
|---|
| 10 | 10 | | to read as follows: |
|---|
| 11 | 11 | | (a) In allocating low income housing tax credits, the |
|---|
| 12 | 12 | | department shall score each application using a point system based |
|---|
| 13 | 13 | | on criteria adopted by the department that are consistent with the |
|---|
| 14 | 14 | | department's housing goals, including criteria addressing the |
|---|
| 15 | 15 | | ability of the proposed project to: |
|---|
| 16 | 16 | | (1) provide quality social support services to |
|---|
| 17 | 17 | | residents; |
|---|
| 18 | 18 | | (2) demonstrate community and neighborhood support as |
|---|
| 19 | 19 | | defined by the qualified allocation plan; |
|---|
| 20 | 20 | | (3) consistent with sound underwriting practices and |
|---|
| 21 | 21 | | when economically feasible, serve individuals and families of |
|---|
| 22 | 22 | | extremely low income by leveraging private and state and federal |
|---|
| 23 | 23 | | resources, including federal HOPE VI grants received through the |
|---|
| 24 | 24 | | United States Department of Housing and Urban Development; |
|---|
| 25 | 25 | | (4) serve traditionally underserved areas; |
|---|
| 26 | 26 | | (5) remain affordable to qualified tenants for an |
|---|
| 27 | 27 | | extended, economically feasible period; and |
|---|
| 28 | 28 | | (6) comply with the accessibility standards that are |
|---|
| 29 | 29 | | required under Section 504, Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. |
|---|
| 30 | 30 | | Section 794), and specified under 24 C.F.R. Part 8, Subpart C; |
|---|
| 31 | 31 | | (7) rehabilitate, not including reconstruction, any |
|---|
| 32 | 32 | | existing affordable housing development that is eligible to apply |
|---|
| 33 | 33 | | under 2306.6714; |
|---|
| 34 | 34 | | (8) allow replacement of an affordable housing |
|---|
| 35 | 35 | | development that is eligible to apply under Section 2306.6714 and |
|---|
| 36 | 36 | | that is at least 50 years old at the time the application is |
|---|
| 37 | 37 | | submitted. |
|---|
| 38 | 38 | | (b) The department shall provide appropriate incentives as |
|---|
| 39 | 39 | | determined through the qualified allocation plan to reward |
|---|
| 40 | 40 | | applicants who agree to: |
|---|
| 41 | 41 | | (1) equip the property that is the basis of the |
|---|
| 42 | 42 | | application with energy saving devices that meet the standards |
|---|
| 43 | 43 | | established by the state energy conservation office or to provide |
|---|
| 44 | 44 | | to a qualified nonprofit organization or tenant organization a |
|---|
| 45 | 45 | | right of first refusal to purchase the property at the minimum price |
|---|
| 46 | 46 | | provided in, and in accordance with the requirements of, Section |
|---|
| 47 | 47 | | 42(i)(7), Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (26 U.S.C. Section |
|---|
| 48 | 48 | | 42(i)(7)); and |
|---|
| 49 | 49 | | (2) locate the development in a census tract in which |
|---|
| 50 | 50 | | there are no other existing developments supported by housing tax |
|---|
| 51 | 51 | | credits. |
|---|
| 52 | 52 | | (c) On awarding tax credit allocations, the board shall |
|---|
| 53 | 53 | | document the reasons for each project's selection, including an |
|---|
| 54 | 54 | | explanation of: |
|---|
| 55 | 55 | | (1) all discretionary factors used in making its |
|---|
| 56 | 56 | | determination; and |
|---|
| 57 | 57 | | (2) the reasons for any decision that conflicts with |
|---|
| 58 | 58 | | the recommendations of department staff under Section 2306.6731. |
|---|
| 59 | 59 | | (d) For each scoring criterion, the department shall use a |
|---|
| 60 | 60 | | range of points to evaluate the degree to which a proposed project |
|---|
| 61 | 61 | | satisfies the criterion. The department may not award a number of |
|---|
| 62 | 62 | | points for a scoring criterion that is disproportionate to the |
|---|
| 63 | 63 | | degree to which a proposed project complies with that criterion. |
|---|
| 64 | 64 | | (e) Subsections (7) and (8) shall receive an equal number of |
|---|
| 65 | 65 | | points, and such value shall be the greatest number of points |
|---|
| 66 | 66 | | awarded under this Section, but not more than the lowest scoring |
|---|
| 67 | 67 | | item under Section 2306.6710. |
|---|
| 68 | 68 | | (f) Point under subsections (7) and (8) may only be awarded |
|---|
| 69 | 69 | | for applications to receive low income housing tax credits |
|---|
| 70 | 70 | | allocated under Section 2306.6714. |
|---|
| 71 | 71 | | SECTION 2. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives |
|---|
| 72 | 72 | | a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as |
|---|
| 73 | 73 | | provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this |
|---|
| 74 | 74 | | Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this |
|---|
| 75 | 75 | | Act takes effect September 1, 2015. |
|---|