84R30436 KJE-D
By: Watson S.B. No. 1316
(Alvarado)
Substitute the following for S.B. No. 1316: No.
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the system by which an application for a low income
housing tax credit is scored.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Sections 2306.6710(b) and (f), Government Code,
are 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 a resolution
concerning the development that is voted on and adopted by the
following, as applicable:
(i) the governing body of a municipality in
which the proposed development site is to be located;
(ii) subject to Subparagraph (iii), the
commissioners court of a county in which the proposed development
site is to be located, if the proposed site is to be located in an
area of a county that is not part of a municipality; or
(iii) the commissioners court of a county
in which the proposed development site is to be located and the
governing body of the applicable municipality, if the proposed site
is to be located in the extraterritorial jurisdiction of a
municipality;
(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 rent levels of the units;
(F) [(G)] the cost of the development by square
foot;
(G) [(H)] the services to be provided to tenants
of the development;
(H) [(I)] 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;
(I) [(J)] 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; and
(J) [(K)] the level of community support for the
application, evaluated on the basis of a written statement from the
state representative who represents the district containing the
proposed development site;
(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.
(f) In evaluating the level of community support for an
application under Subsection (b)(1)(J) [(b)(1)(K)], the department
shall award:
(1) positive points for positive written statements
received;
(2) negative points for negative written statements
received; and
(3) zero points for neutral statements received.
SECTION 2. Section 2306.6725, Government Code, is amended
by amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsections (e), (f), and (g)
to read as follows:
(a) In allocating low income housing tax credits, the
department shall score each application using a point system based
on criteria adopted by the department that are consistent with the
department's housing goals, including criteria addressing the
ability of the proposed project to:
(1) provide quality social support services to
residents;
(2) demonstrate community and neighborhood support as
defined by the qualified allocation plan;
(3) consistent with sound underwriting practices and
when economically feasible, serve individuals and families of
extremely low income by leveraging private and state and federal
resources, including federal HOPE VI grants received through the
United States Department of Housing and Urban Development;
(4) serve traditionally underserved areas;
(5) demonstrate support from local political
subdivisions based on the subdivisions' commitment of development
funding;
(6) rehabilitate or perform an adaptive reuse of a
historic building as part of the development;
(7) remain affordable to qualified tenants for an
extended, economically feasible period; and
(8) [(6)] comply with the accessibility standards
that are required under Section 504, Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29
U.S.C. Section 794), and specified under 24 C.F.R. Part 8, Subpart
C.
(e) The department may not award points for the
rehabilitation or the adaptive reuse of a historic building under
Subsection (a)(6) to more than two projects in the same application
cycle.
(f) In establishing for the 2016 and 2017 qualified
allocation plans the scoring criterion related to the commitment of
development funding by local political subdivisions, the
department shall significantly reduce for each place regardless of
population the amount in funding, per low income unit, that is
required for a proposed project to receive the applicable number of
points for that criterion. After the reduction, the amount of
required funding may be a de minimis amount.
(g) Subsection (f) and this subsection expire September 1,
2019.
SECTION 3. The change in law made by this Act applies only
to an application for a low income housing tax credit that is
submitted to the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs
during an application cycle that begins on or after the effective
date of this Act. An application that is submitted during an
application cycle that began before the effective date of this Act
is governed by the law in effect at the time the application cycle
began, and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.