84R9503 JAM-D
By: Lucio S.B. No. 1635
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the establishment and administration of a program by
the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs for the
demolition and replacement of unsafe housing.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter K, Chapter 2306, Government Code, is
amended by adding Section 2306.2595 to read as follows:
Sec. 2306.2595. TEXAS SAFE HOME PROGRAM. (a) The
department shall establish and administer a program to provide
financial assistance for the demolition and replacement of
owner-occupied single-family homes that are in a condition that
poses a risk to the health and safety of the occupants.
(b) The board shall adopt rules to implement the program
described by this section. Rules adopted under this section must
establish:
(1) procedures and forms for nominating a household
for participation in the program;
(2) eligibility criteria for participation in the
program, including criteria based on:
(A) the financial need of the household;
(B) the physical condition of the home; and
(C) other criteria the board considers
necessary;
(3) procedures for evaluating a household's
eligibility for participation in the program;
(4) a system that:
(A) prioritizes and maximizes the allocation of
available funds; and
(B) includes the assignment of eligible
households to specific funding priority levels that are designed to
ensure the most effective use of funds for the most exigent
circumstances; and
(5) the manner in which a nomination must be made and
the manner in which households will be assigned to a specific
funding priority level under the system described by Subdivision
(4).
(c) Funding priority levels described by Subsection
(b)(4)(B) must give high priority to:
(1) households with children, the elderly, or persons
with disabilities;
(2) households whose health and safety are at greatest
risk due to the continued occupancy of a home described by
Subsection (a); and
(3) households that:
(A) are eligible for and will receive third-party
contributions, including volunteer labor or additional loans,
grants, or other financial assistance; or
(B) will contribute labor in the demolition or
construction of the home.
(d) A household may be nominated for participation in the
program by a mayor, fire chief, fire marshal, volunteer fire chief,
county commissioner, or county judge filing a nomination with the
department.
(e) On receipt of a nomination regarding a household, the
department shall determine whether the household is eligible to
participate in the program. If the household is eligible, the
department shall establish a funding priority level for the
household.
(f) A household may not be required to participate in the
program.
(g) In determining whether a nominated household is
eligible for participation in the program and for the purpose of
establishing a funding priority level for the household, a
representative or designee of the manufactured housing division of
the department shall inspect the home with the homeowner and with
the person who nominated the household or that person's designee.
(h) Financial assistance administered under this section
may be provided in the form of a grant, partial grant, loan, or
forgivable loan.
(i) The department shall establish in the housing trust fund
a subaccount that may be used only for providing financial
assistance through the program established under this section. The
subaccount consists of:
(1) money deposited to the subaccount under Section
158.056, Tax Code;
(2) appropriations or transfers made to the
subaccount;
(3) unencumbered balances of the subaccount;
(4) public or private gifts, grants, or donations;
(5) investment income, including all interest,
dividends, capital gains, or other income from the investment of
any portion of the subaccount;
(6) repayments received on any loans made from the
subaccount; and
(7) funds from any other source.
(j) The department shall attempt to secure an agreement
with:
(1) private lending institutions for below market rate
loans for use in the program; and
(2) manufacturers of manufactured housing for the
provision of HUD-code manufactured homes at a discounted price.
(k) An entity that enters into an agreement with the
department under Subsection (j) may:
(1) be designated as an "Official Partner of the State
of Texas for Safe and Affordable Homes"; and
(2) use the designation described by Subdivision (1)
in advertising and promotion.
(l) The department may enter into a contract for the
administration of the program.
(m) Not later than September 1 of each year, the department
shall submit to the governor, the lieutenant governor, the speaker
of the house of representatives, and the state fire marshal a report
that documents for the preceding state fiscal year the number of
households that participated in the program, the nature of the
financial assistance provided under the program, and the amounts of
public and private financial assistance administered through the
program.
SECTION 2. Section 158.056, Tax Code, is amended by adding
Subsection (c) to read as follows:
(c) The comptroller shall deposit the tax imposed under this
section to the credit of the housing trust fund subaccount
established under Section 2306.2595, Government Code, for use only
for the purposes authorized by that section.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.