Texas 2015 - 84th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB1636 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

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1	1	84R12004 JAM-D
2	2	By: Lucio S.B. No. 1636
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to financial assistance provided by the Texas State
8	8	Affordable Housing Corporation for the demolition and replacement
9	9	of unsafe housing and the purchase of manufactured homes by
10	10	individuals and families of very low income.
11	11	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
12	12	SECTION 1. Subchapter Y, Chapter 2306, Government Code, is
13	13	amended by adding Sections 2306.570 and 2306.571 to read as
14	14	follows:
15	15	Sec. 2306.570. TEXAS SAFE HOME PROGRAM. (a) The
16	16	corporation shall establish and administer a program to provide
17	17	financial assistance for the demolition and replacement of
18	18	owner-occupied single-family homes that are in a condition that
19	19	poses a risk to the health and safety of the occupants.
20	20	(b) The board of directors of the corporation shall adopt
21	21	rules to implement the program described by this section. Rules
22	22	adopted under this section must establish:
23	23	(1) procedures and forms for nominating a household
24	24	for participation in the program;
25	25	(2) eligibility criteria for participation in the
26	26	program, including criteria based on:
27	27	(A) the financial need of the household;
28	28	(B) the physical condition of the home; and
29	29	(C) other criteria the board considers
30	30	necessary;
31	31	(3) procedures for evaluating a household's
32	32	eligibility for participation in the program;
33	33	(4) a system that:
34	34	(A) prioritizes and maximizes the allocation of
35	35	available funds; and
36	36	(B) includes the assignment of eligible
37	37	households to specific funding priority levels that are designed to
38	38	ensure the most effective use of funds for the most exigent
39	39	circumstances; and
40	40	(5) the manner in which a nomination must be made and
41	41	the manner in which households will be assigned to a specific
42	42	funding priority level under the system described by Subdivision
43	43	(4).
44	44	(c) Funding priority levels described by Subsection
45	45	(b)(4)(B) must give high priority to:
46	46	(1) households with children, the elderly, or persons
47	47	with disabilities;
48	48	(2) households whose health and safety are at greatest
49	49	risk due to the continued occupancy of a home described by
50	50	Subsection (a); and
51	51	(3) households that:
52	52	(A) are eligible for and will receive third-party
53	53	contributions, including volunteer labor or additional loans,
54	54	grants, or other financial assistance; or
55	55	(B) will contribute labor in the demolition or
56	56	construction of the home.
57	57	(d) A household may be nominated for participation in the
58	58	program by a mayor, fire chief, fire marshal, volunteer fire chief,
59	59	county commissioner, or county judge filing a nomination with the
60	60	corporation.
61	61	(e) On receipt of a nomination regarding a household, the
62	62	corporation shall determine whether the household is eligible to
63	63	participate in the program. If the household is eligible, the
64	64	corporation shall establish a funding priority level for the
65	65	household.
66	66	(f) A household may not be required to participate in the
67	67	program.
68	68	(g) In determining whether a nominated household is
69	69	eligible for participation in the program and for the purpose of
70	70	establishing a funding priority level for the household, a
71	71	representative or designee of the corporation shall inspect the
72	72	home with the homeowner and with the person who nominated the
73	73	household or that person's designee.
74	74	(h) Financial assistance administered under this section
75	75	may be provided in the form of a grant, partial grant, loan, or
76	76	forgivable loan.
77	77	(i) The corporation shall establish the Texas safe home
78	78	trust fund. The Texas safe home trust fund:
79	79	(1) is a fund:
80	80	(A) administered by the corporation; and
81	81	(B) placed with the Texas Treasury Safekeeping
82	82	Trust Company;
83	83	(2) consists of:
84	84	(A) money deposited to the fund under Section
85	85	158.056, Tax Code;
86	86	(B) appropriations or transfers made to the fund;
87	87	(C) unencumbered fund balances;
88	88	(D) public or private gifts, grants, or
89	89	donations;
90	90	(E) investment income, including all interest,
91	91	dividends, capital gains, or other income from the investment of
92	92	any portion of the fund;
93	93	(F) repayments received on loans made from the
94	94	fund; and
95	95	(G) funds from any other source; and
96	96	(3) may be used only to support the program
97	97	established by this section.
98	98	(j) The corporation shall attempt to secure an agreement
99	99	with:
100	100	(1) private lending institutions for below market rate
101	101	loans for use in the program; and
102	102	(2) manufacturers of manufactured housing for the
103	103	provision of HUD-code manufactured homes at a discounted price.
104	104	(k) An entity that enters into an agreement with the
105	105	corporation under Subsection (j) may:
106	106	(1) be designated as an "Official Partner of the State
107	107	of Texas for Safe and Affordable Homes"; and
108	108	(2) use the designation described by Subdivision (1)
109	109	in advertising and promotion.
110	110	(l) The corporation may enter into a contract for the
111	111	administration of the program.
112	112	(m) Not later than September 1 of each year, the corporation
113	113	shall submit to the governor, the lieutenant governor, the speaker
114	114	of the house of representatives, and the state fire marshal a report
115	115	that documents for the preceding state fiscal year the number of
116	116	households that participated in the program, the nature of the
117	117	financial assistance provided under the program, and the amounts of
118	118	public and private financial assistance administered through the
119	119	program.
120	120	Sec. 2306.571. MANUFACTURED HOME PURCHASE ASSISTANCE
121	121	PROGRAM. (a) The corporation shall establish a program to provide
122	122	financial assistance to eligible persons for the purchase of new
123	123	manufactured homes from a retailer licensed under Chapter 1201,
124	124	Occupations Code.
125	125	(b) The board of directors of the corporation shall adopt
126	126	rules governing:
127	127	(1) the administration of the program;
128	128	(2) the issuance of financial assistance under the
129	129	program;
130	130	(3) eligibility criteria for participation in the
131	131	program, including creditworthiness and purchase price criteria;
132	132	(4) exceptions to the residency requirement under
133	133	Subsection (c)(1), including death, loss of employment, or other
134	134	exigent circumstances; and
135	135	(5) the structure of the financial assistance provided
136	136	under this section, which may include secured or unsecured deferred
137	137	forgivable loans.
138	138	(c) To be eligible for financial assistance under this
139	139	section, a person must:
140	140	(1) reside in this state on the date on which an
141	141	application for financial assistance under this section is filed;
142	142	(2) be an individual or family of very low income;
143	143	(3) except as provided by the corporation program
144	144	guidelines or rules, continuously occupy the purchased
145	145	manufactured home as the person's primary residence for at least
146	146	two years following the date of purchase of the home; and
147	147	(4) satisfy any other requirements established by the
148	148	board of directors of the corporation.
149	149	(d) When adopting additional rules on homeowner
150	150	eligibility, the board of directors of the corporation may consider
151	151	giving priority in allocating financial assistance under this
152	152	section to:
153	153	(1) a person who is currently serving in the military
154	154	or who is a veteran;
155	155	(2) a person who is at least 65 years of age;
156	156	(3) a person who has not owned a home during the three
157	157	years before the date on which an application is filed under this
158	158	section;
159	159	(4) a person who is replacing an existing manufactured
160	160	home used as the person's primary residence that was manufactured
161	161	more than 15 years before the date on which an application is filed
162	162	under this section;
163	163	(5) a person buying a manufactured home that is an
164	164	"Energy Star" qualified manufactured home or that conforms to the
165	165	energy efficiency standards or program jointly operated by the
166	166	United States Department of Housing and Urban Development and the
167	167	United States Department of Energy; and
168	168	(6) a person who will install the home in a rural
169	169	county.
170	170	(e) For each manufactured home purchased with financial
171	171	assistance under this section, the assistance may not exceed the
172	172	lesser of:
173	173	(1) $35,000;
174	174	(2) 50 percent of the total purchase price of the
175	175	manufactured home; or
176	176	(3) 50 percent of the total purchase price of the
177	177	manufactured home and the real property on which a manufactured
178	178	home has been installed, if a real property election has been
179	179	perfected under Section 1201.222(a), Occupations Code.
180	180	(f) Financial assistance provided under this section to
181	181	purchase a home having a primary loan associated with the purchase,
182	182	if the loan does not involve the use of real property as security,
183	183	must be provided by a lender that:
184	184	(1) makes consumer loans on manufactured homes in this
185	185	state in conformance with Chapter 347, Finance Code; or
186	186	(2) is a federally insured depository institution.
187	187	(g) A lender must comply with applicable requirements of
188	188	state and federal law if the loan involves the use of real property
189	189	as security.
190	190	(h) The corporation may fund the program with:
191	191	(1) money appropriated to the corporation for that
192	192	purpose;
193	193	(2) money deposited to the housing trust fund under
194	194	Section 158.056, Tax Code; and
195	195	(3) funds from any other source.
196	196	(i) A person who receives financial assistance through a
197	197	second lien loan under this section shall repay the outstanding
198	198	balance of the loan if the person ceases to occupy the manufactured
199	199	home as the person's primary residence.
200	200	(j) The corporation shall award financial assistance under
201	201	the program on a first-come, first-served basis. The corporation
202	202	may publish on its Internet website notice that the corporation is
203	203	accepting applications for the program.
204	204	(k) The corporation may reserve for payment of
205	205	administrative expenses not more than five percent of money
206	206	received for the program under this section.
207	207	(l) The corporation may coordinate with local government
208	208	officials and utility providers to promote awareness of the program
209	209	and to receive recommendations of persons potentially eligible to
210	210	participate in the program.
211	211	SECTION 2. Section 158.056, Tax Code, is amended by adding
212	212	Subsection (c) to read as follows:
213	213	(c) The comptroller shall deposit:
214	214	(1) 50 percent of the tax imposed under this section to
215	215	the credit of the Texas safe home trust fund established under
216	216	Section 2306.570, Government Code, for use only for the purposes
217	217	authorized by that section; and
218	218	(2) 50 percent of the tax imposed under this section to
219	219	the credit of the housing trust fund to be used only to provide down
220	220	payment assistance for the purchase of manufactured homes by
221	221	individuals and families of very low income.
222	222	SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.