Texas 2015 - 84th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB1719 Compare Versions

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

Old	New	Differences
1	1	84R11602 KJE-F
2	2	By: Campbell S.B. No. 1719
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to the evaluation of an application for a low income
8	8	housing tax credit.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Section 2306.6704(b-1), Government Code, is
11	11	amended to read as follows:
12	12	(b-1) The preapplication process must require the applicant
13	13	to provide the department with evidence that the applicant has
14	14	notified the following entities with respect to the filing of the
15	15	application:
16	16	(1) any neighborhood organizations on record with the
17	17	state or county in which the development is to be located and whose
18	18	boundaries contain the proposed development site;
19	19	(2) the superintendent and the presiding officer of
20	20	the board of trustees of the school district containing the
21	21	development;
22	22	(3) the presiding officer of the governing body of any
23	23	municipality containing the development and all elected members of
24	24	that body;
25	25	(4) the presiding officer of the governing body of the
26	26	county containing the development and all elected members of that
27	27	body; [and]
28	28	(5) all elected members of the board of directors of
29	29	any municipal utility district containing the development; and
30	30	(6) the state senator and state representative of the
31	31	district containing the development.
32	32	SECTION 2. Section 2306.6705, Government Code, is amended
33	33	to read as follows:
34	34	Sec. 2306.6705. GENERAL APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS. An
35	35	application must contain at a minimum the following written,
36	36	detailed information in a form prescribed by the board:
37	37	(1) a description of:
38	38	(A) the financing plan for the development,
39	39	including any nontraditional financing arrangements;
40	40	(B) the use of funds with respect to the
41	41	development;
42	42	(C) the funding sources for the development,
43	43	including:
44	44	(i) construction, permanent, and bridge
45	45	loans; and
46	46	(ii) rents, operating subsidies, and
47	47	replacement reserves; and
48	48	(D) the commitment status of the funding sources
49	49	for the development;
50	50	(2) if syndication costs are included in the eligible
51	51	basis, a justification of the syndication costs for each cost
52	52	category by an attorney or accountant specializing in tax matters;
53	53	(3) from a syndicator or a financial consultant of the
54	54	applicant, an estimate of the amount of equity dollars expected to
55	55	be raised for the development in conjunction with the amount of
56	56	housing tax credits requested for allocation to the applicant,
57	57	including:
58	58	(A) pay-in schedules; and
59	59	(B) syndicator consulting fees and other
60	60	syndication costs;
61	61	(4) if rental assistance, an operating subsidy, or an
62	62	annuity is proposed for the development, any related contract or
63	63	other agreement securing those funds and an identification of:
64	64	(A) the source and annual amount of the funds;
65	65	(B) the number of units receiving the funds; and
66	66	(C) the term and expiration date of the contract
67	67	or other agreement;
68	68	(5) if the development is located within the
69	69	boundaries of a political subdivision with a zoning ordinance,
70	70	evidence in the form of a letter from the chief executive officer of
71	71	the political subdivision or from another local official with
72	72	jurisdiction over zoning matters that states that:
73	73	(A) the development is permitted under the
74	74	provisions of the ordinance that apply to the location of the
75	75	development; or
76	76	(B) the applicant is in the process of seeking
77	77	the appropriate zoning and has signed and provided to the political
78	78	subdivision a release agreeing to hold the political subdivision
79	79	and all other parties harmless in the event that the appropriate
80	80	zoning is denied;
81	81	(6) if an occupied development is proposed for
82	82	rehabilitation:
83	83	(A) an explanation of the process used to notify
84	84	and consult with the tenants in preparing the application;
85	85	(B) a relocation plan outlining:
86	86	(i) relocation requirements; and
87	87	(ii) a budget with an identified funding
88	88	source; and
89	89	(C) if applicable, evidence that the relocation
90	90	plan has been submitted to the appropriate local agency;
91	91	(7) a certification of the applicant's compliance with
92	92	appropriate state and federal laws, as required by other state law
93	93	or by the board;
94	94	(8) any other information required by the board in the
95	95	qualified allocation plan; and
96	96	(9) evidence that the applicant has notified the
97	97	following entities with respect to the filing of the application:
98	98	(A) any neighborhood organizations on record
99	99	with the state or county in which the development is to be located
100	100	and whose boundaries contain the proposed development site;
101	101	(B) the superintendent and the presiding officer
102	102	of the board of trustees of the school district containing the
103	103	development;
104	104	(C) the presiding officer of the governing body
105	105	of any municipality containing the development and all elected
106	106	members of that body;
107	107	(D) the presiding officer of the governing body
108	108	of the county containing the development and all elected members of
109	109	that body; [and]
110	110	(E) all elected members of the board of directors
111	111	of any municipal utility district containing the development; and
112	112	(F) the state senator and state representative of
113	113	the district containing the development.
114	114	SECTION 3. Section 2306.6710(b), Government Code, is
115	115	amended to read as follows:
116	116	(b) If an application satisfies the threshold criteria, the
117	117	department shall score and rank the application using a point
118	118	system that:
119	119	(1) prioritizes in descending order criteria
120	120	regarding:
121	121	(A) financial feasibility of the development
122	122	based on the supporting financial data required in the application
123	123	that will include a project underwriting pro forma from the
124	124	permanent or construction lender;
125	125	(B) quantifiable community participation with
126	126	respect to the development, evaluated on the basis of a resolution
127	127	concerning the development that is voted on and adopted by the
128	128	following, as applicable:
129	129	(i) the governing body of a municipality in
130	130	which the proposed development site is to be located;
131	131	(ii) subject to Subparagraph (iii), the
132	132	commissioners court of a county in which the proposed development
133	133	site is to be located, if the proposed site is to be located in an
134	134	area of a county that is not part of a municipality; [or]
135	135	(iii) the commissioners court of a county
136	136	in which the proposed development site is to be located and the
137	137	governing body of the applicable municipality, if the proposed site
138	138	is to be located in the extraterritorial jurisdiction of a
139	139	municipality; or
140	140	(iv) the board of directors of a municipal
141	141	utility district in which the proposed development site is to be
142	142	located;
143	143	(C) the income levels of tenants of the
144	144	development;
145	145	(D) the size and quality of the units;
146	146	(E) the commitment of development funding by
147	147	local political subdivisions;
148	148	(F) the rent levels of the units;
149	149	(G) the cost of the development by square foot;
150	150	(H) the services to be provided to tenants of the
151	151	development;
152	152	(I) whether, at the time the complete application
153	153	is submitted or at any time within the two-year period preceding the
154	154	date of submission, the proposed development site is located in an
155	155	area declared to be a disaster under Section 418.014;
156	156	(J) quantifiable community participation with
157	157	respect to the development, evaluated on the basis of written
158	158	statements from any neighborhood organizations on record with the
159	159	state or county in which the development is to be located and whose
160	160	boundaries contain the proposed development site; and
161	161	(K) the level of community support for the
162	162	application, evaluated on the basis of a written statement from:
163	163	(i) the state representative who represents
164	164	the district containing the proposed development site;
165	165	(ii) a member of the commissioners court of
166	166	any county containing the proposed development site;
167	167	(iii) a member of the governing body of any
168	168	municipality containing the proposed development site; or
169	169	(iv) an elected member of the board of
170	170	directors of a municipal utility district containing the proposed
171	171	development site;
172	172	(2) uses criteria imposing penalties on applicants or
173	173	affiliates who have requested extensions of department deadlines
174	174	relating to developments supported by housing tax credit
175	175	allocations made in the application round preceding the current
176	176	round or a developer or principal of the applicant that has been
177	177	removed by the lender, equity provider, or limited partners for its
178	178	failure to perform its obligations under the loan documents or
179	179	limited partnership agreement; and
180	180	(3) encourages applicants to provide free notary
181	181	public service to the residents of the developments for which the
182	182	allocation of housing tax credits is requested.
183	183	SECTION 4. The change in law made by this Act applies only
184	184	to an application for low income housing tax credits that is
185	185	submitted to the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs
186	186	during an application cycle that begins on or after the effective
187	187	date of this Act. An application that is submitted during an
188	188	application cycle that began before the effective date of this Act
189	189	is governed by the law in effect at the time the application cycle
190	190	began, and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
191	191	SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.