85R9821 JAM-D
By: Swanson H.B. No. 1653
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. Section 2306.6710, Government Code, is amended
by amending Subsections (b) and (f) and adding Subsection (g) 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 rent levels of the units;
(F) 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;
(G) the cost of the development by square foot;
(H) [(G)] the services to be provided to tenants
of the development;
(I) [(H)] 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;
and
(J) [(I)] 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) 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)(F) [(b)(1)(J)], 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 written statements
received.
(g) For a proposed development that is to be located in an
unincorporated area of an urban area, the department shall award an
additional one-third of the maximum number of positive or negative
points that may be awarded under Subsection (f)(1) or (2), as
applicable, if the application is the subject of positive or
negative written statements under those subsections.
SECTION 2. The change in law made by this Act applies only
to an application for low income housing tax credits that is
submitted to the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs
during an application cycle that is based on the 2018 qualified
allocation plan or a subsequent plan adopted by the governing board
of the department under Section 2306.67022, Government Code. An
application that is submitted during an application cycle that is
based on an earlier qualified allocation plan is governed by the law
in effect on the date the application cycle began, and the former
law is continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.