By: Collier H.B. No. 3570
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the allocation of low income housing tax credits.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 2306.6710(a), Government Code, is
amended by adding section 2306.6710(a)(1) to read as follows:
(1) if a proposed affordable housing development is in the
primary attendance zone for an elementary, middle, or high school
that has not, at the time of application, achieved Educational
Quality which shall be defined by the Department as having a D or
better rating under the system administered by the Texas Education
Agency (“Educational Quality”), an application will not be deemed
ineligible for an award based on that characteristic if the school
district certifies that:
(A) the school will achieve a D or better rating within
three years of the date of application; or
(B) the overall academic environment for the school is
to be enhanced by a Turnaround Plan pursuant to Section 39.107 of
the Texas Education Code; or
(C) the district will institute a shift to a K-8
structure to serve that same attendance zone within three years of
the date of application; or
(D) the district will implement extended day pre-K to
serve that same attendance zone within three years of the date of
the application; or
(E) residents have the option of attending an
elementary, middle, or high school of their choice within the same
district that has a D or better rating.
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.
Section 2306.6710(b), Government Code, is amended by adding the
following to the end of section 2306.6710(a)to read as follows:
Educational Quality may be considered by the Department in
threshold criteria but shall not be considered by the Department
under Section 2306.6710(b).