Texas 2021 - 87th Regular

Texas House Bill HB1286 Compare Versions

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

Old	New	Differences
1	1	87R2511 SMT-D
2	2	By: Rosenthal H.B. No. 1286
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to requirements for beneficial tax treatment related to a
8	8	leasehold or other possessory interest in a public facility used to
9	9	provide affordable housing.
10	10	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
11	11	SECTION 1. Section 303.042(f), Local Government Code, is
12	12	amended to read as follows:
13	13	(f) Notwithstanding Subsections (a) and (b), during the
14	14	period of time that a corporation owns a particular public
15	15	facility, a leasehold or other possessory interest in the real
16	16	property of the public facility granted by the corporation shall
17	17	be treated in the same manner as a leasehold or other possessory
18	18	interest in real property granted by an authority under Section
19	19	379B.011(b) if the requirements under Section 303.0425 are met.
20	20	SECTION 2. Subchapter B, Chapter 303, Local Government
21	21	Code, is amended by adding Section 303.0425 to read as follows:
22	22	Sec. 303.0425. REQUIREMENTS FOR BENEFICIAL TAX TREATMENT
23	23	RELATING TO CERTAIN PUBLIC FACILITIES. (a) In this section:
24	24	(1) "Affordable housing unit" means a residential unit
25	25	reserved for occupancy by an individual or family earning not more
26	26	than 80 percent of the area median income, adjusted for family size.
27	27	(2) "Department" means the Texas Department of Housing
28	28	and Community Affairs.
29	29	(3) "Developer" means a private entity that constructs
30	30	or rehabilitates a development.
31	31	(4) "Housing choice voucher program" means the housing
32	32	choice voucher program under Section 8, United States Housing Act
33	33	of 1937 (42 U.S.C. Section 1437f).
34	34	(5) "Housing development" means a development
35	35	constructed or rehabilitated to provide multifamily housing that
36	36	includes affordable housing units.
37	37	(6) "Public facility user" means a developer or other
38	38	private entity that has a leasehold or other possessory interest in
39	39	a public facility used to provide multifamily housing.
40	40	(b) Section 303.042(f) applies to a leasehold or other
41	41	possessory interest in a public facility only if the sponsor, the
42	42	corporation, the public facility user, and the housing development
43	43	meet the requirements of this section, as applicable. The
44	44	requirements prescribed by this section apply only to the
45	45	application of taxes related to a leasehold or other possessory
46	46	interest in a public facility under Section 303.042(f) and do not
47	47	restrict the authority of a corporation to lease a public facility
48	48	to a private entity under terms other than the terms described by
49	49	this section.
50	50	(c) A sponsor shall identify goals for public facilities
51	51	used for housing developments and establish selection criteria
52	52	based on the goals to be used by corporations for scoring proposals
53	53	from developers of housing developments. A corporation must issue a
54	54	request for proposals from developers before the corporation enters
55	55	into a lease agreement for a public facility with a developer for
56	56	the purpose of constructing or rehabilitating a housing
57	57	development.
58	58	(d) If a developer substantially rehabilitates an existing
59	59	multifamily residential property that is a public facility leased
60	60	by the developer, the original construction of the property must
61	61	have been completed at least 10 years before the date the developer
62	62	begins rehabilitation of the property.
63	63	(e) A public facility user must reserve:
64	64	(1) at least 50 percent of the total units in a housing
65	65	development as affordable housing units;
66	66	(2) at least 50 percent of the affordable housing
67	67	units in the development for occupancy by individuals or families
68	68	earning not more than 60 percent of area median income, adjusted for
69	69	family size; and
70	70	(3) at least 20 percent of the affordable housing
71	71	units in the development for individuals or families participating
72	72	in the housing choice voucher program if the development is
73	73	located:
74	74	(A) in the attendance zone of an elementary
75	75	school that has passed accountability standards adopted by the
76	76	Texas Education Agency for the most recent school year available;
77	77	(B) in the attendance zone of a high school with a
78	78	graduation rate of at least 85 percent; and
79	79	(C) in a census tract in which:
80	80	(i) fewer than 10 percent of the households
81	81	have a household income equal to or less than the federal poverty
82	82	line; and
83	83	(ii) the median income for households is
84	84	equal to or greater than 80 percent of area median income.
85	85	(f) The percentage of affordable housing units reserved in
86	86	each category of units in the housing development, based on the
87	87	number of bedrooms and bathrooms per unit, must be the same as the
88	88	percentage of affordable housing units reserved in the housing
89	89	development as a whole.
90	90	(g) The monthly rent charged by a public facility user for
91	91	an affordable housing unit may not exceed:
92	92	(1) 30 percent of 80 percent of area median income,
93	93	minus an allowance for utility costs, if the individual or family
94	94	renting the unit earns more than 60 percent but not more than 80
95	95	percent of the area median income, adjusted for family size; and
96	96	(2) 30 percent of 60 percent of area median income,
97	97	minus an allowance for utility costs, if the individual or family
98	98	renting the unit earns not more than 60 percent of the area median
99	99	income, adjusted for family size.
100	100	(h) In calculating the income of an individual or family for
101	101	an affordable housing unit, the public facility user must consider
102	102	the income of every individual who will be living in the unit.
103	103	(i) A public facility user may not:
104	104	(1) refuse to rent an affordable housing unit to an
105	105	individual or family because the individual or family participates
106	106	in the housing choice voucher program; or
107	107	(2) use a financial or minimum income standard that
108	108	requires an individual or family participating in the housing
109	109	choice voucher program to have a monthly income of more than 250
110	110	percent of the individual's or family's share of the total monthly
111	111	rent payable for an affordable housing unit.
112	112	(j) A housing authority that sponsors a corporation that
113	113	leases a public facility used as a housing development to a public
114	114	facility user shall:
115	115	(1) publish information about the affordable housing
116	116	units in the housing development on its Internet website, if the
117	117	authority maintains a website; and
118	118	(2) provide information about the affordable housing
119	119	units directly to individuals and families participating in the
120	120	authority's housing choice voucher program.
121	121	(k) Not later than February 1 of each year, a public
122	122	facility user of a housing development must submit to the chief
123	123	appraiser of the appraisal district in which the housing
124	124	development is located an audit report for a compliance audit
125	125	conducted by an independent auditor to determine whether the public
126	126	facility user is in compliance with:
127	127	(1) all contracts and other agreements between the
128	128	public facility user and the sponsor or corporation relating to the
129	129	housing development; and
130	130	(2) all applicable state and local laws, including the
131	131	requirements of this section.
132	132	(l) The sponsor of a corporation that leases a public
133	133	facility used as a housing development to a public facility user
134	134	shall submit an annual report to the department and to the
135	135	comptroller. The report must include:
136	136	(1) a copy of all contracts and other agreements
137	137	between the public facility user and the sponsor or corporation
138	138	relating to the housing development; and
139	139	(2) statistics describing the demographics of the
140	140	residents of the housing development, including incomes and family
141	141	sizes.
142	142	(m) The department and the comptroller shall each post a
143	143	copy of a report received under Subsection (l) on its respective
144	144	Internet website.
145	145	(n) The governing board of the department shall adopt rules
146	146	and forms necessary to implement Subsection (l).
147	147	SECTION 3. Section 303.0425, Local Government Code, as
148	148	added by this Act, applies only to a leasehold or other possessory
149	149	interest in a public facility granted by a public facility
150	150	corporation to a public facility user, as defined by that section,
151	151	on or after the effective date of this Act.
152	152	SECTION 4. As soon as practicable after the effective date
153	153	of this Act, the governing board of the Texas Department of Housing
154	154	and Community Affairs shall adopt rules as necessary to implement
155	155	Section 303.0425(l), Local Government Code, as added by this Act.
156	156	SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.