By: Walle, Campos, Morales Shaw H.B. No. 1931
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to requirements for beneficial tax treatment related to a
leasehold or other possessory interest in a public facility used to
provide multifamily housing.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 303.042(f), Local Government Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(f) Notwithstanding Subsections (a) and (b), during the
period of time that a corporation owns a particular public
facility, a leasehold or other possessory interest in the real
property of the public facility granted by the corporation shall
be treated in the same manner as a leasehold or other possessory
interest in real property granted by an authority under Section
379B.011(b) if the requirements under Section 303.0425 are met.
SECTION 2. Subchapter B, Chapter 303, Local Government
Code, is amended by adding Section 303.0425 to read as follows:
Sec. 303.0425. REQUIREMENTS FOR BENEFICIAL TAX TREATMENT
RELATING TO CERTAIN PUBLIC FACILITIES. (a) In this section:
(1) "Developer" means a private entity that constructs
or rehabilitates a development.
(2) "Housing choice voucher program" means the housing
choice voucher program under Section 8, United States Housing Act
of 1937 (42 U.S.C. Section 1437f).
(3) "Housing development" means a development
constructed or rehabilitated to provide multifamily housing.
(4) "Lower income housing unit" means a residential
unit reserved for occupancy by an individual or family earning not
more than 60 percent of the area median income, adjusted for family
size.
(5) "Public facility user" means a developer or other
private entity that has a leasehold or other possessory interest in
a public facility used to provide multifamily housing.
(b) Section 303.042(f) applies to a leasehold or other
possessory interest in a public facility only if the public
facility user meets the requirements of this section. The
requirements prescribed by this section apply only to the
application of taxes related to a leasehold or other possessory
interest in a public facility under Section 303.042(f) and do not
restrict the authority of a corporation to lease a public facility
to a private entity under terms other than the terms described by
this section.
(c) A public facility user may not:
(1) refuse to rent a residential unit in a housing
development to an individual or family because the individual or
family participates in the housing choice voucher program; or
(2) use a financial or minimum income standard that
requires an individual or family participating in the housing
choice voucher program to have a monthly income of more than 250
percent of the individual's or family's share of the total monthly
rent payable for a residential unit.
(d) A public facility user must reserve at least 10 percent
of the residential units in a housing development for individuals
or families participating in the housing choice voucher program.
(e) At least 10 percent of the units in the development must
be reserved as lower income housing units. A unit may not be used to
satisfy the reservation required under this subsection if every
tenant in the unit is:
(1) a part-time or full-time student at an institution
of higher education;
(2) under the age of 24; and
(3) ineligible for housing assistance under Section 8,
United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. Section 1437f).
(f) The percentage of lower income housing development,
reserved in each category of units in the housing development,
based on the number of bedrooms and bathrooms per unit, must be the
same as the percentage of lower income housing units reserved in the
housing development as a whole.
(g) The monthly rent charged for a lower income housing unit
may not exceed:
(1) 30 percent of 60 percent of the area median income,
adjusted for family size; or
(2) if the unit is occupied by a participant in the
housing choice voucher program, the payment standard used by the
housing authority that administers the voucher for the unit.
(h) In calculating the income of an individual or family for
a lower income housing unit, the public facility user must consider
the income of every individual who will be living in the unit.
SECTION 3. Section 303.0425, Local Government Code, as
added by this Act, applies only to a leasehold or other possessory
interest in a public facility granted by a public facility
corporation to a public facility user, as defined by that section,
on or after the effective date of this Act.
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.