Texas 2023 - 88th Regular

Texas House Bill HB1704 Compare Versions

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1	1	88R19539 JG-F
2	2	By: Walle, Garcia, Rose, Raney, et al. H.B. No. 1704
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to the establishment of the workforce housing capital
8	8	investment fund program to fund the development of workforce
9	9	housing in this state; authorizing a fee.
10	10	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
11	11	SECTION 1. The legislature finds that:
12	12	(1) the creation of the workforce housing capital
13	13	investment fund and use of the fund under Subchapter EE, Chapter
14	14	2306, Government Code, as added by this Act, will substantially
15	15	increase the development of workforce housing for households that
16	16	earn between 30 and 80 percent of the area median income;
17	17	(2) the workforce housing capital investment fund will
18	18	enable loan recipients to access needed capital to plan for future
19	19	growth;
20	20	(3) the creation of more housing options in this state
21	21	will help stabilize the state economy and local economies across
22	22	this state and reduce the need for other services provided by this
23	23	state and political subdivisions of this state;
24	24	(4) skilled construction and trade labor shortages
25	25	impact the cost of housing at all income levels; and
26	26	(5) the use of the workforce housing capital
27	27	investment fund for the purposes of and in the manner described by
28	28	Subchapter EE, Chapter 2306, Government Code, as added by this Act,
29	29	is:
30	30	(A) in furtherance of the public purposes of
31	31	mitigating housing deficits and providing housing to a critical
32	32	segment of this state's population that is not often served by
33	33	for-profit housing; and
34	34	(B) for the benefit of both this state and
35	35	political subdivisions of this state that are impacted by a lack of
36	36	workforce housing to provide to qualified homebuyers.
37	37	SECTION 2. Chapter 2306, Government Code, is amended by
38	38	adding Subchapter EE to read as follows:
39	39	SUBCHAPTER EE. WORKFORCE HOUSING CAPITAL INVESTMENT FUND PROGRAM
40	40	Sec. 2306.701. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
41	41	(1) "Fund" means the workforce housing capital
42	42	investment fund established under this subchapter.
43	43	(2) "Program" means the workforce housing capital
44	44	investment fund program established under this subchapter to
45	45	provide zero interest loans to program recipients.
46	46	(3) "Program administrator" means the nonprofit
47	47	housing organization with which the department contracts to
48	48	administer the program under Section 2306.703.
49	49	(4) "Program recipient" means a loan recipient under
50	50	the program.
51	51	Sec. 2306.702. WORKFORCE HOUSING CAPITAL INVESTMENT FUND.
52	52	(a) The workforce housing capital investment fund is a special fund
53	53	in the state treasury outside the general revenue fund.
54	54	(b) The fund consists of:
55	55	(1) gifts, grants, and donations received by this
56	56	state for the purposes of the fund;
57	57	(2) legislative appropriations for the purposes of
58	58	this subchapter;
59	59	(3) any fees or other sources of revenue that the
60	60	legislature dedicates for deposit to the fund;
61	61	(4) repayments of loans made from the fund; and
62	62	(5) interest earned on money deposited to the fund.
63	63	Sec. 2306.703. PROGRAM ADMINISTRATION. (a) The department
64	64	shall contract with a nonprofit housing organization through a
65	65	one-time competitive procurement process to administer the program
66	66	in accordance with this subchapter.
67	67	(b) The nonprofit housing organization with which the
68	68	department contracts under this section must be a nonprofit
69	69	organization designated as a Section 501(c)(3) organization by the
70	70	Internal Revenue Service that:
71	71	(1) has a statewide service area with organizational
72	72	affiliates;
73	73	(2) provides to organizations designated as Section
74	74	501(c)(3) organizations training and technical support, resource
75	75	development, mortgage services, and disaster preparedness and
76	76	response resources;
77	77	(3) provides financial literacy education to
78	78	low-income homebuyers;
79	79	(4) builds single-family residential homes; and
80	80	(5) works with homebuyers who contribute to the
81	81	construction of their home or the rehabilitation of another
82	82	individual's home, including as a certified nonprofit
83	83	owner-builder housing program provider under Subchapter FF with not
84	84	less than 15 years of experience.
85	85	Sec. 2306.704. USE OF FUND. (a) The department shall
86	86	provide money from the fund to the program administrator to make and
87	87	disburse zero interest loans to program recipients in accordance
88	88	with this subchapter.
89	89	(b) Money provided from the fund to program recipients may
90	90	be used only to pay the costs associated with the development and
91	91	construction of workforce, single-family housing projects
92	92	primarily for households that earn between 30 and 80 percent of the
93	93	area median income, including:
94	94	(1) planning and design costs;
95	95	(2) land acquisition costs;
96	96	(3) impact fees and permitting costs;
97	97	(4) costs associated with flood mitigation, water
98	98	quality, and environmental controls; and
99	99	(5) costs associated with infrastructure, including
100	100	roads, sidewalks, utilities, and broadband service.
101	101	(c) Interest earned on money deposited to the fund may be
102	102	used by the program administrator for:
103	103	(1) program staffing and other related costs
104	104	associated with administering the program; and
105	105	(2) training programs associated with the purposes of
106	106	this subchapter.
107	107	Sec. 2306.705. APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS; PROGRAM RECIPIENT
108	108	SELECTION. (a) The department shall prescribe the form and manner
109	109	for an applicant to apply for a loan under the program.
110	110	(b) An application must satisfy the requirements prescribed
111	111	by the department and demonstrate that the applicant:
112	112	(1) is incorporated under this state's laws as a
113	113	nonprofit organization;
114	114	(2) is organized for the purpose of building
115	115	owner-occupied residential homes for households that earn between
116	116	30 and 80 percent of the area median income and has carried out that
117	117	purpose for not less than 15 years; and
118	118	(3) has experience in providing training and technical
119	119	support, resource development, mortgage services, and disaster
120	120	preparedness and response resources that expand the applicant's
121	121	capacity to serve communities in this state.
122	122	(c) The program administrator shall review applications and
123	123	select applicants to provide loans to under the program. In
124	124	selecting applicants, the program administrator:
125	125	(1) shall consider the quality of the application and
126	126	the applicant's ability to carry out the purposes of this
127	127	subchapter; and
128	128	(2) may give priority to applicants that partner with
129	129	organizations that provide training opportunities to construction
130	130	trade workforce members.
131	131	(d) The program administrator may require an applicant to
132	132	pay an origination fee on a loan application.
133	133	Sec. 2306.706. ANNUAL REPORT; INTERNET POSTING. (a) The
134	134	program administrator shall prepare and submit to the department an
135	135	annual report on the program. The report must include:
136	136	(1) information on the program recipients that
137	137	received a loan under the program during the preceding year;
138	138	(2) a description of each workforce housing project
139	139	funded by a loan under the program, including:
140	140	(A) the project's expected completion date and
141	141	information on the progress made during the preceding year toward
142	142	completing the project;
143	143	(B) the number of families the project is
144	144	expected to serve; and
145	145	(C) the total amount and repayment status of the
146	146	loan; and
147	147	(3) other information the department requires.
148	148	(b) The department shall post on the department's Internet
149	149	website the information submitted to the department under this
150	150	section.
151	151	Sec. 2306.707. INDEPENDENT FINANCIAL AUDIT. (a) The
152	152	program administrator shall annually commission from a certified
153	153	public accounting firm an independent financial audit of the
154	154	program administrator's financial activities in relation to the
155	155	program and the use of money in the fund. The program administrator
156	156	shall provide the results of the audit to the department for the
157	157	department's review and evaluation.
158	158	(b) In the event the department determines from the results
159	159	of the audit that money from the fund has not been used in
160	160	accordance with the purposes of this subchapter, the department may
161	161	require repayment of the money over a period and in the manner the
162	162	department requires.
163	163	Sec. 2306.708. RULES. The department shall adopt rules to
164	164	implement the program and carry out this subchapter, including
165	165	rules on:
166	166	(1) application procedures and requirements for an
167	167	applicant to receive a loan under the program;
168	168	(2) the investment of money in the fund; and
169	169	(3) the administration of the fund.
170	170	SECTION 3. As soon as practicable after the effective date
171	171	of this Act, the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs
172	172	shall adopt rules to implement Subchapter EE, Chapter 2306,
173	173	Government Code, as added by this Act.
174	174	SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.