Texas 2025 - 89th Regular

Texas House Bill HB4505 Compare Versions

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

Old	New	Differences
1	1	89R1830 JG-F
2	2	By: Bell of Montgomery H.B. No. 4505
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7	7	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
8	8	AN ACT
9	9	relating to the establishment of the workforce housing capital
10	10	investment fund program to fund the development of workforce
11	11	housing in this state; authorizing a fee.
12	12	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
13	13	SECTION 1. The legislature finds that:
14	14	(1) the creation of the workforce housing capital
15	15	investment fund and use of the fund under Subchapter EE, Chapter
16	16	2306, Government Code, as added by this Act, will substantially
17	17	increase the development of workforce housing for households that
18	18	earn between 30 and 80 percent of the area median income;
19	19	(2) the workforce housing capital investment fund will
20	20	enable loan recipients to access needed capital to plan for future
21	21	growth;
22	22	(3) the creation of more housing options in this state
23	23	will:
24	24	(A) help stabilize the state economy and local
25	25	economies across this state; and
26	26	(B) reduce the need for other services provided
27	27	by this state and political subdivisions of this state;
28	28	(4) skilled construction and trade labor shortages
29	29	impact the cost of housing at all income levels; and
30	30	(5) the use of the workforce housing capital
31	31	investment fund for the purposes of and in the manner described by
32	32	Subchapter EE, Chapter 2306, Government Code, as added by this Act,
33	33	is:
34	34	(A) in furtherance of the public purposes of
35	35	mitigating housing deficits and providing housing to a critical
36	36	segment of this state's population that is not often served by
37	37	for-profit housing; and
38	38	(B) for the benefit of both this state and
39	39	political subdivisions of this state that are impacted by a lack of
40	40	workforce housing to provide to qualified homebuyers.
41	41	SECTION 2. Chapter 2306, Government Code, is amended by
42	42	adding Subchapter EE to read as follows:
43	43	SUBCHAPTER EE. WORKFORCE HOUSING CAPITAL INVESTMENT FUND PROGRAM
44	44	Sec. 2306.701. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
45	45	(1) "Fund" means the workforce housing capital
46	46	investment fund established under this subchapter.
47	47	(2) "Program" means the workforce housing capital
48	48	investment fund program established under this subchapter.
49	49	(3) "Program administrator" means the nonprofit
50	50	housing organization with which the department contracts to
51	51	administer the program under Section 2306.703.
52	52	(4) "Program recipient" means a loan recipient under
53	53	the program.
54	54	Sec. 2306.702. WORKFORCE HOUSING CAPITAL INVESTMENT FUND.
55	55	(a) The workforce housing capital investment fund is a special fund
56	56	in the state treasury outside the general revenue fund.
57	57	(b) The fund consists of:
58	58	(1) gifts, grants, and donations received by this
59	59	state for the purposes of the fund;
60	60	(2) legislative appropriations for the purposes of
61	61	this subchapter;
62	62	(3) any fees or other sources of revenue that the
63	63	legislature dedicates for deposit to the fund;
64	64	(4) repayments of loans made from the fund; and
65	65	(5) interest earned on money deposited to the fund.
66	66	Sec. 2306.703. PROGRAM ADMINISTRATION. (a) The department
67	67	shall contract with a nonprofit housing organization through a
68	68	one-time competitive procurement process to administer the program
69	69	in accordance with this subchapter.
70	70	(b) The nonprofit housing organization with which the
71	71	department contracts under this section must be a nonprofit
72	72	organization designated as a Section 501(c)(3) organization by the
73	73	Internal Revenue Service that:
74	74	(1) has a statewide service area with organizational
75	75	affiliates;
76	76	(2) provides to organizations designated as Section
77	77	501(c)(3) organizations training and technical support, resource
78	78	development, mortgage services, and disaster preparedness and
79	79	response resources;
80	80	(3) provides financial literacy education to
81	81	low-income homebuyers;
82	82	(4) builds single-family residential homes; and
83	83	(5) works with homebuyers who contribute to the
84	84	construction of their home or the rehabilitation of another
85	85	individual's home, including as a certified nonprofit
86	86	owner-builder housing program provider under Subchapter FF with not
87	87	less than 15 years of experience.
88	88	Sec. 2306.704. USE OF FUND. (a) The department shall
89	89	provide money from the fund to the program administrator to make and
90	90	disburse zero-interest loans to program recipients in accordance
91	91	with this subchapter.
92	92	(b) Money provided from the fund to program recipients may
93	93	be used only to pay the costs associated with the development and
94	94	construction of workforce, single-family housing projects
95	95	primarily for households that earn between 30 and 80 percent of the
96	96	area median income, including:
97	97	(1) planning and design costs;
98	98	(2) land acquisition costs;
99	99	(3) impact fees and permitting costs;
100	100	(4) costs associated with flood mitigation, water
101	101	quality, and environmental controls; and
102	102	(5) costs associated with infrastructure, including
103	103	roads, sidewalks, utilities, and broadband service.
104	104	(c) Interest earned on money deposited to the fund may be
105	105	used by the program administrator for:
106	106	(1) program staffing and other related costs
107	107	associated with administering the program; and
108	108	(2) training programs associated with the purposes of
109	109	this subchapter.
110	110	Sec. 2306.705. APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS; PROGRAM RECIPIENT
111	111	SELECTION. (a) The department shall prescribe the form and manner
112	112	for an applicant to apply for a loan under the program.
113	113	(b) An application must satisfy the requirements prescribed
114	114	by the department and demonstrate that the applicant:
115	115	(1) is incorporated under this state's laws as a
116	116	nonprofit organization;
117	117	(2) is organized for the purpose of building
118	118	owner-occupied residential homes for households that earn between
119	119	30 and 80 percent of the area median income and has carried out that
120	120	purpose for not less than 15 years; and
121	121	(3) has experience in providing training and technical
122	122	support, resource development, mortgage services, and disaster
123	123	preparedness and response resources that expand the applicant's
124	124	capacity to serve communities in this state.
125	125	(c) The program administrator shall review applications and
126	126	select applicants to provide loans to under the program. In
127	127	selecting applicants, the program administrator:
128	128	(1) shall consider the quality of the application and
129	129	the applicant's ability to carry out the purposes of this
130	130	subchapter; and
131	131	(2) may give priority to applicants that partner with
132	132	organizations that provide training opportunities to construction
133	133	trade workforce members.
134	134	(d) The program administrator may require an applicant to
135	135	pay an origination fee on a loan application.
136	136	Sec. 2306.706. ANNUAL REPORT; INTERNET POSTING. (a) The
137	137	program administrator shall prepare and submit to the department an
138	138	annual report on the program. The report must include:
139	139	(1) information on the program recipients that
140	140	received a loan under the program during the preceding year;
141	141	(2) a description of each workforce housing project
142	142	funded by a loan under the program, including:
143	143	(A) the project's expected completion date and
144	144	information on the progress made during the preceding year toward
145	145	completing the project;
146	146	(B) the number of families the project is
147	147	expected to serve; and
148	148	(C) the total amount and repayment status of the
149	149	loan; and
150	150	(3) other information the department requires.
151	151	(b) The department shall post on the department's Internet
152	152	website the information submitted to the department under this
153	153	section.
154	154	Sec. 2306.707. INDEPENDENT FINANCIAL AUDIT. (a) The
155	155	program administrator shall annually commission from a certified
156	156	public accounting firm an independent financial audit of the
157	157	program administrator's financial activities in relation to the
158	158	program and the use of money in the fund. The program administrator
159	159	shall provide the results of the audit to the department for the
160	160	department's review and evaluation.
161	161	(b) In the event the department determines from the results
162	162	of the audit that money from the fund has not been used in
163	163	accordance with the purposes of this subchapter, the department may
164	164	require repayment of the money over a period and in the manner the
165	165	department requires.
166	166	Sec. 2306.708. RULES. The department shall adopt rules to
167	167	implement the program and carry out this subchapter, including
168	168	rules on:
169	169	(1) application procedures and requirements for an
170	170	applicant to receive a loan under the program;
171	171	(2) the investment of money in the fund; and
172	172	(3) the administration of the fund.
173	173	SECTION 3. As soon as practicable after the effective date
174	174	of this Act, the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs
175	175	shall adopt rules to implement Subchapter EE, Chapter 2306,
176	176	Government Code, as added by this Act.
177	177	SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.