Highlights 77th Texas Legislature - Senate

_______________________________ HOUSING
77 th Texas Legislature
Prohibits a person from being a member of the board or high-ranking TDHCA employee who or whose
spouse is an officer, employee, or paid consultant of a Texas trade association in the field of banking, real
estate, housing development, or housing construction.
Strategic Funding and Approval Process
Increases the first-time buyers bond volume cap by $219.4 million (from $250.5 million to $469.9 million)
and the residential rental bond volume cap by $200 million (from $165.4 million to $365.1 million).
Enhances TDHCA's compliance process and requires the board to consider an applicant's compliance
history before approving any new projects.
Requires TDHCA to:
• develop a strategic plan, customized by region, to provide affordable housing and to use the plan
to allocate funds to meet regional priorities;
• ensure the most flexible funds are used to serve the lowest income residents when possible;
• conduct a thorough assessment of the need for and supply of housing and community support
services in the state; and
• establish priorities to ensure that awards go to the applicants who are best able to meet the needs
as established by TDHCA.
Requires TDHCA to create a uniform application and funding cycle for housing programs that support
projects that meet established need. By creating a uniform application and fund allocation cycle, TDHCA is
able to consider proposals together, and assess the proposal’s ability to meet regional objectives.
Requires TDHCA to obtain certifications of compliance with anti-discrimination laws by applicants for all
housing-related programs.
Requires the board to establish procedures to monitor and enforce compliance with fair housing laws and
requires TDHCA to identify reasonable Section 8 admittance policies for all tax credit properties.
Establishes a regional allocation method for multi-family housing.
Restructures the low-income housing tax credit program and establishes guidelines and disclosure
requirements to govern the administration of the housing tax credit program.
Provides for: a legislatively defined purpose for the program; an annual allocation plan and application
manual; an on-line application system; specific qualifying guidelines for a nonprofit set-aside allocation;
mandatory disclosure of the identity by the applicant of interested persons; a process for evaluation and
underwriting of applications; a process and timeline for the allocation of housing tax credits; a set-aside to
preserve existing affordable housing developments; a formal appeals process; standards for providing
public information and conducting public hearings; requirements for allowing and considering the views of
elected officials prior to awarding tax credits in their districts; provisions for the enforceability of applicant
representations' a system allowing the debarment from program participation; requirements that 5% of the
apartments be assessable to people with disabilities; prohibition of discrimination against persons receiving
Senate Research Center 164