Monitoring the Session

HB 158

Surplus Property Housing Bill Orders One Report, Then Expires

Did not pass

Verdict: Smells

SmellsReviewed
Rep. Richard Peña RaymondDHouse 42
Why it's charged
Study, task force, commission, report

THE TEXT

“The department shall conduct a study on the feasibility of using surplus government property to provide housing to veterans and low-income families.”

Bill text, introduced version (I)

The bill's only action is a feasibility study. No housing is built and no property is moved until a later legislature acts on the report.

Study, task force, commission, report

Reviewed · Nov 1, 2026 · Headline, summary and grade are analysis of the bill text, not a finding about any person · How we grade

Caption

relating to a study on the use of surplus government property to provide housing to veterans and low-income families.

Caption from analyzed text · version I.

Summary

A feasibility study, due November 1, 2026. No housing built, no property moved.

The bill orders the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs to study whether unused or underused federal, state, or local property could be turned into housing for veterans and low-income families. The department must look at how much such property exists, list possible funding sources like tax credits, donations, and tenant rent, and may consult housing authorities and affordable housing developers. Nothing gets built or transferred; the department files a report to the legislature by November 1, 2026, and the law expires September 1, 2027.

Labels

Labels: ZOMBIE BILL. Died 2 times: 88R HB 5072 (Died in committee) and this bill (Did not pass). Checked against 88R only.DO-OVER. Reworked text of a bill filed before that died: 88R HB 5072 (Died in committee). Filed in 2 sessions, counting this one. Checked against 88R only.TRY NO. 2. Filed in 2 sessions: 88R and 89R. Checked against 88R only.GOT HALFWAY. Passed the House on May 16, 2025. Died in the Senate: received, never referred to a committee.

Receipt

The receipt

89R-HB158 · 2024-11-12

SOLD BY

Rep. Richard Peña RaymondDHouse 42 Rep. Josey GarciaDHouse 124

ITEM

relating to a study on the use of surplus government property to provide housing to veterans and low-income families.

WHAT IT DOES

A feasibility study, due November 1, 2026. No housing built, no property moved.

The bill orders the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs to study whether unused or underused federal, state, or local property could be turned into housing for veterans and low-income families. The department must look at how much such property exists, list possible funding sources like tax credits, donations, and tenant rent, and may consult housing authorities and affordable housing developers. Nothing gets built or transferred; the department files a report to the legislature by November 1, 2026, and the law expires September 1, 2027.

CHARGES

[x] STUDY, TASK FORCE, COMMISSION, REPORTanalysis confidence 90%

THE TEXT

“The department shall conduct a study on the feasibility of using surplus government property to provide housing to veterans and low-income families.”

Bill text, introduced version (I)

The bill's only action is a feasibility study. No housing is built and no property is moved until a later legislature acts on the report.

TOTAL

No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.

LBB estimate · fiscal note version I · source

Sources

Fiscal note · version I · April 4, 2025

No first-year general revenue figure available here.

LBB published estimates · flow over the stated periods.

Source snapshot 2026-10-19, Central time.

HISTORY

  1. Filed
  2. Read first time
  3. Referred to Intergovernmental Affairs
  4. Scheduled for public hearing on . . .
  5. Considered in public hearing
  6. Testimony taken/registration(s) recorded in committee
  7. Left pending in committee
  8. Considered in formal meeting
  9. Reported favorably w/o amendment(s)
  10. Comte report filed with Committee Coordinator
  11. Committee report distributed
  12. Committee report sent to Calendars
  13. Considered in Calendars
  14. Placed on General State Calendar
  15. Read 2nd time
  16. Postponed 5/15/25 10:30 PM
  17. Laid out as postponed business
  18. Amended 1-Oliverson, Leo Wilson, Curry, Lowe, J. Garcia, Vasut, and Little
  19. Passed to engrossment as amended
  20. Record vote RV#2766
  21. Statement(s) of vote recorded in Journal
  22. Read 3rd time
  23. Passed
  24. Record vote RV#2871
  25. Statement(s) of vote recorded in Journal
  26. Reported engrossed
  27. Received from the House
FILED UNDER

No verified beat found.

SIGNED FOR BY

House · 72 yea · 42 nay

Sources

House: Final passage · May 16, 2025. Journal. Published stock for this vote. Snapshot 2026-10-19, Central time.

All floor motions and other positions below.

Smells

THANK YOU FOR CHECKING THE RECEIPT

CAMPAIGN PAID FOR BY

CAMPAIGN PAID FOR BY

Richard Peña Raymond

Donors

PG Rental & Leasing Financial LLC$70KBlackstone Dilworth JR$65,000Wyatt Ranches of Texas LLC$60K

Not tied to this bill.

Sources

The author's campaign account only. Own money and internal transfers are separate on the member page.

Derived itemized flow · Jul 17, 2024 to Oct 24, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Derived itemized contributions on live regular reports and uncovered special-session dates. Internal account transfers and daily reports are excluded.

PG Rental & Leasing Financial LLC$70,000.00

PG Rental & Leasing Financial LLC

$70,000.00

Cash
$70,000.00
Paid by others
$0.00
Total
$70,000.00

Also funds 0 other sitting lawmakers.

Derived recipient stock · Oct 30, 2024 to Sep 28, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Name match, not a verified identity: normalized filed name and state.

Sources

Derived itemized flow · Oct 30, 2024 to Sep 28, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Derived itemized contributions on live regular reports and uncovered special-session dates. Internal account transfers and daily reports are excluded.

Report IDs: 100968808, 101007425, 101036903, 101073060.

Blackstone Dilworth JR$65,000.00
Wyatt Ranches of Texas LLC$60,000.00

Wyatt Ranches of Texas LLC

$60,000.00

Cash
$60,000.00
Paid by others
$0.00
Total
$60,000.00

Also funds 0 other sitting lawmakers.

Derived recipient stock · Dec 12, 2024 to Jul 9, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Name match, not a verified identity: normalized filed name and state.

Sources

Derived itemized flow · Dec 12, 2024 to Jul 9, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Derived itemized contributions on live regular reports and uncovered special-session dates. Internal account transfers and daily reports are excluded.

Report IDs: 100968808, 101070449.

Money

Missing data does not establish zero giving. Display amounts are rounded.

×

PG Rental & Leasing Financial LLC

$70,000.00

Cash
$70,000.00
Paid by others
$0.00
Total
$70,000.00

Also funds 0 other sitting lawmakers.

Derived recipient stock · Oct 30, 2024 to Sep 28, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Name match, not a verified identity: normalized filed name and state.

Sources

Derived itemized flow · Oct 30, 2024 to Sep 28, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Derived itemized contributions on live regular reports and uncovered special-session dates. Internal account transfers and daily reports are excluded.

Report IDs: 100968808, 101007425, 101036903, 101073060.

×

Wyatt Ranches of Texas LLC

$60,000.00

Cash
$60,000.00
Paid by others
$0.00
Total
$60,000.00

Also funds 0 other sitting lawmakers.

Derived recipient stock · Dec 12, 2024 to Jul 9, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Name match, not a verified identity: normalized filed name and state.

Sources

Derived itemized flow · Dec 12, 2024 to Jul 9, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Derived itemized contributions on live regular reports and uncovered special-session dates. Internal account transfers and daily reports are excluded.

Report IDs: 100968808, 101070449.

Votes2

House May 16, 2025

Yea
72
Nay
42
Present, not voting
2
Absent
9
Excused
25
Names

Named positions matched to lawmakers. See the journal for unmatched names.

House journal

Sources

Record 2871

HB 158 was passed by (Record 2871): 72 Yeas, 42 Nays, 2 Present, not voting.

Published stock of positions for this vote, except where marked derived.

  • Yea: 72 (published)
  • Nay: 42 (published)
  • Present, not voting: 2 (published)
  • Absent: 9 (derived from named list)
  • Excused: 25 (derived from named list)

House journal. Source snapshot 2026-10-19, Central time.

House May 15, 2025

Yea
116
Nay
20
Present, not voting
1
Absent
8
Excused
5
Names

Named positions matched to lawmakers. See the journal for unmatched names.

House journal

Sources

Record 2766

HB 158, as amended, was passed to engrossment by (Record 2766): 116 Yeas, 20 Nays, 1 Present, not voting.

Published stock of positions for this vote, except where marked derived.

  • Yea: 116 (published)
  • Nay: 20 (published)
  • Present, not voting: 1 (published)
  • Absent: 8 (derived from named list)
  • Excused: 5 (derived from named list)

House journal. Source snapshot 2026-10-19, Central time.

Witnesses8
For
8
Against
0
On
0
Names

For

  • City of Fort Worth1 registration
  • City of Houston1 registration
  • Methodist Healthcare Ministries1 registration
  • NAMI Texas1 registration
  • National Association of Social Workers-Texas1 registration
  • Texas Municipal League1 registration
  • The Texas Catholic Conference of Bishops1 registration
  • USAA1 registration
Sources

8 parsed registrations across the loaded witness lists.

Derived stock of witness registrations. Repeated appearances count separately. Organizations and self-representation appear as printed.

House witness list. Source snapshot 2026-10-20, Central time.

Fiscal

No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.

LBB estimate · fiscal note version I · source

Sources

Fiscal note · version I · April 4, 2025

No first-year general revenue figure available here.

LBB published estimates · flow over the stated periods.

Source snapshot 2026-10-19, Central time.

How this was graded

Analysis of text version I by claude-opus-5-5, Oct 20, 2026, against the published rubric.

FILED BEFORE

Filed 2 times: 88R and 89R. Checked against 88R only.

88R HB 5072

by Rep. Raymond, same lead author · Died in committee · reworked

Introduced text

Last action, Mar 23, 2023: Referred to Urban Affairs

Relating to a study on the use of surplus government property to provide housing to veterans and low-income families.

Caption, 88R bill history

Sources

Texas House · Filed Nov 12, 2024

05/19/2025 S Received from the House

Texas Legislature Online · Introduced · House Committee Report · Engrossed

Data snapshot Nov 1, 2026 at 1:38 PM CST. Grades, charges, quotes and corrections follow the published record.

House committee · Intergovernmental Affairs · Committee vote 6 aye, 5 nay · Out of committee

Subjects

Housing--General

Housing--Veterans

Interim Studies

Public Lands, Buildings & Resources

SURPLUS PROPERTY

HOUSING & COMMUNITY AFFAIRS, TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF

Text

The text as introduced · 312 words

89R226 JG-D

By: Raymond
H.B. No. 158

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to a study on the use of surplus government property to

provide housing to veterans and low-income families.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. DEFINITIONS. In this Act:

(1) "Department" means the Texas Department of Housing

and Community Affairs.

(2) "Low-income family" means a family earning not

more than 80 percent of the area median income or applicable federal

poverty line, as determined by the department under Section

2306.123 or 2306.1231, Government Code.

(3) "Surplus government property" means unused or

underused federal, state, or local property, including real

property, historic buildings, residential buildings, and

commercial buildings.

SECTION 2. STUDY. (a) The department shall conduct a study

on the feasibility of using surplus government property to provide

housing to veterans and low-income families.

(b) In conducting the study under this section, the

department:

(1) shall:

(A) evaluate the availability of surplus

government property in this state and the feasibility of developing

housing units on that property to provide housing to veterans and

low-income families; and

(B) identify potential funding sources to

develop housing units on surplus government property, including:

(i) federal historic tax credits;

(ii) federal housing tax credits;

(iii) corporate and private donations;

(iv) other existing state and federal

funding sources; and

(v) proposed tenant rent payments; and

(2) may consult with:

(A) local housing authorities;

(B) affordable housing developers; and

(C) organizations and persons with appropriate

and relevant expertise on the housing needs of veterans or

low-income families.

SECTION 3. REPORT. Not later than November 1, 2026, the

department shall prepare and submit to the legislature a written

report summarizing the results of the study conducted under this

Act.

SECTION 4. EXPIRATION. This Act expires September 1, 2027.

SECTION 5. EFFECTIVE DATE. This Act takes effect September

1, 2025.