bill creating a veterans’ land bank

The text as introduced · 2,121 words

89R5991 JAM-D

By: Garcia of Bexar
H.B. No. 1608

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the adoption of a veterans' land bank program by the

Texas State Affordable Housing Corporation.

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

SECTION 1. Subchapter Y, Chapter 2306, Government Code, is

amended by adding Section 2306.5622 to read as follows:

Sec. 2306.5622. VETERANS' LAND BANK PROGRAM. (a) In this

section:

(1) "Affordable" means that the monthly mortgage

payment or contract rent does not exceed 30 percent of the

applicable median family income for that housing unit size, in

accordance with the income and rent limit rules adopted by the

department.

(2) "Low-income household" means a household with an

income of not greater than 80 percent of the area median family

income, based on gross household income, adjusted for household

size, for a municipality or, if located in an area that is not part

of a municipality, a county, as determined annually by the United

States Department of Housing and Urban Development.

(3) "Veteran" has the meaning provided by Section

161.001, Natural Resources Code.

(4) "Veterans' land bank plan" or "plan" means a plan

adopted by the corporation as provided by Subsection (f).

(5) "Veterans' land bank program" or "program" means a

program adopted under Subsection (c).

(b) This section controls to the extent of any conflict

between this section and another provision of this chapter.

(c) The corporation shall establish a veterans' land bank

program for the purpose of acquiring, holding, and transferring

real property under this section to provide affordable housing for

veterans who are members of low-income households.

(d) Property held by the corporation under the program may

include:

(1) property acquired in the manner provided by

Subsection (g); and

(2) other property acquired by or transferred to the

corporation.

(e) A sale or other transfer of property to the corporation

for use in connection with the program is a sale for a public

purpose.

(f) The corporation shall operate the program in

conformance with a veterans' land bank plan. The corporation shall

adopt a plan annually. The plan may be amended from time to time.

In developing the plan, the corporation shall consider any other

housing plans adopted by a municipality or county in which the

corporation intends to implement the program.

(g) Property that is ordered sold pursuant to foreclosure of

a tax lien may be sold to the corporation for the purpose of the

program in the manner provided by Section 34.01, Tax Code.

(h) Notwithstanding any other law, if consent is given by

the taxing units that are a party to the judgment, property may be

sold to the corporation for the program for less than the market

value of the property as specified in the judgment or less than the

total of all taxes, penalties, and interest, plus the value of

nontax liens held by a taxing unit and awarded by the judgment,

court costs, and the cost of the sale.

(i) The deed of conveyance of the property sold to the

corporation under Subsection (g) conveys to the corporation the

right, title, and interest acquired or held by each taxing unit that

was a party to the judgment, subject to the right of redemption.

(j) Each subsequent resale or rental of a property owned by

the corporation under the program must comply with the conditions

of this subsection. Within the 10-year period following the date of

acquisition, the corporation must sell or rent a property to a

veteran who is a member of a low-income household. If after 10

years a property has not been purchased by a qualified veteran or

has not been leased to a qualified veteran within the preceding six

months, the property shall be transferred from the corporation to

the taxing units who were parties to the judgment for disposition as

otherwise allowed under the law.

(k) The corporation shall impose, in accordance with this

subsection, deed restrictions on property sold or rented to

veterans through the program requiring the subsequent sale or

rental of the property to veterans who are members of low-income

households. Except as otherwise provided by this subsection, if

the deed restrictions imposed under this subsection are for a term

of years, the deed restrictions renew automatically. The

corporation may modify or add to the deed restrictions imposed

under this subsection. Any modifications or additions made by the

corporation must be adopted by the corporation as part of its plan

and must comply with the minimum requirements provided under this

subsection.

(l) For purposes of evaluating the effectiveness of the

program, the corporation shall prepare an annual performance report

not later than November 1 of each year. The performance report must

include:

(1) for the preceding state fiscal year, a complete

and detailed written accounting of all money received and disbursed

by the corporation under the program and of all properties managed

by the corporation under the program;

(2) for each property acquired by the corporation for

the program during the preceding state fiscal year:

(A) the street address of the property;

(B) the legal description of the property;

(C) the date the corporation took title to the

property;

(D) the name and mailing address of the property

owner of record at the time of the acquisition;

(E) the amount of taxes and other costs owed at

the time of the foreclosure if the property was acquired under

Subsection (g); and

(F) the assessed value of the property on the tax

roll at the time of the foreclosure if the property was acquired

under Subsection (g); and

(3) for each property that the corporation sold or

rented to a qualified veteran under the program during the

preceding state fiscal year:

(A) the street address of the property;

(B) the legal description of the property; and

(C) the purchase price or amount of contract rent

paid by the veteran.

(m) The corporation shall provide copies of the performance

report to any taxing units who were parties to a sale of property

under Subsection (g). The corporation shall maintain copies of the

performance report available for public review.

(n) The corporation shall maintain in its records for

inspection a copy of the sale settlement statement for each

property sold through the veterans' land bank program.

SECTION 2. Section 2306.566(c), Government Code, is amended

to read as follows:

(c) The corporation's plan must include :

(1) specific proposals to help serve rural and other

underserved areas of the state ; and

(2) the veterans' land bank plan developed under

Section 2306.5622 .

SECTION 3. Sections 11.18(d) and (o), Tax Code, are amended

to read as follows:

(d) A charitable organization must be organized exclusively

to perform religious, charitable, scientific, literary, or

educational purposes and, except as permitted by Subsections (h)

and (l), engage exclusively in performing one or more of the

following charitable functions:

(1) providing medical care without regard to the

beneficiaries' ability to pay, which in the case of a nonprofit

hospital or hospital system means providing charity care and

community benefits in accordance with Section 11.1801;

(2) providing support or relief to orphans, delinquent

or dependent children in need of residential care, children with

disabilities in need of residential care, abused or battered

spouses or children in need of temporary shelter, the impoverished,

or victims of natural disaster without regard to the beneficiaries'

ability to pay;

(3) providing support without regard to the

beneficiaries' ability to pay to:

(A) elderly persons, including the provision of:

(i) recreational or social activities; and

(ii) facilities designed to address the

special needs of elderly persons; or

(B) persons with disabilities, including

training and employment:

(i) in the production of commodities; or

(ii) in the provision of services under 41

U.S.C. Sections 8501-8506;

(4) preserving a historical landmark or site;

(5) promoting or operating a museum, zoo, library,

theater of the dramatic or performing arts, or symphony orchestra

or choir;

(6) promoting or providing humane treatment of

animals;

(7) acquiring, storing, transporting, selling, or

distributing water for public use;

(8) answering fire alarms and extinguishing fires with

no compensation or only nominal compensation to the members of the

organization;

(9) promoting the athletic development of boys or

girls under the age of 18 years;

(10) preserving or conserving wildlife;

(11) promoting educational development through loans

or scholarships to students;

(12) providing halfway house services pursuant to a

certification as a halfway house by the parole division of the Texas

Department of Criminal Justice;

(13) providing permanent housing and related social,

health care, and educational facilities for persons who are 62

years of age or older without regard to the residents' ability to

pay;

(14) promoting or operating an art gallery, museum, or

collection, in a permanent location or on tour, that is open to the

public;

(15) providing for the organized solicitation and

collection for distributions through gifts, grants, and agreements

to nonprofit charitable, education, religious, and youth

organizations that provide direct human, health, and welfare

services;

(16) performing biomedical or scientific research or

biomedical or scientific education for the benefit of the public;

(17) operating a television station that produces or

broadcasts educational, cultural, or other public interest

programming and that receives grants from the Corporation for

Public Broadcasting under 47 U.S.C. Section 396, as amended;

(18) providing housing for low-income and

moderate-income families, for unmarried individuals 62 years of age

or older, for individuals with disabilities, and for families

displaced by urban renewal, through the use of trust assets that are

irrevocably and, pursuant to a contract entered into before

December 31, 1972, contractually dedicated on the sale or

disposition of the housing to a charitable organization that

performs charitable functions described by Subdivision (9);

(19) providing housing and related services to persons

who are 62 years of age or older in a retirement community, if the

retirement community provides independent living services,

assisted living services, and nursing services to its residents on

a single campus:

(A) without regard to the residents' ability to

pay; or

(B) in which at least four percent of the

retirement community's combined net resident revenue is provided in

charitable care to its residents;

(20) providing housing on a cooperative basis to

students of an institution of higher education if:

(A) the organization is exempt from federal

income taxation under Section 501(a), Internal Revenue Code of

1986, as amended, by being listed as an exempt entity under Section

501(c)(3) of that code;

(B) membership in the organization is open to all

students enrolled in the institution and is not limited to those

chosen by current members of the organization;

(C) the organization is governed by its members;

and

(D) the members of the organization share the

responsibility for managing the housing;

(21) acquiring, holding, and transferring unimproved

real property under an urban land bank demonstration program

established under Chapter 379C, Local Government Code, as or on

behalf of a land bank;

(22) acquiring, holding, and transferring unimproved

real property under an urban land bank program established under

Chapter 379E, Local Government Code, as or on behalf of a land bank;

(22-a) acquiring, holding, and transferring

unimproved real property under a veterans' land bank program

established under Section 2306.5622, Government Code, as or on

behalf of the Texas State Affordable Housing Corporation;

(23) providing housing and related services to

individuals who:

(A) are unaccompanied and homeless and have a

disabling condition; and

(B) have been continuously homeless for a year or

more or have had at least four episodes of homelessness in the

preceding three years;

(24) operating a radio station that broadcasts

educational, cultural, or other public interest programming,

including classical music, and that in the preceding five years has

received or been selected to receive one or more grants from the

Corporation for Public Broadcasting under 47 U.S.C. Section 396, as

amended;

(25) providing, without regard to the beneficiaries'

ability to pay, tax return preparation services and assistance with

other financial matters; or

(26) providing services related to planning for the

placement of or placing children in foster or adoptive homes or

providing support or relief to women who are or may be pregnant and

who are considering placing their unborn children for adoption.

(o) For purposes of Subsection (a)(2), real property

acquired, held, and transferred by an organization that performs

the function described by Subsection (d)(21) , [ or ] (22) , or (22-a)

is considered to be used exclusively by the qualified charitable

organization to perform that function.

SECTION 4. Section 11.18, Tax Code, as amended by this Act,

applies only to an ad valorem tax year that begins on or after the

effective date of this Act.

SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.