Hughes’s bill scoring housing applicants on air conditioning

The text as introduced · 1,046 words

89R3399 DNC-F

By: Hughes
S.B. No. 1836

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the evaluation of applications for certain financial

assistance administered by the Texas Department of Housing and

Community Affairs.

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

SECTION 1. Section 2306.359(a), Government Code, is amended

to read as follows:

(a) In evaluating an application for an issuance of private

activity bonds, the department shall score and rank the application

using a point system based on criteria that are adopted by the

department, including criteria regarding:

(1) the income levels of tenants of the development,

consistent with the funding priorities provided by Section

1372.0321;

(2) the rent levels of the units;

(3) the level of community support for the

application;

(4) the period of guaranteed affordability for low

income tenants;

(5) the cost per unit of the development;

(6) the size, quality, and amenities of the units;

(7) the services to be provided to tenants of the

development; [ and ]

(8) whether, at the time the complete application is

submitted, all units that are:

(A) owned by the applicant are equipped with air

conditioning; and

(B) owned or operated by a housing authority or

other governmental entity, from which the applicant receives

financial assistance or with which the applicant participates in

projects for the development of affordable housing, are equipped

with air conditioning; and

(9) other criteria as developed by the board.

SECTION 2. Section 2306.6710, Government Code, is amended

by amending Subsection (b) and adding Subsections (h) and (i) to

read as follows:

(b) If an application satisfies the threshold criteria, the

department shall score and rank the application using a point

system that:

(1) prioritizes in descending order criteria

regarding:

(A) financial feasibility of the development

based on the supporting financial data required in the application

that will include a project underwriting pro forma from the

permanent or construction lender;

(B) quantifiable community participation with

respect to the development, evaluated on the basis of a resolution

concerning the development that is voted on and adopted by the

following, as applicable:

(i) the governing body of a municipality in

which the proposed development site is to be located;

(ii) subject to Subparagraph (iii), the

commissioners court of a county in which the proposed development

site is to be located, if the proposed site is to be located in an

area of a county that is not part of a municipality; or

(iii) the commissioners court of a county

in which the proposed development site is to be located and the

governing body of the applicable municipality, if the proposed site

is to be located in the extraterritorial jurisdiction of a

municipality;

(C) the income levels of tenants of the

development;

(D) the size and quality of the units;

(E) the rent levels of the units;

(F) the cost of the development by square foot;

(G) the services to be provided to tenants of the

development;

(H) whether, at the time the complete application

is submitted or at any time within the two-year period preceding the

date of submission, the proposed development site is located in an

area declared to be a disaster under Section 418.014;

(I) quantifiable community participation with

respect to the development, evaluated on the basis of written

statements from any neighborhood organizations on record with the

state or county in which the development is to be located and whose

boundaries contain the proposed development site; [ and ]

(J) the level of community support for the

application, evaluated on the basis of a written statement from the

state representative who represents the district containing the

proposed development site; and

(K) whether, at the time the complete application

is submitted, all units that are:

(i) owned by the applicant are equipped

with air conditioning; and

(ii) owned or operated by a housing

authority or other governmental entity, from which the applicant

receives financial assistance or with which the applicant

participates in projects for the development of affordable housing,

are equipped with air conditioning;

(2) uses criteria imposing penalties on applicants or

affiliates who have requested extensions of department deadlines

relating to developments supported by housing tax credit

allocations made in the application round preceding the current

round or a developer or principal of the applicant that has been

removed by the lender, equity provider, or limited partners for its

failure to perform its obligations under the loan documents or

limited partnership agreement;

(3) encourages applicants to provide free notary

public service to the residents of the developments for which the

allocation of housing tax credits is requested; and

(4) for an application concerning a development that

is or will be located in a county with a population of 1.2 million or

more but less than 4 million and that is or will be located not more

than two miles from a veterans hospital, veterans affairs medical

center, or veterans affairs health care center, encourages

applicants to provide a preference for leasing units in the

development to low income veterans.

(h) If an applicant requests in writing a statement of

support under Subsection (b)(1)(J) from the state representative

who represents the district containing the proposed development

site, the request from the applicant must include information

disclosing the percentage of units owned or operated as described

by Subsection (b)(1)(K) that are equipped with air conditioning.

(i) In assigning points to an application under Subsection

(b)(1)(K), the department shall award negative points if any of the

units that are owned or operated as described by that paragraph are

not equipped with air conditioning.

SECTION 3. The change in law made by this Act applies only

to an application for low income housing tax credits that is

submitted to the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs

during an application cycle that is based on the 2026 qualified

allocation plan or a subsequent plan adopted by the governing board

of the department under Section 2306.67022, Government Code. An

application that is submitted during an application cycle that is

based on an earlier qualified allocation plan is governed by the law

in effect on the date the application cycle began, and the former

law is continued in effect for that purpose.

SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.