Monitoring the Session

SB 1944

Eckhardt’s bill on housing tax credits in the same community

Did not pass

Verdict: No flags

No flagsInitial review
Sen. Sarah EckhardtDSenate 14

Initial review · graded Oct 20, 2026 · Headline, summary and grade are analysis of the bill text, not a finding about any person · How we grade

Caption

relating to the allocation of housing tax credits to developments within proximate geographical areas.

Caption from analyzed text · version I.

Summary

A second way to fund more than one development there.

This bill adds a second way for the state housing board to award low-income housing tax credits to more than one development in the same community. Under the new path, the community must sit entirely inside a city, in a census tract with a relatively low poverty rate, and in an area that earns top points on the state's opportunity index, and the city council must vote to approve the credits for that development. Developers and city councils in lower-poverty, higher-opportunity neighborhoods could see several tax-credit projects clustered together, starting with applications under the 2026 allocation plan.

Labels

Labels: STALLED AFTER COMMITTEE. Voted out of the Senate Local Government committee 4-1 on May 8, 2025. Placed on the intent calendar on May 14, 2025. The bill died.

Receipt

The receipt

89R-SB1944 · 2025-03-05

SOLD BY

Sen. Sarah EckhardtDSenate 14 Sen. Royce WestDSenate 23

ITEM

relating to the allocation of housing tax credits to developments within proximate geographical areas.

WHAT IT DOES

A second way to fund more than one development there.

This bill adds a second way for the state housing board to award low-income housing tax credits to more than one development in the same community. Under the new path, the community must sit entirely inside a city, in a census tract with a relatively low poverty rate, and in an area that earns top points on the state's opportunity index, and the city council must vote to approve the credits for that development. Developers and city councils in lower-poverty, higher-opportunity neighborhoods could see several tax-credit projects clustered together, starting with applications under the 2026 allocation plan.

CHARGES

[ ] NONE FOUND

TOTAL

No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.

LBB estimate · fiscal note version S · source

Sources

Fiscal note · version S · May 9, 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. Received by the Secretary of the Senate
  2. Filed
  3. Read first time
  4. Referred to Local Government
  5. Scheduled for public hearing on . . .
  6. Considered in public hearing
  7. Testimony taken in committee
  8. Left pending in committee
  9. Considered in public hearing
  10. Left pending in committee
  11. Considered in public hearing
  12. Vote taken in committee
  13. Reported favorably as substituted
  14. Committee report printed and distributed
  15. Placed on intent calendar
  16. Not again placed on intent calendar
FILED UNDER

No verified beat found.

No flags

THANK YOU FOR CHECKING THE RECEIPT

CAMPAIGN PAID FOR BY

CAMPAIGN PAID FOR BY

Sarah Eckhardt

Donors

Donald Henley$117,500Dale Linebarger$38,769Stephen McNally$24,000

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 1, 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.

Donald Henley$117,500.00
Dale Linebarger$38,769.25
Stephen McNally$24,000.00
Money

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

Votes

No floor vote loaded for this bill.

Witnesses16
For
16
Against
0
On
0
Names

For

  • Austin Chamber of Commerce1 registration
  • City of Denton1 registration
  • City of Houston1 registration
  • City of San Antonio1 registration
  • Dallas County Commissioners Court1 registration
  • Dallas Housing Coalition1 registration
  • Rural Rental Housing Association of Texas1 registration
  • Self1 registration
  • Self; Rural Rental Housing Association1 registration
  • Self; Texas chapter US Green Building Council1 registration
  • Texans for Housing1 registration
  • Texans for Reasonable Solutions1 registration
  • Texas Affiliation of Affordable Housing Providers1 registration
  • Texas Apartment Association1 registration
  • Texas Housers1 registration
  • Texas Munciipal League1 registration
Sources

16 parsed registrations across the loaded witness lists.

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

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

Fiscal

No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.

LBB estimate · fiscal note version S · source

Sources

Fiscal note · version S · May 9, 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.

Sources

Texas Senate · Filed Mar 5, 2025

05/21/2025 S Not again placed on intent calendar

Texas Legislature Online · Introduced · Senate Committee Report

Data snapshot Oct 26, 2026 at 4:20 AM CDT. Grades, charges, quotes and corrections follow the published record.

Senate committee · Local Government · Committee vote 4 aye, 1 nay, 2 absent · Out of committee

Subjects

City Government--General

Housing--General

Taxation--Property-Miscellaneous

Text

The text as introduced · 369 words

89R10141 JAM-F

By: Eckhardt, West
S.B. No. 1944

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the allocation of housing tax credits to developments

within proximate geographical areas.

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

SECTION 1. Section 2306.6711(f-1), Government Code, is

amended to read as follows:

(f-1) The board may allocate housing tax credits to more

than one development in a single community :

(1) [ only ] if:

(A) [ (1) ] the community is located entirely in:

(i) [ (A) ] a municipality with a population

of two million or more; and

(ii) [ (B) ] an area that is in a federally

declared disaster area; and

(B) [ (2) ] the governing body of the municipality

containing the development:

(i) [ (A) ] has by vote specifically

authorized the allocation of housing tax credits for the

development; and

(ii) [ (B) ] is authorized to administer

disaster recovery funds as a subgrant recipient ; or

(2) if:

(A) the community is located entirely in:

(i) a municipality;

(ii) a census tract with a poverty rate less

than the greater of 20 percent or the median poverty rate among

census tracts in the uniform state service region; and

(iii) an area that allows the development

to receive the maximum possible points for the opportunity index

established by the department pursuant to 26 U.S.C. Section

42(m)(1)(C)(i); and

(B) the governing body of the municipality

containing the development has by vote specifically authorized the

allocation of housing tax credits for the development .

SECTION 2. 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. 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 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.