BILL ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 1558

By: Button

Urban Affairs

Committee Report (Substituted)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Veterans face a range of personal, societal, and logistical barriers to accessing health care services. By increasing access to affordable housing that is in close proximity to a veterans hospital or other veterans care facilities, low income veterans can better access the care they need. C.S.H.B. 1558 seeks to provide for low income veterans to be given preference in leasing units in developments that are located in certain populous counties and in close proximity to these facilities.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly create a criminal offense, increase the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or change the eligibility of a person for community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.

ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 1558 amends the Government Code to require the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs point system used to score and rank applications for a low income housing tax credit to encourage an applicant to give preference to low income veterans in leasing units if the application concerns a development that is or will be located in a county with a population of 1 million or more and not more than two miles from a veterans hospital, veterans affairs medical center, or veterans affairs health care center. This requirement applies only to an application submitted during an application cycle that is based on the 2022 qualified allocation plan or a subsequently adopted plan.

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2021.

COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL AND SUBSTITUTE

While C.S.H.B. 1558 may differ from the original in minor or nonsubstantive ways, the following summarizes the substantial differences between the introduced and committee substitute versions of the bill.

The substitute limits the applicability of the bill's provisions to counties with a population of 1 million or more.

The substitute replaces the five mile limit with a two mile limit and includes a veterans affairs medical center and a veterans affairs health care center among the types of facilities that must be nearby in order to receive a preference.