1-1 By: Zaffirini, et al. S.B. No. 1509
1-2 (In the Senate - Filed March 13, 1995; March 22, 1995, read
1-3 first time and referred to Committee on International Relations,
1-4 Trade, and Technology; April 19, 1995, reported adversely, with
1-5 favorable Committee Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 7, Nays
1-6 1; April 19, 1995, sent to printer.)
1-7 COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 1509 By: Truan
1-8 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-9 AN ACT
1-10 relating to the establishment of colonia self-help centers in
1-11 certain counties.
1-12 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-13 SECTION 1. Chapter 2306, Government Code, is amended by
1-14 adding Subchapter Z to read as follows:
1-15 SUBCHAPTER Z. COLONIA SELF-HELP CENTERS
1-16 Sec. 2306.581. DEFINITION. In this subchapter:
1-17 (1) "Colonia" means a geographic area located in a
1-18 county some part of which is within 150 miles of the international
1-19 border of this state and that:
1-20 (A) has a majority population composed of
1-21 individuals and families of low income and very low income, based
1-22 on the federal Office of Management and Budget poverty index, and
1-23 meets the qualifications of an economically distressed area under
1-24 Section 17.921, Water Code; or
1-25 (B) has the physical and economic
1-26 characteristics of a colonia, as determined by the department.
1-27 (2) "Community action agency" means a political
1-28 subdivision, combination of political subdivisions, or nonprofit
1-29 organization that qualifies as an eligible entity under 42 U.S.C.
1-30 Section 9902.
1-31 Sec. 2306.582. COLONIA SELF-HELP CENTERS: ESTABLISHMENT.
1-32 (a) The department shall establish colonia self-help centers in El
1-33 Paso, Hidalgo, Starr, and Webb counties, and in Cameron County to
1-34 serve Cameron and Willacy counties. If the department determines
1-35 it necessary and appropriate, the department may establish a
1-36 self-help center in any other county if the county is designated as
1-37 an economically distressed area under Chapter 17, Water Code, for
1-38 purposes of eligibility to receive funds from the Texas Water
1-39 Development Board.
1-40 (b) The department shall attempt to secure contributions,
1-41 services, facilities, or operating support from the commissioners
1-42 court of the county in which the self-help center is located to
1-43 support the operation of the self-help center.
1-44 Sec. 2306.583. SELF-HELP CENTERS: DESIGNATION. (a) The
1-45 department shall designate:
1-46 (1) a geographic area for the services provided by
1-47 each self-help center; and
1-48 (2) five colonias in each service area to receive
1-49 concentrated attention from that center.
1-50 (b) The department may change the designation of colonias
1-51 made under Subsection (a)(2).
1-52 Sec. 2306.584. COLONIA ADVISORY COMMITTEE. (a) The
1-53 department shall appoint not fewer than five persons who are
1-54 residents of colonias to serve as an advisory committee for each
1-55 self-help center. The members of the advisory committee shall be
1-56 selected from lists of candidates submitted to the department by
1-57 local nonprofit organizations and the commissioners court of a
1-58 county that the self-help center serves.
1-59 (b) The department shall appoint one committee member to
1-60 represent each colonia in each of the counties in which self-help
1-61 centers are located. A committee member:
1-62 (1) must be a resident of a colonia in the county the
1-63 member represents; and
1-64 (2) may not be affiliated with an entity that is
1-65 awarded a contract under this subchapter.
1-66 Sec. 2306.585. DUTIES OF COMMITTEE. (a) The committee
1-67 shall advise the department regarding:
1-68 (1) the needs of colonia residents;
2-1 (2) appropriate and effective programs that are
2-2 proposed or are operated through the self-help centers; and
2-3 (3) activities that may be undertaken through the
2-4 self-help centers to better serve the needs of colonia residents.
2-5 (b) The committee shall meet before the 30th day preceding
2-6 the date on which a contract is scheduled to be awarded for the
2-7 operation of a self-help center and may meet at other times.
2-8 Sec. 2306.586. SELF-HELP CENTER: PURPOSE AND SERVICES.
2-9 (a) The purpose of a self-help center is to assist individuals and
2-10 families of low income and very low income to finance, refinance,
2-11 construct, improve, or maintain a safe, suitable home in the
2-12 colonias' designated service area or in another area the department
2-13 has determined is suitable.
2-14 (b) A self-help center shall set a goal to improve the
2-15 living conditions of residents in the colonias designated under
2-16 Section 2306.583(a)(2) within a two-year period after a contract is
2-17 awarded under this subchapter.
2-18 (c) A self-help center may serve individuals and families of
2-19 low income and very low income by:
2-20 (1) providing assistance in obtaining loans or grants
2-21 to build a home;
2-22 (2) teaching construction skills necessary to repair
2-23 or build a home;
2-24 (3) providing model home plans;
2-25 (4) operating a program to rent or provide tools for
2-26 home construction and improvement for the benefit of property
2-27 owners in colonias who are building or repairing a residence or
2-28 installing necessary residential infrastructure;
2-29 (5) helping to obtain, construct, access, or improve
2-30 the service and utility infrastructure designed to service
2-31 residences in a colonia, including potable water, wastewater
2-32 disposal, drainage, streets, and utilities;
2-33 (6) surveying or platting residential property that an
2-34 individual purchased without the benefit of a legal survey, plat,
2-35 or record;
2-36 (7) providing credit and debt counseling related to
2-37 home purchase and finance;
2-38 (8) applying for grants and loans to provide housing
2-39 and other needed community improvements;
2-40 (9) providing other services that the self-help
2-41 center, with the approval of the department, determines are
2-42 necessary to assist colonia residents in improving their physical
2-43 living conditions, including help in obtaining suitable alternative
2-44 housing outside of a colonia's area; and
2-45 (10) providing assistance in obtaining loans or grants
2-46 to enable an individual or a family to acquire fee simple title to
2-47 property that originally was purchased under a contract for a deed,
2-48 contract for sale, or other executory contract.
2-49 (d) A self-help center may not provide grants, financing, or
2-50 mortgage loan services to purchase, build, rehabilitate, or finance
2-51 construction or improvements to a home in a colonia if water
2-52 service and suitable wastewater disposal are not available.
2-53 Sec. 2306.587. OPERATION OF SELF-HELP CENTER. The
2-54 department shall contract for the operation of a self-help center
2-55 with a local nonprofit organization, local community action agency,
2-56 or local housing authority that has demonstrated the ability to
2-57 carry out the functions of a self-help center under this
2-58 subchapter.
2-59 (b) The department and the self-help centers may apply for
2-60 and receive public or private gifts or grants to enable the centers
2-61 to achieve their purpose.
2-62 Sec. 2306.588. DEPARTMENT LIAISON TO SELF-HELP CENTERS.
2-63 (a) The department shall designate appropriate staff in the
2-64 department to act as liaison to the self-help centers to assist the
2-65 centers in obtaining funding to enable the centers to carry out the
2-66 centers' programs.
2-67 (b) The department shall make a reasonable effort to secure
2-68 an adequate level of funding to provide the self-help centers with
2-69 funds for low-interest mortgage financing, grants for self-help
2-70 programs, a revolving loan fund for septic tanks, a tool-lending
3-1 program, and other activities the department determines are
3-2 necessary.
3-3 Sec. 2306.589. COLONIA SET-ASIDE FUND. (a) The department
3-4 shall establish a fund in the department designated as the colonia
3-5 set-aside fund.
3-6 (b) The department may use money in the colonia set-aside
3-7 fund for specific activities that assist colonias, including:
3-8 (1) the operation and activities of the self-help
3-9 centers established under this subchapter; or
3-10 (2) reimbursement of colonia advisory committee
3-11 members for their reasonable expenses in the manner provided by
3-12 Article 6252-33, Revised Statutes, or the General Appropriations
3-13 Act.
3-14 (c) The department may review and approve an application for
3-15 funding from the colonia set-aside fund that advances the policy
3-16 and goals of the state in addressing problems in the colonias.
3-17 SECTION 2. The Texas Department of Housing and Community
3-18 Affairs shall allocate not less than 12.5 percent of the yearly
3-19 allocation of community development block grant funds received from
3-20 the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development to
3-21 the colonia set-aside fund to achieve the purposes of Subchapter Z,
3-22 Chapter 2306, Government Code, as added by this Act. The
3-23 department shall allocate an amount from the colonia set-aside fund
3-24 that is not less than two and one-half percent of the yearly
3-25 allocation of community development block grant funds received from
3-26 the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development for
3-27 funding the operation of the colonia self-help centers.
3-28 SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 1995.
3-29 SECTION 4. The importance of this legislation and the
3-30 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
3-31 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
3-32 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
3-33 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.
3-34 * * * * *