AN ACT

 1-1     relating to the provision of housing and utility services for

 1-2     certain dwellings.

 1-3           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

 1-4           SECTION 1.  Section 1, Chapter 353, Acts of the 65th

 1-5     Legislature, Regular Session, 1977 (Article 1446d, Vernon's Texas

 1-6     Civil Statutes), is amended by adding Subdivision (3) to read as

 1-7     follows:

 1-8                 (3)  "Housing for older persons" means housing:

 1-9                       (A)  intended for and solely occupied by persons

1-10     62 years of age or older; or

1-11                       (B)  intended and operated for occupancy by at

1-12     least one person 55 years of age or older per dwelling unit.  To

1-13     qualify as housing for older persons under this paragraph, the

1-14     housing must have at least the following:

1-15                             (i)  significant facilities and services

1-16     specifically designed to meet the physical or social needs of older

1-17     persons or, if the provision of such facilities and services is not

1-18     practicable, the housing must be necessary to provide important

1-19     housing opportunities for older persons;

1-20                             (ii)  at least 80 percent of dwelling units

1-21     set aside for occupancy by at least one person 55 years of age or

1-22     older per dwelling unit; and

1-23                             (iii)  policies and procedures, and

 2-1     adherence thereto, which demonstrate an intent by the owner or

 2-2     manager to provide housing for persons 55 years of age or older.

 2-3           SECTION 2.  Section 2, Chapter 353, Acts of the 65th

 2-4     Legislature, Regular Session, 1977 (Article 1446d, Vernon's Texas

 2-5     Civil Statutes), is amended to read as follows:

 2-6           Sec. 2.  (a)  No incorporated city or town, including a

 2-7     home-rule city or other political subdivision of the state, may

 2-8     issue a permit, certificate, or other authorization for the

 2-9     construction or occupancy of a new apartment house or conversion to

2-10     a condominium unless the construction plan provides for individual

2-11     metering by the utility company or submetering by the owner of each

2-12     dwelling unit for the measurement of the quantity of electricity,

2-13     if any, consumed by the occupants within that dwelling unit.

2-14           (b)  The provisions of Subsection (a) of this section shall

2-15     not apply to the issuance of a permit for the construction of

2-16     housing for older persons with 100 or more dwelling units or to the

2-17     issuance of a permit to a nonprofit organization for construction

2-18     of a new apartment house for occupancy by the low-income elderly

2-19     when the nonprofit organization establishes, by submission of

2-20     engineering and cost data and a sworn statement, that all cost

2-21     savings will be passed on to the low-income elderly tenants.

2-22           (c)  An apartment house owner and a mobile home park owner

2-23     may provide for submetering of each dwelling unit for the

2-24     measurement of the quantity of electricity, if any, consumed by the

2-25     occupants within that dwelling unit.

 3-1           (d)  Before issuing a permit, certificate, or other

 3-2     authorization for the construction of housing for older persons, an

 3-3     incorporated city or town, including a home-rule city or other

 3-4     political subdivision of the state, shall require that the

 3-5     construction plan provide for the requirements for housing for

 3-6     older persons as defined in Section 1 of this Act.

 3-7           SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 1997.

 3-8           SECTION 4.  The importance of this legislation and the

 3-9     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an

3-10     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the

3-11     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several

3-12     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.

         _______________________________     _______________________________

             President of the Senate              Speaker of the House

               I hereby certify that S.B. No. 1529 passed the Senate on

         April 17, 1997, by the following vote:  Yeas 31, Nays 0; and that

         the Senate concurred in House amendment on May 26, 1997, by a

         viva-voce vote.

                                             _______________________________

                                                 Secretary of the Senate

               I hereby certify that S.B. No. 1529 passed the House, with

         amendment, on May 23, 1997, by a non-record vote.

                                             _______________________________

                                                 Chief Clerk of the House

         Approved:

         _______________________________

                     Date

         _______________________________

                   Governor