By Ellis                                              S.C.R. No. 58

         75R9461 CDD-D                           

                                CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

 1-1           WHEREAS, In an era of devolution, budget cutting, and

 1-2     reinventing government, fewer public dollars are available to

 1-3     address pressing social problems and federal housing programs, in

 1-4     particular, have endured deep budget cuts; and

 1-5           WHEREAS, Affordable housing for low-income and

 1-6     moderate-income individuals and families is a critical community

 1-7     infrastructure need in Texas' urban centers, where some of the

 1-8     densest populations of low-income Texans live; and

 1-9           WHEREAS, An overwhelming majority of public, private, and

1-10     nonprofit partners involved in affordable housing in the state's

1-11     largest cities have found that their community's need for

1-12     affordable housing has out-paced the supply of housing stock; and

1-13           WHEREAS, Expanding financial incentives for developers to

1-14     build affordable housing, such as offering low-interest loans and

1-15     tax relief, would help increase the available supply; and

1-16           WHEREAS, One strategy to raise funds and fill the "capital

1-17     gap" in underfinanced housing markets is to invest pension funds in

1-18     a way that both meets the needs of pension plan members and creates

1-19     a corollary benefit to the community at large; and     

1-20           WHEREAS, Although 22 states, including Texas, have statutes

1-21     authorizing their public pension funds to invest in Economically

1-22     Targeted Investments (ETIs), and housing investments dominate the

1-23     ETI field nationwide, Texas is not among the 19 states that have

1-24     pension funds invested in affordable housing; and

 2-1           WHEREAS, Housing investments are considered to be among the

 2-2     easiest to make because federal housing and tax law are friendly

 2-3     toward ETIs and the housing unit serves as collateral, yet the only

 2-4     ETI in which Texas public pension funds are invested is the Texas

 2-5     Growth Fund, an investment fund established to foster job creation

 2-6     and economic growth; and

 2-7           WHEREAS, With the shrinkage of federal housing dollars and

 2-8     the potential for pension fund investments to fill a gap in this

 2-9     underfinanced area of the economy, there is an urgent need to

2-10     identify sound investment alternatives for public pension funds

2-11     that would support safe, decent, affordable housing for low-income

2-12     and moderate-income individuals and families; now, therefore, be it

2-13           RESOLVED, That the 75th Legislature of the State of Texas

2-14     hereby direct the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs

2-15     to establish an Intergovernmental Task Force on Housing Investment

2-16     to examine potential investment products for affordable housing,

2-17     including the advisability of the creation of an intermediary

2-18     organization similar to the Texas Growth Fund; and, be it further

2-19           RESOLVED, That the task force be composed of, but not limited

2-20     to, one representative from the Employees Retirement System of

2-21     Texas, the Teacher Retirement System of Texas, the Judicial

2-22     Retirement System of Texas, the Texas County and District

2-23     Retirement System, and the Texas Municipal Retirement System,

2-24     appointed by the administrative head of each system; one

2-25     representative from the Texas Department of Housing and Community

2-26     Affairs, the Texas Association of Public Employee Retirement

2-27     Systems, the State Pension Review Board, and the Bond Review Board,

 3-1     appointed by the administrative head of each entity; one

 3-2     representative from the Senate, appointed by the lieutenant

 3-3     governor; one representative from the House of Representatives,

 3-4     appointed by the speaker; and two representatives from statewide

 3-5     community development organizations, appointed by the governor;

 3-6     and, be it further

 3-7           RESOLVED, That the task force be staffed by the Texas

 3-8     Department of Housing and Community Affairs; and, be it further

 3-9           RESOLVED, That the task force submit a full report, including

3-10     findings and recommendations, to the 76th Legislature when it

3-11     convenes in January 1999; and, be it further

3-12           RESOLVED, That the secretary of state forward an official

3-13     copy of this resolution to the executive director of the Texas

3-14     Department of Housing and Community Affairs.