HBA-GUM H.B. 3609 76(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 3609 By: Burnam Urban Affairs 4/12/1999 Introduced BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE The Section 8 rental voucher and rental certificate programs administered by the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (department) are the federal government's major programs for assisting very low-income families, the elderly, and the disabled to rent housing in the private market. As a result of the expiration of low-income housing use restrictions, thousands of units of multi-family housing in Texas are at risk of being lost as affordable housing. H.B. 3609 directs the department to contact property owners participating in the Section 8 program whose contracts have expired or soon will expire and to attempt to restructure those contracts. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution. SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS SECTION 1. Requires the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs, under the authority granted by the contract with the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development under the Multifamily Assisted Housing Reform and Affordability Act of 1997 (Title 5, Pub. L. No. 105-65), to contact and attempt to restructure the contracts of owners of property who have contracted to provide housing assistance under Section 8, United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. Section 1437 et seq.) and whose contracts have expired or soon will expire, to ensure permanent affordability under the Section 8 housing assistance program for those properties. SECTION 2. Emergency clause. Effective date: upon passage.