1-1 By: Naishtat (Senate Sponsor - Lucio) H.B. No. 3340 1-2 (In the Senate - Received from the House May 11, 1999; 1-3 May 12, 1999, read first time and referred to Committee on Human 1-4 Services; May 14, 1999, reported favorably by the following vote: 1-5 Yeas 5, Nays 0; May 14, 1999, sent to printer.) 1-6 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1-7 AN ACT 1-8 relating to a rental housing pilot program to expand long-term care 1-9 housing options for elderly residents of this state with low, very 1-10 low, or extremely low income. 1-11 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: 1-12 SECTION 1. DEFINITION. In this Act, "department" means the 1-13 Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs. 1-14 SECTION 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF PILOT PROGRAM. (a) The Texas 1-15 Department of Housing and Community Affairs, in coordination with 1-16 the Texas Department of Human Services, nonprofit organizations, 1-17 public housing authorities, and any other entity with an interest 1-18 in housing issues, shall develop and implement a rental housing 1-19 pilot program to expand long-term care options for elderly 1-20 residents of this state. The pilot program shall provide 1-21 subsidized multifamily rental housing for elderly residents with 1-22 low, very low, or extremely low income and shall coordinate 1-23 services needed by those residents. 1-24 (b) To the greatest extent possible, the department shall 1-25 coordinate the pilot program with the funding sources of the Texas 1-26 Department of Human Services, nonprofit organizations, public 1-27 housing authorities, and other interested entities. 1-28 SECTION 3. ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS. (a) To qualify for 1-29 subsidized multifamily rental housing under the pilot program, a 1-30 person must: 1-31 (1) be an elderly resident of this state; 1-32 (2) satisfy predetermined needs criteria established 1-33 by the Texas Department of Human Services; 1-34 (3) satisfy income eligibility criteria established by 1-35 the department; and 1-36 (4) have sufficient financial resources to pay a part 1-37 of the person's monthly rental charge. 1-38 (b) To participate in the pilot program, an entity must 1-39 demonstrate that it uses sources of low-income housing funds, such 1-40 as tax credits and tax-exempt bonds, to offer multifamily housing 1-41 at rental rates that are at or below the applicable fair market 1-42 rent prescribed by the United States Department of Housing and 1-43 Urban Development. 1-44 SECTION 4. AFFORDABLE PARTICIPANT CONTRIBUTIONS. The 1-45 department shall require a participating elderly resident of this 1-46 state to pay from the participant's financial resources as rent an 1-47 amount that is not more than 30 percent of the participant's gross 1-48 income or the amount specified by the United States Department of 1-49 Housing and Urban Development for the Section 8 rental assistance 1-50 program. 1-51 SECTION 5. EVALUATION AND REPORT. Not later than December 1-52 15, 2000, the department shall submit a report to the governor, 1-53 lieutenant governor, and speaker of the house of representatives 1-54 that evaluates the effectiveness of the pilot program established 1-55 under this Act. The report must include the department's 1-56 recommendations with respect to providing subsidized multifamily 1-57 rental housing for and coordinating services needed by elderly 1-58 residents of this state with low, very low, or extremely low 1-59 income. 1-60 SECTION 6. TERMINATION; EXPIRATION. The pilot program ends 1-61 and this Act expires September 1, 2001. 1-62 SECTION 7. EMERGENCY. The importance of this legislation 1-63 and the crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an 1-64 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the 2-1 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several 2-2 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended, 2-3 and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its 2-4 passage, and it is so enacted. 2-5 * * * * *