1-1     By:  Lewis of Orange (Senate Sponsor - Brown)         H.B. No. 2401
 1-2           (In the Senate - Received from the House April 23, 2001;
 1-3     April 24, 2001, read first time and referred to Committee on
 1-4     Natural Resources; May 2, 2001, reported favorably by the following
 1-5     vote:  Yeas 6, Nays 0; May 2, 2001, sent to printer.)
 1-6                            A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 1-7                                   AN ACT
 1-8     relating to programs and funding methods that promote water
 1-9     conservation among certain state and local entities.
1-10           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-11           SECTION 1. Section 373.005(b), Local Government Code, is
1-12     amended to read as follows:
1-13           (b)  A community development program may include:
1-14                 (1)  acquisition of real property, including air
1-15     rights, water rights, and other interests in real property, that:
1-16                       (A)  is blighted, deteriorated, deteriorating,
1-17     undeveloped, or inappropriately developed from the standpoint of
1-18     sound community development and growth;
1-19                       (B)  is appropriate for rehabilitation or
1-20     conservation activities;
1-21                       (C)  is appropriate for the preservation or
1-22     restoration of historic sites, the beautification of urban land, or
1-23     the conservation of open spaces, natural resources, and scenic
1-24     areas;
1-25                       (D)  is appropriate for the provision of
1-26     recreational opportunities or the guidance of urban development; or
1-27                       (E)  is to be used for the provision of public
1-28     works, facilities, or other improvements eligible for assistance
1-29     under this chapter or is to be used for other public purposes;
1-30                 (2)  acquisition, construction, reconstruction, or
1-31     installation of public works, facilities, sites, or other
1-32     improvements, including construction, reconstruction, or
1-33     installation that implements design features or makes improvements
1-34     that promote energy or water use efficiency;
1-35                 (3)  municipal code enforcement in a deteriorated or
1-36     deteriorating area in which enforcement, combined with public
1-37     improvements and public services, may stop the decline of the area;
1-38                 (4)  clearance, demolition, removal, and rehabilitation
1-39     of buildings and improvements, including rehabilitation that
1-40     promotes energy or water use efficiency, including assistance in
1-41     and financing of public or private acquisition of those properties
1-42     for rehabilitation, and including the renovation of closed school
1-43     buildings;
1-44                 (5)  rehabilitation of privately owned properties;
1-45                 (6)  special projects related to the removal of
1-46     barriers that restrict the mobility of elderly and handicapped
1-47     persons;
1-48                 (7)  payments to housing owners for losses of rental
1-49     income incurred in holding for temporary periods housing units used
1-50     for the relocation of persons displaced by programs conducted under
1-51     this chapter;
1-52                 (8)  disposition, by sale, lease, donation, or
1-53     otherwise, of real property acquired under this chapter, or the
1-54     retention of the property for public purposes;
1-55                 (9)  provision of public services not otherwise
1-56     available if the services are designed to improve the community's
1-57     public services and facilities, including services related to
1-58     employment opportunities, economic development, crime prevention,
1-59     child care, health, drug abuse, education, welfare, or recreational
1-60     needs of persons residing in those areas, or are designed to
1-61     coordinate public and private development programs;
1-62                 (10)  payment of the nonfederal share required in
1-63     connection with a federal grant-in-aid program undertaken as part
1-64     of a local community development program;
 2-1                 (11)  payment of the cost of completing a project
 2-2     funded under Title I of the Housing Act of 1949 (42 U.S.C.A.
 2-3     Section 1450 et seq.) or a federally assisted new community
 2-4     assisted by loan guarantees under Title X of the National Housing
 2-5     Act (12 U.S.C.A. Section 1749aa et seq.) if a portion of the
 2-6     federally assisted area has received grants under Section 107(A)(1)
 2-7     of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C.A.
 2-8     Section 5307(a)(1));
 2-9                 (12)  relocation payments and assistance for
2-10     individuals, families, businesses, organizations, and farm
2-11     operations if determined by the municipality to be appropriate;
2-12                 (13)  activities necessary to develop a comprehensive
2-13     community development plan and to develop a
2-14     policy-planning-management capacity in order that recipients of
2-15     assistance under this chapter may more rationally and effectively
2-16     determine their needs, set long-term goals and short-term
2-17     objectives, devise programs and activities to meet those goals and
2-18     objectives, evaluate the progress of the programs, and carry out
2-19     management, coordination, and monitoring of activities necessary
2-20     for effective implementation of the programs;
2-21                 (14)  payment of reasonable administrative costs and
2-22     carrying charges related to the planning and execution of community
2-23     development and housing activities, including the provision of
2-24     information and resources to residents of areas in which community
2-25     development and housing activities are to be concentrated with
2-26     respect to the planning and execution of those activities and
2-27     including the carrying out of activities described by Section
2-28     701(e) of the Housing Act of 1954 on the day before the date of the
2-29     enactment of the federal Housing and Community Development
2-30     Amendments of 1981;
2-31                 (15)  activities that are conducted by public or
2-32     private entities if the activities are necessary or appropriate to
2-33     meet the needs and objectives of the community development plan,
2-34     including:
2-35                       (A)  acquisition of real property;
2-36                       (B)  acquisition, construction, reconstruction,
2-37     rehabilitation, or installation of public facilities, site
2-38     improvements, utilities, commercial or industrial buildings or
2-39     other structures, or other commercial or industrial real property
2-40     improvements; and
2-41                       (C)  planning;
2-42                 (16)  grants to:
2-43                       (A)  neighborhood-based nonprofit organizations,
2-44     local development corporations, or other entities organized to
2-45     implement neighborhood revitalization projects, community economic
2-46     development projects, or energy or water conservation projects;
2-47                       (B)  federally assisted new communities; or
2-48                       (C)  neighborhood-based nonprofit organizations
2-49     or other private or public nonprofit organizations for the purpose
2-50     of assisting, as part of neighborhood revitalization or other
2-51     community development, the development of shared housing
2-52     opportunities in which elderly families benefit as a result of
2-53     living in a dwelling in which facilities are shared with others in
2-54     a manner that effectively and efficiently meets the housing needs
2-55     of the residents and as a result reduces their cost of housing;
2-56                 (17)  provision of assistance to private, for-profit
2-57     entities if the assistance is necessary or appropriate to carry out
2-58     an economic development project; and
2-59                 (18)  the rehabilitation or development of housing
2-60     assisted under Section 17 of the United States Housing Act of 1937.
2-61           SECTION 2.  Section 61.0591(c), Education Code, is amended to
2-62     read as follows:
2-63           (c)  The board shall allocate incentive funding, as a
2-64     percentage of base funding, among institutions of higher education
2-65     for the purpose of rewarding institutions achieving goals set by
2-66     the board in relation to:
2-67                 (1)  minority recruitment, retention, and academic
2-68     standards maintenance;
2-69                 (2)  graduation rates and maintenance of academic
 3-1     standards;
 3-2                 (3)  commitment to liberal arts core curriculum;
 3-3                 (4)  commitment to continuing education;
 3-4                 (5)  energy conservation and water conservation,
 3-5     rainwater harvesting, and water reuse;
 3-6                 (6)  improvements toward maximum utilization of campus
 3-7     facilities;
 3-8                 (7)  commitment to renovation and maintenance of
 3-9     facilities;
3-10                 (8)  development of articulation arrangements;
3-11                 (9)  proportion of accredited academic programs;
3-12                 (10)  assessed performance of graduates as a measure of
3-13     general education outcome, including assessments based on
3-14     standardized examination performance;
3-15                 (11)  assessed performance of graduates as a measure of
3-16     specialized education outcome, including assessments based on
3-17     professional licensing examination performance;
3-18                 (12)  evaluation of instructional programs through
3-19     surveys of students, graduates, the general public, and employers;
3-20                 (13)  continuing and systematic peer evaluation of
3-21     academic and research programs by scholars from other institutions;
3-22                 (14)  progress toward or attainment of long-range
3-23     planning goals; and
3-24                 (15)  compliance with the management policies required
3-25     by Section 61.0651 of this code.
3-26           SECTION 3.  Section 2303.304(b), Government Code, is amended
3-27     to read as follows:
3-28           (b)  A neighborhood enterprise association with the approval
3-29     of and in coordination with the responsible state or local
3-30     governmental entity may:
3-31                 (1)  establish crime watch patrols in the association's
3-32     geographic neighborhood area;
3-33                 (2)  establish volunteer day-care centers;
3-34                 (3)  organize recreational activities for the
3-35     association's geographic neighborhood area youth;
3-36                 (4)  provide garbage collection;
3-37                 (5)  maintain and improve streets, bridges, and water
3-38     and sewer lines;
3-39                 (6)  provide energy or water conservation projects;
3-40                 (7)  provide health and clinic services;
3-41                 (8)  provide drug abuse programs;
3-42                 (9)  provide senior citizen assistance programs;
3-43                 (10)  maintain parks;
3-44                 (11)  rehabilitate, renovate, operate, or maintain low
3-45     or moderate income housing; and
3-46                 (12)  provide other types of public services as
3-47     authorized by law or rule.
3-48           SECTION 4.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2001.
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