H.B. 424 78(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


H.B. 424
By: Christian
Urban Affairs
Committee Report (Unamended)


BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

Currently, Section 392.0331, Local Government Code, the statute relating
to the appointment of tenant representatives as commissioner of a
municipal, county, or regional housing authority, applies only to: 

 (1)a municipality; or
 (2)a county that has a county housing authority or is a member of a
regional housing authority and the total number of units in the authority
is more than 750. 

In addition, under federal law, (24 C.F.R.   964.425(a), relating to small
housing agencies), the requirements relating to tenant representation do
not apply to any public housing agency that: 

 (1)has fewer than 300 public housing units
 (2)has provided reasonable notice to the resident advisory board of the
opportunity for residents to serve on the governing board 
 (3)has not been notified of the intention of any resident to participate
 (4)repeats the requirements of paragraph (a)(2) and (a)(3) of the section
at least once every year. 

Thus, current federal and state law is unbalanced in relation to small
housing agencies.  Since extant Texas law does not quantify the minimum
number of units in a municipality's housing authority for tenant
representation to apply, the federal department of Housing and Urban
Development ("HUD") interprets the law to require that any Texas municipal
housing authority must have a tenant representative.  Many small housing
authorities in the state of Texas are  required to comply with tenant
representation statutes even though federal law does not require them to
do so.  House Bill 424 amends Section 392.0331, Local Government Code, to
make the federal and state standards consistent. 

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any
additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or
institution. 

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

SECTION 1. Amends Section 392.0331(a), Local Government Code, as follows:
 (1)creates the additional stipulation regarding a municipality for
application of Section 392.0331, Local Government Code, that a municipal
housing authority's total number of units must exceed 300; and 
 (2)makes a non-substantive grammatical correction to Subsection
392.0331(a)(2),  Local Government Code. 

SECTION 2. Effective Date.


EFFECTIVE DATE:  September 1, 2003.