H.B. No. 1742
 
 
 
 
AN ACT
  relating to urban land bank demonstration programs.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Section 361.1875, Health and Safety Code, is
  amended to read as follows:
         Sec. 361.1875.  EXCLUSION OF CERTAIN POTENTIALLY
  RESPONSIBLE PARTIES. (a) The commission may not name a person as a
  responsible party for an enforcement action or require a person to
  reimburse remediation costs for a site if the commission has
  conducted an investigation of a site owned or operated by the person
  and as a result of the investigation has determined that:
               (1)  the contaminants that are the subject of
  investigation under this subchapter appear to originate from an
  up-gradient, off-site source that is not owned or operated by the
  person;
               (2)  additional corrective action is not required at
  the site owned or operated by the person; and
               (3)  the commission will not undertake a formal
  enforcement action in the matter.
         (b)  The commission may not name a land bank established
  under Chapter 379C, Local Government Code, as a responsible party
  for an enforcement action or require the land bank to reimburse
  remediation costs for a site if the commission has conducted an
  investigation of a site owned or operated by the land bank and as a
  result of the investigation has determined that:
               (1)  the contaminants that are the subject of
  investigation under this subchapter:
                     (A)  appear to originate from an up-gradient,
  off-site source that is not owned or operated by the land bank; or
                     (B)  appear to have been present on the site
  before the land bank purchased the site; and
               (2)  the land bank could not have reasonably known
  about the contaminants at the time the land bank purchased the site.
         SECTION 2.  Section 361.271(b), Health and Safety Code, is
  amended to read as follows:
         (b)  A political subdivision, a land bank established under
  Chapter 379C, Local Government Code, or an officer or employee of
  the political subdivision or land bank is not a person responsible
  for solid waste released or threatened to be released from a
  facility or at a site if:
               (1)  the political subdivision or land bank acquired
  ownership or control of the facility or site through a
  [bankruptcy,] tax delinquency[, abandonment,] or if the
  subdivision acquired ownership or control of the facility or site
  through bankruptcy, abandonment, or other circumstances in which
  the subdivision involuntarily acquired title to the facility or
  site by virtue of the subdivision's function as sovereign; and
               (2)  the political subdivision, land bank, officer, or
  employee did not cause or contribute to the release or threatened
  release of solid waste at the facility or site.
         SECTION 3.  Section 373A.003, Local Government Code, is
  amended to read as follows:
         Sec. 373A.003.  APPLICABILITY OF CHAPTER.  (a)  This chapter
  applies [only] to a municipality with a population of more than
  650,000 that is located in a uniform state service region with fewer
  than 550,000 occupied housing units as determined by the most
  recent United States decennial census.
         (b)  Subchapters A, B, C, and D apply to any municipality
  with a population of 1.18 million or more which is located
  predominantly in a county that has a total area of less than 1,000
  square miles and has adopted an urban land bank demonstration
  program under Chapter 379C, Local Government Code.
         SECTION 4.  Section 373A.052, Local Government Code, is
  amended to read as follows:
         Sec. 373A.052.  ELIGIBILITY FOR DESIGNATION.  (a)  To be
  designated as a district within a municipality described by Section
  373.003(a) under this subchapter, an area must be composed of
  census tracts forming a spatially compact area contiguous to a
  central business district and with:
               (1)  fewer than 25,000 residents;
               (2)  fewer than 8,000 households;
               (3)  a number of owner-occupied households that does
  not exceed 50 percent of the total households in the area;
               (4)  housing stock at least 55 percent of which was
  built at least 45 years ago;
               (5)  an unemployment rate that is greater than 10
  percent;
               (6)  an overall poverty rate that is at least two times
  the poverty rate for the entire municipality; and
               (7)  in each census tract within the area, a median
  family income that is less than 60 percent of the median family
  income for the entire municipality.
         (b)  To be designated as a district within a municipality
  described by Section 373.003(b) under this subchapter, an area must
  be composed of census tracts forming a spatially compact area
  contiguous to a central business district and with:
               (1)  fewer than 75,000 residents;
               (2)  a median family income that is less than $30,000
  according to the last decennial census; and
               (3)  an overall poverty rate that is at least two times
  the poverty rate for the entire municipality.
         (c)  An area that is designated as a district under this
  subchapter may retain its designation as a district regardless of
  whether the area continues to meet the eligibility criteria
  provided by this section, except that an area that does not elect to
  retain its designation as permitted by this subsection must meet
  all eligibility criteria to be considered for subsequent
  redesignation as a district.
         SECTION 5.  Section 379C.003(3), Local Government Code, is
  amended to read as follows:
               (3)  "Low income household" means a household with a
  gross income of not greater than 115 [80] percent of the area median
  family income, adjusted for household size, for the metropolitan
  statistical area in which the municipality is located, as
  determined annually by the United States Department of Housing and
  Urban Development.
         SECTION 6.  Section 379C.008(a), Local Government Code, is
  amended to read as follows:
         (a)  Notwithstanding any other law and except as provided by
  Subsection (f), property that is ordered sold pursuant to
  foreclosure of a tax lien may be sold in a private sale to a land
  bank by the officer charged with the sale of the property without
  first offering the property for sale as otherwise provided by
  Section 34.01, Tax Code, if:
               (1)  the market value of the property as specified in
  the judgment of foreclosure is less than the total amount due under
  the judgment, including all taxes, penalties, and interest, plus
  the value of nontax liens held by a taxing unit and awarded by the
  judgment, court costs, and the cost of the sale;
               (2)  the property is not improved with a habitable
  building or buildings or an uninhabitable building or buildings
  that are occupied as a residence by an owner or tenant who is
  legally entitled to occupy the building or buildings;
               (3)  there are delinquent taxes on the property for a
  total of at least five [each of the preceding six] years; and
               (4)  the municipality has executed with the other
  taxing units that are parties to the tax suit an interlocal
  agreement that enables those units to agree to participate in the
  program while retaining the right to withhold consent to the sale of
  specific properties to the land bank.
         SECTION 7.  Section 379C.010(b), Local Government Code, is
  amended to read as follows:
         (b)  Each land bank property sold during any given fiscal
  year to be developed for sale must be deed restricted for sale to
  low income households, and:
               (1)  at [At] least 25 percent of those [the] land bank
  properties must [sold during any given fiscal year to be developed
  for sale shall] be deed restricted for sale to households with gross
  household incomes not greater than 60 percent of the area median
  family income, adjusted for household size; and
               (2)  not more than 30 percent of those land bank
  properties may be deed restricted for sale to households with gross
  household incomes greater than 80 percent of the area median family
  income, adjusted for household size [, for the metropolitan
  statistical area in which the municipality is located, as
  determined annually by the United States Department of Housing and
  Urban Development].
         SECTION 8.  Section 379C.011(d), Local Government Code, is
  amended to read as follows:
         (d)  The municipality shall specify in its plan that the
  period during which the right of first refusal provided by this
  section may be exercised by a qualified organization is six [. That
  period must be at least nine months but not more than 26] months
  from the date of the deed of conveyance of the property to the land
  bank.
         SECTION 9.  Section 379D.010(a), Local Government Code, is
  amended to read as follows:
         (a)  The land bank shall impose deed restrictions with
  appropriate terms and conditions on property sold to qualified
  participating developers and eligible adjacent property owners
  that require:
               (1)  the development and sale or rental of the property
  to low income households, if the property is sold to a qualified
  participating developer; or
               (2)  the use of the property to be consistent and
  compatible with the residential character of the neighborhood and
  any applicable standards for use adopted by the land bank, if the
  property is sold to an eligible adjacent property owner.
         SECTION 10.  Section 379D.011, Local Government Code, is
  amended to read as follows:
         Sec. 379D.011.  RIGHT OF FIRST REFUSAL IN ELIGIBLE ADJACENT
  PROPERTY OWNERS; CONDITIONS OF PURCHASE.  (a)  Property acquired by
  the land bank shall be offered for sale, at fair market value as
  determined by the appraisal district in which the property is
  located, to eligible adjacent property owners under a right of
  first refusal on terms and conditions developed by the land bank
  that are consistent with this chapter.
         (b)  To be eligible to exercise a right of first refusal
  under this section, an owner of property adjacent to property
  acquired by the land bank:
               (1)  must have owned and continuously occupied that
  property for at least the five preceding years as that person's
  principal residence; and
               (2)  must meet any eligibility requirements adopted by
  the land bank.
         (c)  An adjacent property owner who purchases property under
  this section may not lease, sell, or otherwise transfer the
  property to another party before the 10th anniversary of the date
  the adjacent property owner purchases the property.  This
  prohibition does not apply to a transfer of property, as allowed by
  policies adopted by the land bank:
               (1)  to a family member of the adjacent property owner;
  or
               (2)  in the case of the death of the adjacent property
  owner.
         SECTION 11.  Chapter 379D, Local Government Code, is amended
  by adding Section 379D.015 to read as follows:
         Sec. 379D.015.  EFFECT OF SALE TO LAND BANK OR SUBSEQUENT
  PURCHASERS OR LENDERS FOR VALUE; LIMITATION ON CERTAIN CAUSES OF
  ACTION.  After the first anniversary of a sale of property to a land
  bank under this chapter:
               (1)  a third party, other than a qualified
  participating developer or eligible adjacent property owner who
  purchased the property from the land bank under this chapter or a
  person with a cause of action based on a right, title, interest, or
  other claim described by Subdivision (2)(A)(ii), may not bring a
  cause of action to set aside or otherwise challenge the sale of the
  property to the land bank, including a cause of action that is
  brought against:
                     (A)  a qualified participating developer or
  eligible adjacent property owner who purchases property from the
  land bank under Section 379D.009 or 379D.011, as applicable; or
                     (B)  any other subsequent purchaser for value or
  lender for value; and
               (2)  a qualified participating developer or eligible
  adjacent property owner who purchases property from a land bank
  under this chapter or any other subsequent purchaser for value or,
  if applicable, a lender for a developer, owner, or purchaser
  described by this subdivision or any other subsequent lender for
  value:
                     (A)  has, with the following characteristics, a
  full title to the property:
                           (i)  except as provided by Subparagraph
  (ii), the title is not subject to any right, title, interest, or
  other claim a person acquired in the property before or after the
  sale of the property to the land bank, including a right of first
  refusal, right of second refusal, and any other right, title,
  interest, or other claim provided by this chapter, other than the
  right of reverter provided by Section 379D.009(d); and
                           (ii)  the title is subject only to:
                                 (a)  the recorded restrictive
  covenants, liens, and valid easements of record described by
  Section 34.01(n), Tax Code;
                                 (b)  any rights of redemption
  applicable to the property;
                                 (c)  any cause of action to impeach the
  property deed based on a claim of fraud;
                                 (d)  the right of reverter provided by
  Section 379D.009(d) and the recorded deed restrictions described by
  Section 379D.010; and
                                 (e)  any right, title, interest, or
  other claim with respect to the property that arose after the sale
  of the property to the land bank under a law other than this
  chapter; and
                     (B)  may conclusively presume that:
                           (i)  the sale of the property to the land
  bank under this chapter was valid; and
                           (ii)  a mortgage on or a subsequent sale of
  the property complies with this chapter and is subject only to a
  right, title, interest, or other claim provided by Paragraph
  (A)(ii).
         SECTION 12.  Subtitle A, Title 12, Local Government Code, is
  amended by adding Chapter 379E to read as follows:
  CHAPTER 379E.  URBAN LAND BANK PROGRAM
         Sec. 379E.001.  SHORT TITLE.  This chapter may be cited as
  the Urban Land Bank Program Act.
         Sec. 379E.002.  APPLICABILITY; CONSTRUCTION WITH OTHER LAW.  
  This chapter applies only to a municipality:
               (1)  to which Chapter 379C or 379D does not apply; and
               (2)  that has not ever adopted a homestead land bank
  program under Subchapter E, Chapter 373A.
         Sec. 379E.003.  DEFINITIONS.  In this chapter:
               (1)  "Affordable" means that the monthly mortgage
  payment or contract rent does not exceed 30 percent of the
  applicable median family income for that unit size, in accordance
  with the income and rent limit rules adopted by the Texas Department
  of Housing and Community Affairs.
               (2)  "Community housing development organization" or
  "organization" means an organization that:
                     (A)  meets the definition of a community housing
  development organization in 24 C.F.R. Section 92.2; and
                     (B)  is certified by the municipality as a
  community housing development organization.
               (3)  "Land bank" means an entity established or
  approved by the governing body of a municipality for the purpose of
  acquiring, holding, and transferring unimproved real property
  under this chapter.
               (4)  "Low income household" means a household with a
  gross income of not greater than 80 percent of the area median
  family income, adjusted for household size, for the metropolitan
  statistical area in which the municipality is located, as
  determined annually by the United States Department of Housing and
  Urban Development.
               (5)  "Qualified participating developer" means a
  developer who meets the requirements of Section 379E.005 and
  includes a qualified organization under Section 379E.011.
               (6)  "Urban land bank plan" or "plan" means a plan
  adopted by the governing body of a municipality as provided by
  Section 379E.006.
               (7)  "Urban land bank program" or "program" means a
  program adopted under Section 379E.004.
         Sec. 379E.004.  URBAN LAND BANK PROGRAM.  (a)  The governing
  body of a municipality may adopt an urban land bank program in which
  the officer charged with selling real property ordered sold
  pursuant to foreclosure of a tax lien may sell certain eligible real
  property by private sale for purposes of affordable housing
  development as provided by this chapter.
         (b)  The governing body of a municipality that adopts an
  urban land bank program shall establish or approve a land bank for
  the purpose of acquiring, holding, and transferring unimproved real
  property under this chapter.
         Sec. 379E.005.  QUALIFIED PARTICIPATING DEVELOPER.  To
  qualify to participate in an urban land bank program, a developer
  must:
               (1)  have developed three or more housing units within
  the three-year period preceding the submission of a proposal to the
  land bank seeking to acquire real property from the land bank;
               (2)  have a development plan approved by the
  municipality for the land bank property; and
               (3)  meet any other requirements adopted by the
  municipality in the urban land bank plan.
         Sec. 379E.006.  URBAN LAND BANK PLAN.  (a)  A municipality
  that adopts an urban land bank program shall operate the program in
  conformance with an urban land bank plan.
         (b)  The governing body of a municipality that adopts an
  urban land bank program shall adopt a plan annually.  The plan may
  be amended from time to time.
         (c)  In developing the plan, the municipality shall consider
  other housing plans adopted by the municipality, including the
  comprehensive plan submitted to the United States Department of
  Housing and Urban Development and all fair housing plans and
  policies adopted or agreed to by the municipality.
         (d)  The plan must include the following:
               (1)  a list of community housing development
  organizations eligible to participate in the right of first refusal
  provided by Section 379E.011;
               (2)  a list of the parcels of real property that may
  become eligible for sale to the land bank during the next year;
               (3)  the municipality's plan for affordable housing
  development on those parcels of real property; and
               (4)  the sources and amounts of money anticipated to be
  available from the municipality for subsidies for development of
  affordable housing in the municipality, including any money
  specifically available for housing developed under the program, as
  approved by the governing body of the municipality at the time the
  plan is adopted.
         Sec. 379E.007.  PUBLIC HEARING ON PROPOSED PLAN.  (a)  Before
  adopting a plan, a municipality shall hold a public hearing on the
  proposed plan.
         (b)  The city manager or the city manager's designee shall
  provide notice of the hearing to all community housing development
  organizations and to neighborhood associations identified by the
  municipality as serving the neighborhoods in which properties
  anticipated to be available for sale to the land bank under this
  chapter are located.
         (c)  The city manager or the city manager's designee shall
  make copies of the proposed plan available to the public not later
  than the 60th day before the date of the public hearing.
         Sec. 379E.008.  PRIVATE SALE TO LAND BANK.  (a)  
  Notwithstanding any other law and except as provided by Subsection
  (f), property that is ordered sold pursuant to foreclosure of a tax
  lien may be sold in a private sale to a land bank by the officer
  charged with the sale of the property without first offering the
  property for sale as otherwise provided by Section 34.01, Tax Code,
  if:
               (1)  the market value of the property as specified in
  the judgment of foreclosure is less than the total amount due under
  the judgment, including all taxes, penalties, and interest, plus
  the value of nontax liens held by a taxing unit and awarded by the
  judgment, court costs, and the cost of the sale;
               (2)  the property is not improved with a building or
  buildings;
               (3)  there are delinquent taxes on the property for a
  total of at least five years; and
               (4)  the municipality has executed with the other
  taxing units that are parties to the tax suit an interlocal
  agreement that enables those units to agree to participate in the
  program while retaining the right to withhold consent to the sale of
  specific properties to the land bank.
         (b)  A sale of property for use in connection with the
  program is a sale for a public purpose.
         (c)  If the person being sued in a suit for foreclosure of a
  tax lien does not contest the market value of the property in the
  suit, the person waives the right to challenge the amount of the
  market value determined by the court for purposes of the sale of the
  property under Section 33.50, Tax Code.
         (d)  For any sale of property under this chapter, each person
  who was a defendant to the judgment, or that person's attorney,
  shall be given, not later than the 90th day before the date of sale,
  written notice of the proposed method of sale of the property by the
  officer charged with the sale of the property. Notice must be given
  in the manner prescribed by Rule 21a, Texas Rules of Civil
  Procedure.
         (e)  After receipt of the notice required by Subsection (d)
  and before the date of the proposed sale, the owner of the property
  subject to sale may file with the officer charged with the sale a
  written request that the property not be sold in the manner provided
  by this chapter.
         (f)  If the officer charged with the sale receives a written
  request as provided by Subsection (e), the officer shall sell the
  property as otherwise provided in Section 34.01, Tax Code.
         (g)  The owner of the property subject to sale may not
  receive any proceeds of a sale under this chapter.  However, the
  owner does not have any personal liability for a deficiency of the
  judgment as a result of a sale under this chapter.
         (h)  Notwithstanding any other law, if consent is given by
  the taxing units that are a party to the judgment, property may be
  sold to the land bank for less than the market value of the property
  as specified in the judgment or less than the total of all taxes,
  penalties, and interest, plus the value of nontax liens held by a
  taxing unit and awarded by the judgment, court costs, and the cost
  of the sale.
         (i)  The deed of conveyance of the property sold to a land
  bank under this section conveys to the land bank the right, title,
  and interest acquired or held by each taxing unit that was a party
  to the judgment, subject to the right of redemption.
         Sec. 379E.009.  SUBSEQUENT RESALE BY LAND BANK.  (a)  Each
  subsequent resale of property acquired by a land bank under this
  chapter must comply with the conditions of this section.
         (b)  Within the three-year period following the date of
  acquisition, the land bank must sell a property to a qualified
  participating developer for the purpose of construction of
  affordable housing for sale or rent to low income households.  If
  after three years a qualified participating developer has not
  purchased the property, the property shall be transferred from the
  land bank to the taxing units who were parties to the judgment for
  disposition as otherwise allowed under the law.
         (c)  Unless the municipality increases the amount in its
  plan, the number of properties acquired by a qualified
  participating developer under this section on which development has
  not been completed may not at any time exceed three times the annual
  average residential production completed by the qualified
  participating developer during the preceding two-year period as
  determined by the municipality.
         (d)  The deed conveying a property sold by the land bank must
  include a right of reverter so that, if the qualified participating
  developer does not apply for a construction permit and close on any
  construction financing within the two-year period following the
  date of the conveyance of the property from the land bank to the
  qualified participating developer, the property will revert to the
  land bank for subsequent resale to another qualified participating
  developer or conveyance to the taxing units who were parties to the
  judgment for disposition as otherwise allowed under the law.
         Sec. 379E.010.  RESTRICTIONS ON OCCUPANCY AND USE OF
  PROPERTY.  (a)  The land bank shall impose deed restrictions on
  property sold to qualified participating developers requiring the
  development and sale or rental of the property to low income
  households.
         (b)  At least 25 percent of the land bank properties sold
  during any given fiscal year to be developed for sale shall be deed
  restricted for sale to households with gross household incomes not
  greater than 60 percent of the area median family income, adjusted
  for household size, for the metropolitan statistical area in which
  the municipality is located, as determined annually by the United
  States Department of Housing and Urban Development.
         (c)  If property is developed for rental housing, the deed
  restrictions must be for a period of not less than 20 years and must
  require that:
               (1)  100 percent of the rental units be occupied by and
  affordable to households with incomes not greater than 60 percent
  of area median family income, based on gross household income,
  adjusted for household size, for the metropolitan statistical area
  in which the municipality is located, as determined annually by the
  United States Department of Housing and Urban Development;
               (2)  40 percent of the units be occupied by and
  affordable to households with incomes not greater than 50 percent
  of area median family income, based on gross household income,
  adjusted for household size, for the metropolitan statistical area
  in which the municipality is located, as determined annually by the
  United States Department of Housing and Urban Development; or
               (3)  20 percent of the units be occupied by and
  affordable to households with incomes not greater than 30 percent
  of area median family income, based on gross household income,
  adjusted for household size, for the metropolitan statistical area
  in which the municipality is located, as determined annually by the
  United States Department of Housing and Urban Development.
         (d)  The deed restrictions under Subsection (c) must require
  the owner to file an annual occupancy report with the municipality
  on a reporting form provided by the municipality.  The deed
  restrictions must also prohibit any exclusion of an individual or
  family from admission to the development based solely on the
  participation of the individual or family in the housing choice
  voucher program under Section 8, United States Housing Act of 1937
  (42 U.S.C. Section 1437f), as amended.
         (e)  Except as otherwise provided by this section, if the
  deed restrictions imposed under this section are for a term of
  years, the deed restrictions shall renew automatically.
         (f)  The land bank or the governing body of the municipality
  may modify or add to the deed restrictions imposed under this
  section. Any modifications or additions made by the governing body
  of the municipality must be adopted by the municipality as part of
  its plan and must comply with the restrictions set forth in
  Subsections (b), (c), and (d).
         Sec. 379E.011.  RIGHT OF FIRST REFUSAL.  (a)  In this
  section, "qualified organization" means a community housing
  development organization that:
               (1)  contains within its designated geographical
  boundaries of operation, as set forth in its application for
  certification filed with and approved by the municipality, a
  portion of the property that the land bank is offering for sale;
               (2)  has built at least three single-family homes or
  duplexes or one multifamily residential dwelling of four or more
  units in compliance with all applicable building codes within the
  preceding two-year period and within the organization's designated
  geographical boundaries of operation; and
               (3)  within the preceding three-year period has
  developed or rehabilitated housing units within a two-mile radius
  of the property that the land bank is offering for sale.
         (b)  The land bank shall first offer a property for sale to
  qualified organizations.
         (c)  Notice must be provided to the qualified organizations
  by certified mail, return receipt requested, not later than the
  60th day before the beginning of the period in which a right of
  first refusal may be exercised.
         (d)  The municipality shall specify in its plan the period
  during which the right of first refusal provided by this section may
  be exercised by a qualified organization.  That period must be at
  least nine months but not more than 26 months from the date of the
  deed of conveyance of the property to the land bank.
         (e)  If the land bank conveys the property to a qualified
  organization before the expiration of the period specified by the
  municipality under Subsection (d), the interlocal agreement
  executed under Section 379E.008(a)(4) must provide tax abatement
  for the property until the expiration of that period.
         (f)  During the specified period, the land bank may not sell
  the property to a qualified participating developer other than a
  qualified organization.  If all qualified organizations notify the
  land bank that they are declining to exercise their right of first
  refusal during the specified period, or if an offer to purchase the
  property is not received from a qualified organization during that
  period, the land bank may sell the property to any other qualified
  participating developer at the same price that the land bank
  offered the property to the qualified organizations.
         (g)  In its plan, the municipality shall establish the amount
  of additional time, if any, that a property may be held in the land
  bank once an offer has been received and accepted from a qualified
  organization or other qualified participating developer.
         (h)  If more than one qualified organization expresses an
  interest in exercising its right of first refusal, the organization
  that has designated the most geographically compact area
  encompassing a portion of the property shall be given priority.
         (i)  In its plan, the municipality may provide for other
  rights of first refusal for any other nonprofit corporation
  exempted from federal income tax under Section 501(c)(3), Internal
  Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, provided that the preeminent
  right of first refusal is provided to qualified organizations as
  provided by this section.
         (j)  The land bank is not required to provide a right of first
  refusal to qualified organizations under this section if the land
  bank is selling property that reverted to the land bank under
  Section 379E.009(d).
         Sec. 379E.012.  OPEN RECORDS AND MEETINGS.  The land bank
  shall comply with the requirements of Chapters 551 and 552,
  Government Code.
         Sec. 379E.013.  RECORDS; AUDIT; REPORT.  (a)  The land bank
  shall keep accurate minutes of its meetings and shall keep accurate
  records and books of account that conform with generally accepted
  principles of accounting and that clearly reflect the income and
  expenses of the land bank and all transactions in relation to its
  property.
         (b)  The land bank shall file with the municipality not later
  than the 90th day after the close of the fiscal year annual audited
  financial statements prepared by a certified public accountant.  
  The financial transactions of the land bank are subject to audit by
  the municipality.
         (c)  For purposes of evaluating the effectiveness of the
  program, the land bank shall submit an annual performance report to
  the municipality not later than November 1 of each year in which the
  land bank acquires or sells property under this chapter.  The
  performance report must include:
               (1)  a complete and detailed written accounting of all
  money and properties received and disbursed by the land bank during
  the preceding fiscal year;
               (2)  for each property acquired by the land bank during
  the preceding fiscal year:
                     (A)  the street address of the property;
                     (B)  the legal description of the property;
                     (C)  the date the land bank took title to the
  property;
                     (D)  the name and address of the property owner of
  record at the time of the foreclosure;
                     (E)  the amount of taxes and other costs owed at
  the time of the foreclosure; and
                     (F)  the assessed value of the property on the tax
  roll at the time of the foreclosure;
               (3)  for each property sold by the land bank during the
  preceding fiscal year to a qualified participating developer:
                     (A)  the street address of the property;
                     (B)  the legal description of the property;
                     (C)  the name and mailing address of the
  developer;
                     (D)  the purchase price paid by the developer;
                     (E)  the maximum incomes allowed for the
  households by the terms of the sale; and
                     (F)  the source and amount of any public subsidy
  provided by the municipality to facilitate the sale or rental of the
  property to a household within the targeted income levels;
               (4)  for each property sold by a qualified
  participating developer during the preceding fiscal year, the
  buyer's household income and a description of all use and sale
  restrictions; and
               (5)  for each property developed for rental housing
  with an active deed restriction, a copy of the most recent annual
  report filed by the owner with the land bank.
         (d)  The land bank shall maintain in its records for
  inspection a copy of the sale settlement statement for each
  property sold by a qualified participating developer and a copy of
  the first page of the mortgage note with the interest rate and
  indicating the volume and page number of the instrument as filed
  with the county clerk.
         (e)  The land bank shall provide copies of the performance
  report to the taxing units who were parties to the judgment of
  foreclosure and shall provide notice of the availability of the
  performance report for review to the organizations and neighborhood
  associations identified by the municipality as serving the
  neighborhoods in which properties sold to the land bank under this
  chapter are located.
         (f)  The land bank and the municipality shall maintain copies
  of the performance report available for public review.
         SECTION 13.  Section 11.18, Tax Code, is amended by amending
  Subsection (d) and adding Subsection (o) to read as follows:
         (d)  A charitable organization must be organized exclusively
  to perform religious, charitable, scientific, literary, or
  educational purposes and, except as permitted by Subsections (h)
  and (l), engage exclusively in performing one or more of the
  following charitable functions:
               (1)  providing medical care without regard to the
  beneficiaries' ability to pay, which in the case of a nonprofit
  hospital or hospital system means providing charity care and
  community benefits in accordance with Section 11.1801;
               (2)  providing support or relief to orphans,
  delinquent, dependent, or handicapped children in need of
  residential care, abused or battered spouses or children in need of
  temporary shelter, the impoverished, or victims of natural disaster
  without regard to the beneficiaries' ability to pay;
               (3)  providing support to elderly persons, including
  the provision of recreational or social activities and facilities
  designed to address the special needs of elderly persons, or to the
  handicapped, without regard to the beneficiaries' ability to pay;
               (4)  preserving a historical landmark or site;
               (5)  promoting or operating a museum, zoo, library,
  theater of the dramatic or performing arts, or symphony orchestra
  or choir;
               (6)  promoting or providing humane treatment of
  animals;
               (7)  acquiring, storing, transporting, selling, or
  distributing water for public use;
               (8)  answering fire alarms and extinguishing fires with
  no compensation or only nominal compensation to the members of the
  organization;
               (9)  promoting the athletic development of boys or
  girls under the age of 18 years;
               (10)  preserving or conserving wildlife;
               (11)  promoting educational development through loans
  or scholarships to students;
               (12)  providing halfway house services pursuant to a
  certification as a halfway house by the pardons and paroles
  division of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice;
               (13)  providing permanent housing and related social,
  health care, and educational facilities for persons who are 62
  years of age or older without regard to the residents' ability to
  pay;
               (14)  promoting or operating an art gallery, museum, or
  collection, in a permanent location or on tour, that is open to the
  public;
               (15)  providing for the organized solicitation and
  collection for distributions through gifts, grants, and agreements
  to nonprofit charitable, education, religious, and youth
  organizations that provide direct human, health, and welfare
  services;
               (16)  performing biomedical or scientific research or
  biomedical or scientific education for the benefit of the public;
               (17)  operating a television station that produces or
  broadcasts educational, cultural, or other public interest
  programming and that receives grants from the Corporation for
  Public Broadcasting under 47 U.S.C. Section 396, as amended;
               (18)  providing housing for low-income and
  moderate-income families, for unmarried individuals 62 years of age
  or older, for handicapped individuals, and for families displaced
  by urban renewal, through the use of trust assets that are
  irrevocably and, pursuant to a contract entered into before
  December 31, 1972, contractually dedicated on the sale or
  disposition of the housing to a charitable organization that
  performs charitable functions described by Subdivision (9);
               (19)  providing housing and related services to persons
  who are 62 years of age or older in a retirement community, if the
  retirement community provides independent living services,
  assisted living services, and nursing services to its residents on
  a single campus:
                     (A)  without regard to the residents' ability to
  pay; or
                     (B)  in which at least four percent of the
  retirement community's combined net resident revenue is provided in
  charitable care to its residents; [or]
               (20)  providing housing on a cooperative basis to
  students of an institution of higher education if:
                     (A)  the organization is exempt from federal
  income taxation under Section 501(a), Internal Revenue Code of
  1986, as amended, by being listed as an exempt entity under Section
  501(c)(3) of that code;
                     (B)  membership in the organization is open to all
  students enrolled in the institution and is not limited to those
  chosen by current members of the organization;
                     (C)  the organization is governed by its members;
  and
                     (D)  the members of the organization share the
  responsibility for managing the housing;
               (21)  acquiring, holding, and transferring unimproved
  real property under an urban land bank demonstration program
  established under Chapter 379C, Local Government Code, as or on
  behalf of a land bank; or
               (22)  acquiring, holding, and transferring unimproved
  real property under an urban land bank program established under
  Chapter 379E, Local Government Code, as or on behalf of a land bank.
         (o)  For purposes of Subsection (a)(2), real property
  acquired, held, and transferred by an organization that performs
  the function described by Subsection (d)(21) is considered to be
  used exclusively by the qualified charitable organization to
  perform that function.
         SECTION 14.  (a) Section 361.1875, Health and Safety Code,
  as amended by this Act, applies only to a site investigation
  conducted by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality that
  begins on or after the effective date of this Act. A site
  investigation that begins before the effective date of this Act is
  governed by the law in effect at the time the investigation began,
  and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
         (b)  Section 361.271(b), Health and Safety Code, as amended
  by this Act, applies only to an enforcement action initiated by the
  Texas Commission on Environmental Quality on or after the effective
  date of this Act. An enforcement action initiated before the
  effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect at the
  time the action was initiated, and the former law is continued in
  effect for that purpose.
         (c)  The changes in law made by this Act to Chapter 379C,
  Local Government Code, apply only to an urban land bank
  demonstration program operating in conformance with an urban land
  bank demonstration plan adopted by the governing body of a
  municipality on or after the effective date of this Act. An urban
  land bank demonstration program operating in conformance with an
  urban land bank demonstration plan adopted before the effective
  date of this Act is governed by the law in effect at the time the
  plan was adopted until a subsequent plan is adopted, and the former
  law is continued in effect for that purpose.
         (d)  Section 11.18, Tax Code, as amended by this Act, applies
  only to an ad valorem tax year that begins on or after the effective
  date of this Act.
         SECTION 15.  Section 11.18, Tax Code, as amended by this Act,
  applies only to an ad valorem tax year that begins on or after the
  effective date of this Act.
         SECTION 16.  It is the intent of the legislature that the
  passage by the 80th Legislature, Regular Session, 2007, of another
  bill that amends Chapter 373A, Local Government Code, and the
  amendments made by this Act shall be harmonized, if possible, as
  provided by Section 311.025(b), Government Code, so that effect may
  be given to each.  If the amendments made by this Act to Chapter
  373A, Local Government Code, and the amendments made to Chapter
  373A, Local Government Code, by any other bill are irreconcilable,
  it is the intent of the legislature that this Act prevail,
  regardless of the relative dates of enactment of this Act and the
  other bill or bills, but only to the extent that any differences are
  irreconcilable.
         SECTION 17.  Section 379D.015, Local Government Code, as
  added by this Act, applies only to a cause of action that accrues on
  or after the effective date of this Act and concerns property that
  is first purchased by a land bank under Section 379D.015, Local
  Government Code, on or after the effective date of this Act.
         SECTION 18.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2007.
 
 
  ______________________________ ______________________________
     President of the Senate Speaker of the House     
 
 
         I certify that H.B. No. 1742 was passed by the House on May 4,
  2007, by the following vote:  Yeas 137, Nays 0, 1 present, not
  voting; and that the House concurred in Senate amendments to H.B.
  No. 1742 on May 25, 2007, by the following vote:  Yeas 140, Nays 0,
  2 present, not voting.
 
  ______________________________
  Chief Clerk of the House   
 
         I certify that H.B. No. 1742 was passed by the Senate, with
  amendments, on May 23, 2007, by the following vote:  Yeas 30, Nays
  0.
 
  ______________________________
  Secretary of the Senate   
  APPROVED: __________________
                  Date       
   
           __________________
                Governor