BILL ANALYSIS

S.B. 1716

By: Ellis

Urban Affairs

Committee Report (Unamended)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

While current law provides for a tenant of a public housing project to be appointed as a commissioner of the housing authority with jurisdiction over the tenant's public housing project, interested parties contend that there is a need for increased representation and participation of housing choice voucher recipients on a housing authority's governing board. S.B. 1716 seeks to address this issue.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly create a criminal offense, increase the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or change the eligibility of a person for community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision.

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.

ANALYSIS

S.B. 1716 amends the Local Government Code to include as a person who may be appointed as a commissioner of a municipal housing authority a person who is a recipient of housing assistance administered through a housing authority's housing choice voucher program. The bill requires a municipality that has a population of more than two million and a municipal housing authority composed of seven or more commissioners, in appointing commissioners, to appoint at least two commissioners to the authority who are tenants of a public housing project over which the authority has jurisdiction or who are recipients of housing assistance administered through the authority's housing choice voucher program. The bill prohibits a tenant representative appointed as a commissioner of a municipal housing authority or certain county or regional housing authorities from participating in any vote or discussion concerning the termination of the commissioner's rights to housing assistance administered through a housing choice voucher program and specifies, for purposes of the prohibition against a tenant representative appointed as such a commissioner from participating in any vote or discussion concerning the termination of the rights of any person related in the first degree by consanguinity to that commissioner, that such rights are the rights with respect to the person's occupancy rights in public housing or the person's right to receive housing assistance administered through a housing choice voucher program. The bill requires a majority of the commissioners other than a commissioner appointed as a recipient of housing assistance administered through the authority's housing choice voucher program to decide whether to request that a new commissioner be appointed if the commissioner appointed as a person receiving that assistance ceases to receive the assistance and authorizes a majority of those commissioners to decide to allow the commissioner to serve the remaining portion of the commissioner's term.

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2015.