86R11032 JG-F

By: Rosenthal H.B. No. 2054

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the eligibility of certain municipalities to establish homestead preservation districts and reinvestment zones and to certain regulatory prohibitions applicable in those districts and zones.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Section 214.905, Local Government Code, is amended by adding Subsection (b-1) to read as follows:

(b-1) Subsection (b)(2) does not apply to a municipality described by Section 373A.003(a)(2) in relation to a requirement described by Subsection (a) that is proposed for an area served under the provisions of Chapter 373A.

SECTION 2. Section 373A.002, Local Government Code, is amended by amending Subdivision (3-a) and adding Subdivision (3-b) to read as follows:

(3-a) "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.

(3-b) "Project costs" has the meaning assigned by Section 311.002(1), Tax Code.

SECTION 3. Section 373A.003(a), Local Government Code, is amended to read as follows:

(a) This chapter applies to:

(1) a municipality with a population of more than 750,000 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; and

(2) a municipality with a population of two million or more.

SECTION 4. Section 373A.052, Local Government Code, is amended by amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (a-1) to read as follows:

(a) To be designated as a district within a municipality described by Section 373A.003(a)(1) [373A.003(a)] under this subchapter, an area must be composed of census tracts forming a spatially compact area with:

(1) fewer than 75,000 residents;

(2) an overall poverty rate that is at least two times the poverty rate for the entire municipality; and

(3) in each census tract within the area, a median family income that is less than 80 percent of the median family income for the entire municipality.

(a-1) To be designated as a district within a municipality described by Section 373A.003(a)(2) under this subchapter:

(1) an area must be composed of census tracts forming a spatially compact area; and

(2) the governing body of the municipality must make findings by resolution that:

(A) the area will benefit from the inclusion of low income households;

(B) low-income and moderate-income homeowners within the area are at risk of losing their homesteads through displacement; and

(C) the designation will serve one or more purposes outlined by this chapter.

SECTION 5. Section 373A.203(6), Local Government Code, is repealed.

SECTION 6. This Act takes effect September 1, 2019.