88R12019 JAM-D

By: Swanson H.B. No. 2856

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the requirements for applications for low income housing tax credits for developments financed through the private activity bond program.

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

SECTION 1. The heading to Section 2306.67071, Government Code, is amended to read as follows:

Sec. 2306.67071. ADDITIONAL APPLICATION REQUIREMENT: DEVELOPMENTS FINANCED THROUGH PRIVATE ACTIVITY BOND PROGRAM [NOTICE, HEARING, AND RESOLUTION BY CERTAIN GOVERNING BODIES].

SECTION 2. Section 2306.67071, Government Code, is amended by amending Subsections (a) and (d) and adding Subsection (c-1) to read as follows:

(a) Before submitting to the department an application for housing tax credits for developments financed through the private activity bond program, including private activity bonds issued by the department, the Texas State Affordable Housing Corporation, or a local issuer, an applicant must provide notice of the intent to file the application:

(1) to the state representative who represents the district containing the proposed development site; and

(2) to:

(A) [(1)] the governing body of a municipality in which the proposed development site is to be located;

(B) [(2)] subject to Paragraph (C) [Subdivision (3)], the commissioners court of a county in which the proposed development site is to be located, if the proposed site is to be located in an area of a county that is not part of a municipality; or

(C) [(3)] the commissioners court of a county in which the proposed development site is to be located and the governing body of the applicable municipality, if the proposed site is to be located in the extraterritorial jurisdiction of a municipality.

(c-1) Regardless of whether the applicant has complied with Subsection (c), the board may not approve an application for housing tax credits for a development financed through the private activity bond program if the state representative who represents the district containing the proposed development site submits to the department a letter opposing the development.

(d) The department by rule may provide for the time and manner of the submission to the department of a resolution required by Subsection (c) or a letter described by Subsection (c-1).

SECTION 3. The change in law made by this Act applies only to an application for low income housing tax credits that is submitted to the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs during an application cycle that is based on the 2024 qualified allocation plan or a subsequent plan adopted by the governing board of the department. An application that is submitted during an application cycle that is based on an earlier qualified allocation plan is governed by the law in effect on the date the application cycle began, and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.

SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.