By: Bhojani H.B. No. 4771
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to the creation of tenant legal services offices by local
  governments to assist low-income residential tenants in eviction
  cases and in cases involving discrimination based on the tenants'
  disabilities.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Subtitle C, Title 5, Local Government Code, is
  amended by adding Chapter 181 to read as follows:
  CHAPTER 181. TENANT LEGAL SERVICES OFFICE
         Sec. 181.001.  DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
               (1)  "Brief legal assistance" means individualized
  legal assistance provided in a single consultation by an office to a
  tenant.
               (2)  "Disability" has the meaning assigned by Section
  301.003, Property Code.
               (3)  "Full legal representation" means ongoing legal
  services provided by an office to a tenant, including court filings
  and appearances and other legal advice, advocacy, or assistance
  associated with a tenant's case.
               (4)  "Indigent" means having earnings that are not more
  than 200 percent of the income standard established by applicable
  federal poverty guidelines.
               (5)  "Local government" means a municipality or county
  or any combination of municipalities or counties.
               (6) "Low-income" means having earnings that are not
  more than 400 percent of the income standard established by
  applicable federal poverty guidelines.
               (7)  "Office" means a tenant legal services office
  established under Section 181.002.
               (8)  "Reasonable accommodation" is a change,
  exception, or adjustment to a rule, policy, practice, or service
  that may be necessary for a tenant with disabilities to have an
  equal opportunity to use and enjoy a dwelling, including public and
  common use spaces.
               (9)  "Reasonable modification" means a reasonable
  structural change made to existing premises that may be necessary
  for a tenant with disabilities to have full enjoyment of a dwelling,
  including public and common use spaces.
         Sec. 181.002.  TENANT LEGAL SERVICES OFFICE.  (a)  A local
  government may create a tenant legal services office to provide
  legal representation and services to tenants as provided by
  Subsection (b).
         (b)  An office may provide:
               (1)  full legal representation to a tenant:
                     (A)  in a residential eviction case if the tenant
  is indigent; or
                     (B)  in a case involving a violation of Section
  301.025, Property Code, if the tenant is a low-income individual
  with a disability; or
               (2)  brief legal assistance to a tenant in a
  residential eviction case if the tenant is a low-income individual
  who is not indigent.
         (c)  The local government may establish a department of the
  local government or by contract may designate a nonprofit
  corporation to serve as the tenant legal services office for the
  local government.
         (d)  Any combination of municipalities or counties may agree
  by entering into an interlocal contract under Chapter 791,
  Government Code, to jointly implement or administer a tenant legal
  services office under this chapter.
         (e)  The local government by ordinance, order, or interlocal
  contract may adopt the rules and procedures necessary to implement
  this chapter.
         Sec. 181.003.  PROPOSALS BY NONPROFIT CORPORATIONS.  (a)
  Before contracting with a nonprofit corporation to serve as a
  tenant legal services office, the local government shall solicit
  proposals for the office.
         (b)  The local government shall require a written plan from a
  nonprofit corporation proposing to serve as a tenant legal services
  office.
         (c)  The written plan must include:
               (1)  a budget for the office, including salaries;
               (2)  a description of each personnel position,
  including the director of legal services position;
               (3)  the maximum allowable caseload for each attorney
  employed by the office;
               (4)  provisions for personnel training;
               (5)  a description of anticipated overhead costs for
  the office; and
               (6)  a policy to ensure that the director of legal
  services and other attorneys employed by the office do not provide
  representation to a tenant if doing so would create a conflict of
  interest that has not been waived by the client.
         (d)  After considering each proposal for the office
  submitted by a nonprofit corporation, the local government shall
  select a proposal that reasonably demonstrates that the office will
  provide adequate quality representation for tenants in cases
  described by Section 181.002(b).
         (e)  The total cost of the proposal may not be the sole
  consideration in selecting a proposal.
         Sec. 181.004.  DIRECTOR OF LEGAL SERVICES. A tenant legal
  services office must be directed by a director of legal services
  who:
               (1)  is a member of the State Bar of Texas;
               (2)  has practiced law for at least three years; and
               (3)  has substantial experience in the practice of
  landlord-tenant law.
         Sec. 181.005.  FUNDING. A tenant legal services office is
  entitled to receive funds for personnel costs and expenses incurred
  in operating the office in amounts determined by the local
  government and paid out of the appropriate local fund.
         Sec. 181.006.  EMPLOYEES. (a)  A tenant legal services
  office may employ attorneys and other personnel necessary to
  perform the duties of the office as specified by the local
  government.
         (b)  The director of a tenant legal services office must
  designate at least one employee of the office to assist tenants with
  disabilities in obtaining compliance with laws that apply to
  housing for tenants with disabilities.
         Sec. 181.007.  DENIAL OF REPRESENTATION.  A tenant legal
  services office may not represent a tenant if:
               (1)  a conflict of interest exists that has not been
  waived by the client;
               (2)  the office has insufficient resources to provide
  adequate representation for the tenant;
               (3)  the office is incapable of providing
  representation for the tenant in accordance with the rules of
  professional conduct; or
               (4)  the office shows other good cause for not
  accepting the request for representation by a tenant.
         Sec. 181.008.  INVESTIGATION OF FINANCIAL CONDITION. A
  tenant legal services office may investigate the financial
  condition of a tenant who requests representation by the office.
         Sec. 181.009.  PUBLIC HEARING. (a)  The director of a tenant
  legal services office shall hold an annual public hearing to
  receive recommendations about the office.
         (b)  Not later than the 30th day before the date of the
  hearing, the director shall provide notice of the hearing to
  interested parties and officials and by posting the notice in:
               (1)  public offices of the local government that
  provide social services;
               (2)  website of the public offices of the local
  government that provide social services;
               (3)  local courts that have original jurisdiction over
  eviction cases or cases regarding violations of Section 301.025,
  Property Code; and
               (4)  a local newspaper or on the local government's
  Internet website.
         (c)  The director shall produce a transcript of the hearing
  and post the transcript on the local government's Internet website
  not later than the 30th day after the date of the hearing.
         Sec. 181.010.  REPORT. Not later than September 1 of each
  year, the director of a tenant legal services office shall submit a
  report to the governing body of the local government and post the
  report on the local government's Internet website that contains the
  following information that relates to the office for the preceding
  year:
               (1)  the estimated number of tenants in the office's
  jurisdiction that are eligible for legal services;
               (2)  the number of tenants that received legal
  services, disaggregated by the following characteristics of the
  tenants:
                     (A)  zip code of residence;
                     (B)  age of head of household;
                     (C)  household size;
                     (D)  estimated length of tenancy;
                     (E)  approximate household income;
                     (F)  ongoing public assistance received at the
  time the legal services were initiated;
                     (G)  rent-regulated housing;
                     (H)  public housing;
                     (I)  disability; and
                     (J)  types of reasonable accommodations or
  modifications needed;
               (3)  the types of legal services provided;
               (4)  the outcomes immediately following the provision
  of full legal representation, as applicable and available,
  including the number of:
                     (A)  case dispositions in which:
                           (i)  tenants remained in their residences;
                           (ii)  tenants were evicted from their
  residences;
                           (iii)  tenants with disabilities remained in
  their residences; and
                           (iv)  tenants with disabilities were
  displaced from their residences;
                     (B)  case dispositions regarding reasonable
  accommodations or modifications for tenants with disabilities
  that:
                           (i)  were approved, including the types of
  accommodations or modifications that were approved; and
                           (ii)  were disapproved, including the types
  of accommodations or modifications that were disapproved; and
                     (C)  cases in which the attorney was discharged or
  withdrew;
               (5)  the expenditures for the office; and
               (6)  any other information required by the local
  government.
         SECTION 2.  This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
  a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
  provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
  Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
  Act takes effect September 1, 2023.