88R559 JAM-F
 
  By: Gervin-Hawkins H.B. No. 4858
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to the allocation of low income housing tax credits.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Sections 2306.6710(b), (f), and (g), Government
  Code, are amended to read as follows:
         (b)  If an application satisfies the threshold criteria, the
  department shall score and rank the application using a point
  system that:
               (1)  prioritizes in descending order criteria
  regarding:
                     (A)  financial feasibility of the development
  based on the supporting financial data required in the application
  that will include a project underwriting pro forma from the
  permanent or construction lender;
                     (B)  quantifiable community participation with
  respect to the development, evaluated on the basis of a resolution
  concerning the development that is voted on and adopted by the
  following, as applicable:
                           (i)  the governing body of a municipality in
  which the proposed development site is to be located;
                           (ii)  subject to Subparagraph (iii), 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
                           (iii)  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)  the income levels of tenants of the
  development;
                     (D)  the size and quality of the units;
                     (E)  the rent levels of the units;
                     (F)  [the cost of the development by square foot;
                     [(G)]  the services to be provided to tenants of
  the development;
                     (G) [(H)]  whether, at the time the complete
  application is submitted or at any time within the two-year period
  preceding the date of submission, the proposed development site is
  located in an area declared to be a disaster under Section 418.014;
                     (H) [(I)]  quantifiable community participation
  with respect to the development, evaluated on the basis of written
  statements from any neighborhood organizations on record with the
  state or county in which the development is to be located and whose
  boundaries contain the proposed development site; and
                     (I) [(J)]  the level of community support for the
  application, evaluated on the basis of a written statement from the
  state representative who represents the district containing the
  proposed development site;
               (2)  uses criteria imposing penalties on applicants or
  affiliates who have requested extensions of department deadlines
  relating to developments supported by housing tax credit
  allocations made in the application round preceding the current
  round or a developer or principal of the applicant that has been
  removed by the lender, equity provider, or limited partners for its
  failure to perform its obligations under the loan documents or
  limited partnership agreement;
               (3)  encourages applicants to provide free notary
  public service to the residents of the developments for which the
  allocation of housing tax credits is requested; and
               (4)  for an application concerning a development that
  is or will be located in a county with a population of 1 million or
  more but less than 4 million and that is or will be located not more
  than two miles from a veterans hospital, veterans affairs medical
  center, or veterans affairs health care center, encourages
  applicants to provide a preference for leasing units in the
  development to low income veterans.
         (f)  In evaluating the level of community support for an
  application under Subsection (b)(1)(I) [(b)(1)(J)], the department
  shall award:
               (1)  positive points for positive written statements
  received;
               (2)  negative points for negative written statements
  received; and
               (3)  zero points for neutral statements received.
         (g)  If no written statement is received for an application
  under Subsection (b)(1)(I) [(b)(1)(J)], the department shall use
  the maximum number of points that could have been awarded under that
  paragraph to increase the maximum number of points that may be
  awarded for that application under Subsection (b)(1)(B). If
  awarding points under Subsection (b)(1)(B)(iii), the department
  shall reallocate the points from the scoring category provided by
  Subsection (b)(1)(I) [(b)(1)(J)] equally between the political
  subdivisions described by Subsection (b)(1)(B)(iii).  In awarding
  points transferred under this subsection from the scoring category
  provided by Subsection (b)(1)(I) [(b)(1)(J)] to the scoring
  category provided by Subsection (b)(1)(B), the department shall
  award:
               (1)  positive points for positive resolutions adopted;
               (2)  negative points for negative resolutions adopted;
  and
               (3)  zero points for neutral resolutions adopted.
         SECTION 2.  Section 2306.6711(b), Government Code, is
  amended to read as follows:
         (b)  Not later than the deadline specified in the qualified
  allocation plan, the board shall issue commitments for available
  housing tax credits based on the application evaluation process
  provided by Section 2306.6710.  The board may not allocate to an
  applicant housing tax credits in any unnecessary amount, as
  determined by the department's underwriting policy and by federal
  law, and in any event may not allocate to the applicant housing tax
  credits in an amount greater than $4 [$3] million in a single
  application round or to an individual development more than $2
  million in a single application round.
         SECTION 3.  Section 2306.6725(b), Government Code, is
  amended to read as follows:
         (b)  The department shall provide appropriate incentives as
  determined through the qualified allocation plan to reward
  applicants who agree to:
               (1)  equip the development that is the basis of the
  application with energy saving devices that meet the standards
  established by the state energy conservation office; or
               (2)  provide to a qualified entity, in a land use
  restriction agreement in accordance with Section 2306.6726, a right
  of first refusal to purchase the development at the minimum price
  provided in, and in accordance with the requirements of, Section
  42(i)(7), Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (26 U.S.C. Section
  42(i)(7))[; and
               [(2)  locate the development in a census tract in which
  there are no other existing developments supported by housing tax
  credits].
         SECTION 4.  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 5.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.