TITLE: Relating to the establishment and administration of a program by the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs for the demolition and replacement of unsafe housing.

SUMMARY: Relating to the establishment and administration of a program by the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs for the demolition and replacement of unsafe housing.

FULL TEXT:
AN ACT relating to the establishment and administration of a program by the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs for the demolition and replacement of unsafe housing. BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: SECTION 1. Subchapter K, Chapter 2306, Government Code, is amended by adding Section 2306.2595 to read as follows: Sec. 2306.2595. TEXAS SAFE HOME PROGRAM. (a) The department shall establish and administer a program to provide financial assistance for the demolition and replacement of owner-occupied single-family homes that are in a condition that poses a risk to the health and safety of the occupants. (b) The board shall adopt rules to implement the program described by this section. Rules adopted under this section must establish: (1) procedures and forms for nominating a household for participation in the program; (2) eligibility criteria for participation in the program, including criteria based on: (A) the financial need of the household; (B) the physical condition of the home; and (C) other criteria the board considers necessary; (3) procedures for evaluating a household's eligibility for participation in the program; (4) a system that: (A) prioritizes and maximizes the allocation of available funds; and (B) includes the assignment of eligible households to specific funding priority levels that are designed to ensure the most effective use of funds for the most exigent circumstances; and (5) the manner in which a nomination must be made and the manner in which households will be assigned to a specific funding priority level under the system described by Subdivision (4). (c) Funding priority levels described by Subsection (b)(4)(B) must give high priority to: (1) households with children, the elderly, or persons with disabilities; (2) households whose health and safety are at greatest risk due to the continued occupancy of a home described by Subsection (a); and (3) households that: (A) are eligible for and will receive third-party contributions, including volunteer labor or additional loans, grants, or other financial assistance; or (B) will contribute labor in the demolition or construction of the home. (d) A household may be nominated for participation in the program by a mayor, fire chief, fire marshal, volunteer fire chief, county commissioner, or county judge filing a nomination with the department. (e) On receipt of a nomination regarding a household, the department shall determine whether the household is eligible to participate in the program. If the household is eligible, the department shall establish a funding priority level for the household. (f) A household may not be required to participate in the program. (g) In determining whether a nominated household is eligible for participation in the program and for the purpose of establishing a funding priority level for the household, a representative or designee of the manufactured housing division of the department shall inspect the home with the homeowner and with the person who nominated the household or that person's designee. (h) Financial assistance administered under this section may be provided in the form of a grant, partial grant, loan, or forgivable loan. (i) The department shall establish in the housing trust fund a subaccount that may be used only for providing financial assistance through the program established under this section. The subaccount consists of: (1) money deposited to the subaccount under Section 158.056, Tax Code; (2) appropriations or transfers made to the subaccount; (3) unencumbered balances of the subaccount; (4) public or private gifts, grants, or donations; (5) investment income, including all interest, dividends, capital gains, or other income from the investment of any portion of the subaccount; (6) repayments received on any loans made from the subaccount; and (7) funds from any other source. (j) The department shall attempt to secure an agreement with: (1) private lending institutions for below market rate loans for use in the program; and (2) manufacturers of manufactured housing for the provision of HUD-code manufactured homes at a discounted price. (k) An entity that enters into an agreement with the department under Subsection (j) may: (1) be designated as an "Official Partner of the State of Texas for Safe and Affordable Homes"; and (2) use the designation described by Subdivision (1) in advertising and promotion. (l) The department may enter into a contract for the administration of the program. (m) Not later than September 1 of each year, the department shall submit to the governor, the lieutenant governor, the speaker of the house of representatives, and the state fire marshal a report that documents for the preceding state fiscal year the number of households that participated in the program, the nature of the financial assistance provided under the program, and the amounts of public and private financial assistance administered through the program. SECTION 2. Section 158.056, Tax Code, is amended by adding Subsection (c) to read as follows: (c) The comptroller shall deposit the tax imposed under this section to the credit of the housing trust fund subaccount established under Section 2306.2595, Government Code, for use only for the purposes authorized by that section. SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.