TxLIHIS co-director John Henneberger testified this morning at the Appropriations Committee Subcommittee Hearing on TDHCA. His testimony, along with that of Sarah Mills of Advocacy Inc., is available below via Youtube.
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Tag Archives: TDHCA
Housing: The Newest Utility?
February 9, 2011
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Governor’s office released their budget yesterday. Their proposed solution to the growing family homeless population in Texas? Flatline not only the “Homeless and Housing Services” budget, but eliminate the entire Department of Housing and Community Affairs. The exact proposal: “Consolidate the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs and its functions to the Texas State [...]
Read moreWAP Update
February 4, 2011
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We’ve discussed the ARRA Weatherization Assistance Program a few times here at Texas Housers, focusing on perceived shortcomings creating local jobs in the low-income communities served by the program and our take on early news coverage of its “slow start”. Last week’s Texas Observer had a more up-beat view of the program. In an article [...]
Read moreTwo Reports from the HUD OIG on Texas Entities
January 31, 2011
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HUD’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) released two audit reports on Texas entities last week. One report covered $503 million of the Katrina, Rita, and Wilma disaster recovery funds that flowed through TDHCA’s CDBG program, while the other report covered $725,546 in funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (the Recovery Act) [...]
Read moreRecap of Sunset Commission Recommendations for TDHCA
December 23, 2010
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Last week the Texas sunset commission adopted its final recommendations regarding the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (TDHCA). Burying its lead, the final recommendation adopted was to continue the department for another 12 years, recognizing the improvements since the last full sunset review in 2000. A detailed recap of the full recommendations is [...]
Read moreBig Improvements in the 502 Direct Program in Texas
November 23, 2010
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Last year we reported on USDA’s 502 Direct Loan Program, finding the Texas program poised to return funds allocated to the state in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Our follow-up in June suggested the program had turned the corner, and was on track to improvement. The USDA 502 Direct Loan Program is [...]
Read moreSunset Followup
November 18, 2010
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The Sunset Commission met on Tuesday of this week to take public comment on the Sunset Staff Report on TDHCA. The public testimony generally reflected the written comments submitted prior to the hearing. TxLIHIS’s comments, many submitted in concert with ten other stakeholders in TDHCA’s activities, were previously posted here. The video of the TDHCA [...]
Read moreRecap of TDHCA’s QAP Adoption
November 12, 2010
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Last Thursday the board of the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (TDHCA) adopted the rules governing the allocation of the Low Income Housing Tax Credit Program (LIHTC) in 2011. These rules are known as the Qualified Allocation Plan, or QAP. Regular readers may recall we recently posted our comments regarding the Draft QAP [...]
Read moreTxLIHIS Comments on Proposed 2011 QAP
October 28, 2010
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October 23, 2010 Ms. Robbye Meyer Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs P.O. Box 13941 Austin, TX 78711-3941 RE: Comments on the proposed 2011 Texas Qualified Allocation Plan Dear Ms. Meyer: We offer these recommendations regarding the Draft 2011 State of Texas Qualified Allocation Plan (QAP) for allocation of Low Income Housing Tax Credits [...]
Read moreNIMBYism in Real Time
October 21, 2010
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“Studies show it [NIMBYism] has contributed to projects being clustered in less affluent areas with high concentrations of minorities, such as East Austin, while relatively wealthy and well-organized neighborhoods see few if any such projects.” –Austin American Statesman, 10/16/10 Just a few days after the Austin American Statesman discussion of the general impact of NIMBYism [...]
Read more“Neighborhood” letters and Tax Credit Properties
October 18, 2010
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Eric Dexheimer at that Statesman has an extensive article examining neighborhood groups and the Low Income Housing Tax Credit Program. The article examines groups created by investors for the purpose of writing support letters for developments, as well as how the state’s scoring of neighborhood letter’s impacts the program by giving power to NIMBY interests. [...]
Read moreWhat Am I, Chopped Liver?
October 12, 2010
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As many regular readers know, the TDHCA Manufactured Housing Division (MHD) is an independent division “administratively attached” to TDHCA. The MHD has its own executive director and governing board. Nevertheless, the MHD shares administrative functions with TDHCA and is undergoing sunset review with TDHCA. Last June, early in the TDHCA sunset process, I presented the [...]
Read moreTxLIHIS Files Comments on Sunset Staff Report on TDHCA
October 5, 2010
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We recently signed on to two sets of comments on the Sunset Staff report on TDHCA. The first set was submitted with Texas Appleseed, and focused on Disaster Recovery programs in the state. The second set was submitted in conjunction with a large set of TDHCA stakeholders and focused on many of the recommendations previously [...]
Read moreLawsuit alleging race discrimination in Texas housing tax credit program clears (another) hurdle
September 30, 2010
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The Federal District Court for the Northern District of Texas has ruled that the Inclusive Communities Project has legal standing to continue its lawsuit alleging the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (TDHCA) is guilty of racial discrimination in the operation of the Low Income Housing Tax Credit Program. Back in 2008, we discussed [...]
Read moreSunset Staff TDHCA Report Released
September 15, 2010
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The sunset staff report on TDHCA is out and available here: The report identifies and discusses 8 issues: Lack of State Planning Delays Funding to Hard Hit Texas Communities Recovering From Major Disasters Certain Statutory Requirements Impede Texas’ Administration of the Housing Tax Credit Program The Department’s Processing of Single-Family Loans is Slow and Inefficient, [...]
Read moreMore NSP News
September 9, 2010
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HUD yesterday announced the third round of funding for the Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) Funding. Texas Grantees received $18 Million: Dallas $2,356,962 Dallas County $1,364,426 Harris County $1,925,917 Hidalgo County $1,716,924 Houston $3,389,035 State Of Texas $7,284,978 Texas Total $18,038,242 Texas’s grants are make it the 10th largest NSP recipent, dwarfed by Florida and California’s [...]
Read moreThey went the distance
September 7, 2010
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Last Friday TDHCA posted a supplement to its materials for its board meeting this Thursday. The supplement indicates that TDHCA hit their September 3rd Neighborhood Stabilization Funding obligation deadline, stating: “WHEREAS, on July 29, 2010 this Board granted the Executive Director emergency authority to approve awards and other necessary actions to achieve the full and [...]
Read moreNSP1-A Deadline Looms
August 30, 2010
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Last week HUD announced the details of their enforcement of the 18-month deadline for obligation of the first round of Neighborhood Stabilization Program funds (NSP1). NSP1 is a federal program for “the purpose of assisting in the redevelopment of abandoned and foreclosed homes,” and was funded through the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 (HERA) [...]
Read moreHUD “First Look” program asks buyers to overlook PTAF
July 21, 2010
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Earlier this month HUD announced a “first look” initiative which would give participants in HUD’s Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) preference to acquire homes from HUD’s inventory of foreclosed properties. The initiative was announced by HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan at the National Council of La Raza annual conference in San Antonio. Unfortunately, while it sounds great, [...]
Read moreCity of Houston weatherization jobs have not been in low-income communities
July 6, 2010
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The 2009 Recovery Act increased the funding for the Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP) in Texas by 2500%. This program funds local agencies to provide minor home repairs to low-income Texans. The Recovery Act was intended to create jobs in the communities most impacted by the recession. The Federal Office of Management and Budget, in a [...]
Read moreUSDA Rural Housing Service in Texas: Progress and Potential
June 19, 2010
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Last winter TXLIHIS released “USDA Rural Housing Service in Texas: Turning Away from the Poor,” a report detailing how in 2009 Texas failed to take advantage of over $14 million in subsidized low-income mortgage loans. These loans are allocated to the state by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Housing Service under the [...]
Read moreDon’t bypass low income homeowners in weatherization program
June 8, 2010
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The GAO recently issued its bimonthly report of activities funded by the Recovery Act (ARRA) in Texas, including a discussion of the Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP). The good news for TDHCA is that the GAO stated ” TDHCA has internal controls for WAP to help ensure that Recovery Act funds are spent according to program [...]
Read moreIf Not In Your Backyard, Then Where?
April 30, 2010
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The Low Income Housing Tax Credit Program (LIHTC) is a federal program that supports the production of affordable multifamily housing. Most of these tax credits are awarded through a competitive allocation process administered by the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (TDHCA). Developers apply for credits for a specific proposed development, TDHCA scores the [...]
Read moreTDHCA Sunset Recommendation #7: 3 in 1 on manufactured housing
April 23, 2010
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As previously discussed here at Texas Housers, TDHCA is currently undergoing Sunset Review. We are presenting recommendations for ways to improve TDHCA that have been endorsed by a broad range of stakeholders in TDHCA’s activities. Issue: The Manufactured Housing Division could better serve its mission to “improve the general welfare and safety of purchasers of [...]
Read moreTDHCA Sunset Recommendation #6: Give the Manufactured Housing Division Its own Sunset clause and review
April 21, 2010
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As previously discussed here at Texas Housers, TDHCA is currently undergoing Sunset Review. We are presenting recommendations for ways to improve TDHCA that have been endorsed by a broad range of stakeholders in TDHCA’s activities. Issue: The Manufactured Housing Division receives inadequate attention in the sunset process. Background: The Manufactured Housing Division of the Texas [...]
Read moreTDHCA Sunset Recommendation #5: Clarify regional allocation formula statute
April 20, 2010
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As previously discussed here at Texas Housers, TDHCA is currently undergoing Sunset Review. We are presenting recommendations for ways to improve TDHCA that have been endorsed by a broad range of stakeholders in TDHCA’s activities. Issue: The Regional Allocation Formula (RAF), as it relates to the Housing Trust Fund (HTF), needs to be clarified to [...]
Read moreTDHCA Sunset Recommendation #4: Diversify board composition
April 19, 2010
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As previously discussed here at Texas Housers, TDHCA is currently undergoing Sunset Review. We are presenting recommendations for ways to improve TDHCA that have been endorsed by a broad range of stakeholders in TDHCA’s activities. Issue: The composition of the TDHCA Board needs to be modified to include representation of particular constituent groups. Background: Representation [...]
Read moreTDHCA Sunset Recommendation #3: Webcast all TDHCA board meetings
April 17, 2010
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As previously discussed here at Texas Housers, TDHCA is currently undergoing Sunset Review. We are presenting recommendations for ways to improve TDHCA that have been endorsed by a broad range of stakeholders in TDHCA’s activities. Issue: Information regarding the events at TDHCA Board meetings is not quickly available to those not physically present at the [...]
Read moreTDHCA Sunset Recommendation #2: Create a program category for Texans earning between 0 and 110% of SSI.
April 16, 2010
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As previously discussed here at Texas Housers, TDHCA is currently undergoing Sunset Review. We are presenting recommendations for ways to improve TDHCA that have been endorsed by a broad range of stakeholders in TDHCA’s activities. Issue: TDHCA’s activities fail to reach Texans living on fixed income programs Background: TDHCA presently tracks three categories of low [...]
Read moreTDHCA Sunset Recommendation #1: focus board on policy
April 15, 2010
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As previously discussed here at Texas Housers, TDHCA is currently undergoing Sunset Review. We are presenting recommendations for ways to improve TDHCA that have been endorsed by a broad range of stakeholders in TDHCA’s activities. Issue: The TDHCA Board is distracted from policy creation by its role acting as a court of appeals to staff [...]
Read moreAuthors
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Bo McCarver’s housing news clips for May
- Mitt Romney at private fundraiser: I might eliminate HUD – The Washington Post
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Bo’s housing news clips: Study finds zoning segregates lower-income students in lower-scoring schools.
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Texas LIHTC housing program rocked by second earthquake in two months
- Low-Income Housing Program Compels Building in Poor Texas Areas – NYTimes.com
