The Texas Senate passed out the TDHCA Sunset bill this afternoon. The bill voted out adopted the recommendations of the Sunset Commission, removing endorsement letters from legislators from the statutory scoring of the Low Income Housing Tax Credit award process. These letters have previously been discussed at Texas Housers. A floor amendment re-instituting the letters […]
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Tag Archives: Texas Legislature
Rare Floor Fight on Model Subdivision Rules Bill
May 3, 2013 
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Last Week, HB 611, (Rep Guillen) died on the floor of the Texas house on a record vote. The bill was often characterized as a rollback of the model subdivision rules, development rules designed to prevent the creation of further colonias. Below is a highlight video clip of six minutes of the forty-five minute debate […]
Read more TX House gives each state representative power to choose or veto housing tax credit developments
April 26, 2013 3 Comments
An eleventh hour amendment to the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (TDHCA) Sunset bill by a strong opponent of housing tax credits gives each member of the Texas Legislature unprecedented power to choose the winning tax credit application in their district or to effectively block affordable housing tax credit developments altogether. The amendment removes from […]
Read more House Amends TDHCA Sunset Bill
April 25, 2013 1 Comment
The Texas House yesterday debated HB3361, the bill to continue the functions of the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs after its review by the Sunset Commission. The main topic of conversation was scoring legislative support support letters for Low Income Housing Tax Credit developments. For those just joining this conversation, we’ve discussed those letters […]
Read more Hurricane Ike survivors testify at House Ways and Means
April 19, 2013 1 Comment
Shelly Batten and Tina Colunga drove up from Galveston yesterday to testify on HB 835. HB 835, by Representative Eiland, (and it’s aptly numbered companion, SB 835, by Senator Lucio,) say that homes provided through a government disaster recovery program are not considered newly valued improvements if they replace or repair a substandard home. This addresses […]
Read more Lawmakers consider refunding money intended to help poor – Houston Chronicle
April 6, 2013 2 Comments
The Houston Chronicle is reporting on the issue we blogged yesterday. Here is an excerpt from the Chronicle’s story (behind the paper’s paywall): A proposal to refund money to electricity customers across the state would enable the Texas Legislature to renege on two promises at once. For 14 years, the Legislature has collected a fee, […]
Read more TX Senate Finance Committee takes back money intended to help poor people pay for electricity
April 5, 2013 1 Comment
The Texas Legislature is debating what to do with the $850 million fund that helps Texans living near the poverty level with their utility bills. This is important because for Texans who are really poor, electric bills compete for their limited money for housing. Here is the background. In 1999 when the Legislature deregulated electric rates […]
Read more The Tale of Two Sequesters
April 3, 2013 1 Comment
You have a private plane and sequester is going to delay your flight plan? Don’t worry, Texas has your back. You live in subsidized housing and sequester is going to put you on the street? Tough luck. Texas has funds from the National Mortgage Settlement that could be used in housing programs to offset the […]
Read more HUD Texas Sequester Letter
March 6, 2013 1 Comment
Below is a copy of the letter from HUD to Texas Governor Rick Perry regarding the impact of the sequester on Federally-funded housing programs in Texas. The bottom line losses: $ 3.4 Million HOME $50.5 Million Tenant Based Rental Assistance $ 4.5 Million Homeless $ 0.9 Million Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS $59.3 Million […]
Read more National Mortgage Settlement–Purpose Yet Unfulfilled
January 31, 2013 3 Comments
Sitting in the Texas General Revenue account is $125 million received as Texas’ cash payment share of the National Mortgage Settlement. This payment is part of agreement settling charges of misconduct by five national banks, misconduct that resulted in the premature and unauthorized foreclosures of single-family residential mortgages in Texas. [...]Placing the money in General Revenue requires the Texas Legislature to act to fulfill the purposes of the settlement. Over fifty organizations in Texas (including TXLHIS) have signed on to the statement “We support using funds from the national mortgage settlement for housing and housing-related activities.” This money came from acts that made housing fail for Texans, and should go to making housing work for Texans.
Read more $141M in Texas foreclosure settlement funds should be used to prevent more foreclosures
February 20, 2012 Comments Off
The Obama Administration and Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott announced last week a $26 billion foreclosure settlement between the five biggest banks and federal and state officials. I’m not taking a position on the merits of the settlement. I am worried about how the State of Texas will spend the funds it receives. Part of the […]
Read more Effect of Elected Official Letters on the 2011 LIHTC Round
July 1, 2011 3 Comments
Abstract: Letters written by Texas State Representatives and Senators regarding the development of low income housing in the state had the effect of moving development to lower income, higher poverty areas of the state.
Read more Short term 2 year extension in works for Texas housing department
June 20, 2011 Comments Off
Well placed Capitol sources tell TxLIHIS that Governor Perry’s staff have indicated they will insist on only a short-term two-year extension of the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs. Last Friday the Governor vetoed the Sunset Bill for the State’s housing department, citing objections to requirements placed in the Sunset Bill at the behest […]
Read more Analysis: Governor Perry’s veto of Texas Department of Housing
June 19, 2011 4 Comments
On Friday Governor Perry vetoed the “Sunset Bill” for the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (TDHCA) that would continue the agency in operation for 12 more years. Without passage of the Sunset Bill the state housing agency will wind down operations and cease to exist. The Governor says he vetoed the bill because […]
Read more TDHCA Sunset bill passes House and Senate
May 30, 2011 1 Comment
The TDHCA Sunset bill passed the Texas House and Senate last night. The final bill differed in several aspects from the Commission’s recommendations. We’ll recap those differences here at Texas Housers sometime over the next few days. Text of final bill (pdf)
Read moreJohn Henneberger Testimony at Urban Affairs on TDHCA Sunset
April 11, 2011 Comments Off
TxLIHIS co-director John Henneberger testified last week at the Texas House Urban Affairs Hearing on TDHCA’s Sunset process. His testimony, as well as the introduction of the TDHCA Sunset Bill by Rep. Harper Brown, is available below via Youtube. (John Henneberger’s testimony starts at 7.24 of the clip, following Rep. Harper Brown’s statements.)
Read moreTDHCA Sunset Bill up in House Urban Affairs Wed
April 4, 2011 Comments Off
The Sunset Bills for the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs and the Texas State Affordable Housing Corporation will be up in the Texas House Committee for Urban Affairs on Wednesday at 10.30 AM or on adjournment. The video should be available here: http://www.house.state.tx.us/video-audio/ . Our previous coverage of the Sunset Process can be […]
Read moreWeekend Budget Fun
April 3, 2011 Comments Off
The Texas House met over the weekend to consider HB 1, the budget. Thursday, we noted a couple of amendments worth watching. Following up on them, it appears: Rep. Alvarado’s amendment (page 323 of pre-filed bill package) was pulled by the author prior to reaching the floor. The intent of this amendment lives on in […]
Read moreJohn Henneberger Testimony at Senate Finance on TDHCA Budget
March 9, 2011 Comments Off
TxLIHIS co-director John Henneberger testified last week at the Senate Finance Hearing on TDHCA’s budget and Disaster Recovery funding in Texas. His testimony is available below via Youtube.
Read moreHouse Appropriations Axes Homeless Funds and Majority of Housing Trust Fund
February 22, 2011 Comments Off
This morning the Texas House Appropriations Committee (HAC) met and adopted the LBB recommendations for the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (TDHCA) budget. They made a small change related to the language for IT purchases, but otherwise adopted the LBB recommendations in full. The LBB budget recommendation for TDHCA represents only 29% of […]
Read moreJohn Henneberger Testimony at TDHCA Appropriations Hearing
February 14, 2011 1 Comment
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.
Read moreLBB Proposal Released for TDHCA Budget
January 19, 2011 2 Comments
The Legislative Budget Board dropped their 2012-13 budget proposal this morning. TDHCA’s sections can be found here (h/t Texas Tribune). TDHCA’s budget is proposed to be cut 86.2%, including 65% of its General Revenue appropriations. Notably on the chopping block: half of the housing trust fund and the entire “Homeless and Housing Services” budget. The […]
Read more…and over affordable housing issues on the Texas Senate side
February 13, 2009 Comments Off
In response to my blog earlier today about the composition of the Texas House Urban Affairs Committee I was asked where things stood regarding the committee that oversees housing in the Texas Senate. That committee is the Senate Intergovernmental Relations Committee, chaired by Dallas Democratic Senator Royce West. Senator West represents southern Dallas and has […]
Read moreTX House Committee over housing programs dominated by Democrats; D-FW
February 12, 2009 Comments Off
Those of us who follow the Texas legislature closely have been waiting for the committee assignments for the House to be announced by the new speaker. That announcement came today. The committee which oversees the programs of the state housing agency is the House Urban Affairs Committee. For the first time in recent memory this […]
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