Bill Text: TX HB2476 | 2023-2024 | 88th Legislature | Engrossed


Bill Title: Relating to the adoption of a veterans' land bank program by the Texas State Affordable Housing Corporation.

Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 5-1)

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2023-05-12 - Referred to Vet Affairs [HB2476 Detail]

Download: Texas-2023-HB2476-Engrossed.html
 
 
  By: Garcia, Shine, Lopez of Bexar, Thierry, H.B. No. 2476
      Morales Shaw, et al.
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to the adoption of a veterans' land bank program by the
  Texas State Affordable Housing Corporation.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Section 2306.566(c), Government Code, is amended
  to read as follows:
         (c)  The corporation's plan must include:
               (1)  specific proposals to help serve rural and other
  underserved areas of the state; and
               (2)  the veterans' land bank plan developed under
  Section 2306.5622.
         SECTION 2.  Subchapter Y, Chapter 2306, Government Code, is
  amended by adding Section 2306.5622 to read as follows:
         Sec. 2306.5622.  VETERANS' LAND BANK PROGRAM. (a) In this
  section:
               (1)  "Affordable" means that the monthly mortgage
  payment or contract rent does not exceed 30 percent of the
  applicable median family income for that housing unit size, in
  accordance with the income and rent limit rules adopted by the
  department.
               (2)  "Low-income household" means a household with an
  income of not greater than 80 percent of the area median family
  income, based on gross household income, adjusted for household
  size, for a municipality or, if located in an area that is not part
  of a municipality, a county, as determined annually by the United
  States Department of Housing and Urban Development.
               (3)  "Veteran" has the meaning provided by Section
  161.001, Natural Resources Code.
               (4)  "Veterans' land bank plan" or "plan" means a plan
  adopted by the corporation as provided by Subsection (f).
               (5)  "Veterans' land bank program" or "program" means a
  program adopted under Subsection (c).
         (b)  This section controls to the extent of any conflict
  between this section and another provision of this chapter.
         (c)  The corporation shall establish a veterans' land bank
  program for the purpose of acquiring, holding, and transferring
  real property under this section to provide affordable housing for
  veterans who are members of low-income households.
         (d)  Property held by the corporation under the program may
  include:
               (1)  property acquired in the manner provided by
  Subsection (g); and
               (2)  other property acquired by or transferred to the
  corporation.
         (e)  A sale or other transfer of property for use in
  connection with the program is a sale for a public purpose.
         (f)  The corporation shall operate the program in
  conformance with a veterans' land bank plan.  The corporation shall
  adopt a plan annually. The plan may be amended from time to time.  
  In developing the plan, the corporation shall consider any other
  housing plans adopted by a municipality or county in which the
  corporation intends to implement the program.
         (g)  Property that is ordered sold pursuant to foreclosure of
  a tax lien may be sold to the corporation for the purpose of the
  program in the manner provided by Section 34.01, Tax Code.
         (h)  Notwithstanding any other law, if consent is given by
  the taxing units that are a party to the judgment, property may be
  sold to the corporation for the program for less than the market
  value of the property as specified in the judgment or less than the
  total of all taxes, penalties, and interest, plus the value of
  nontax liens held by a taxing unit and awarded by the judgment,
  court costs, and the cost of the sale.
         (i)  The deed of conveyance of the property sold to the
  corporation under Subsection (g) conveys to the corporation the
  right, title, and interest acquired or held by each taxing unit that
  was a party to the judgment, subject to the right of redemption.
         (j)  Each subsequent resale by the corporation of a property
  under the program must comply with the conditions of this
  subsection.  Within the 10-year period following the date of
  acquisition, the corporation must sell a property to a veteran who
  is a member of a low-income household.  If after 10 years a
  qualified veteran has not purchased the property, the property
  shall be transferred from the corporation to the taxing units who
  were parties to the judgment for disposition as otherwise allowed
  under the law.
         (k)  The corporation shall impose, in accordance with this
  subsection, deed restrictions on property sold to veterans through
  the program requiring the subsequent sale or rental of the property
  to veterans who are members of low-income households. Except as
  otherwise provided by this subsection, if the deed restrictions
  imposed under this subsection are for a term of years, the deed
  restrictions renew automatically. The corporation may modify or
  add to the deed restrictions imposed under this subsection. Any
  modifications or additions made by the corporation must be adopted
  by the corporation as part of its plan and must comply with the
  minimum requirements provided under this subsection.
         (l)  For purposes of evaluating the effectiveness of the
  program, the corporation shall prepare an annual performance report
  not later than November 1 of each year. The performance report must
  include:
               (1)  a complete and detailed written accounting of all
  money and properties received and disbursed by the corporation
  through the program during the preceding state fiscal year;
               (2)  for each property acquired by the corporation for
  the program during the preceding state fiscal year:
                     (A)  the street address of the property;
                     (B)  the legal description of the property;
                     (C)  the date the corporation took title to the
  property;
                     (D)  the name and mailing address of the property
  owner of record at the time of the acquisition;
                     (E)  the amount of taxes and other costs owed at
  the time of the foreclosure if the property was acquired under
  Subsection (g); and
                     (F)  the assessed value of the property on the tax
  roll at the time of the foreclosure if the property was acquired
  under Subsection (g); and
               (3)  for each property sold by the corporation through
  the program during the preceding state fiscal year:
                     (A)  the street address of the property;
                     (B)  the legal description of the property; and
                     (C)  the price paid by the purchaser.
         (m)  The corporation shall provide copies of the performance
  report to any taxing units who were parties to a sale of property
  under Subsection (g). The corporation shall maintain copies of the
  performance report available for public review.
         (n)  The corporation shall maintain in its records for
  inspection a copy of the sale settlement statement for each
  property sold through the veterans' land bank program.
         SECTION 3.  Sections 11.18(d) and (o), Tax Code, are amended
  to read as follows:
         (d)  A charitable organization must be organized exclusively
  to perform religious, charitable, scientific, literary, or
  educational purposes and, except as permitted by Subsections (h)
  and (l), engage exclusively in performing one or more of the
  following charitable functions:
               (1)  providing medical care without regard to the
  beneficiaries' ability to pay, which in the case of a nonprofit
  hospital or hospital system means providing charity care and
  community benefits in accordance with Section 11.1801;
               (2)  providing support or relief to orphans,
  delinquent, dependent, or handicapped children in need of
  residential care, abused or battered spouses or children in need of
  temporary shelter, the impoverished, or victims of natural disaster
  without regard to the beneficiaries' ability to pay;
               (3)  providing support without regard to the
  beneficiaries' ability to pay to:
                     (A)  elderly persons, including the provision of:
                           (i)  recreational or social activities; and
                           (ii)  facilities designed to address the
  special needs of elderly persons; or
                     (B)  the handicapped, including training and
  employment:
                           (i)  in the production of commodities; or
                           (ii)  in the provision of services under 41
  U.S.C. Sections 8501-8506;
               (4)  preserving a historical landmark or site;
               (5)  promoting or operating a museum, zoo, library,
  theater of the dramatic or performing arts, or symphony orchestra
  or choir;
               (6)  promoting or providing humane treatment of
  animals;
               (7)  acquiring, storing, transporting, selling, or
  distributing water for public use;
               (8)  answering fire alarms and extinguishing fires with
  no compensation or only nominal compensation to the members of the
  organization;
               (9)  promoting the athletic development of boys or
  girls under the age of 18 years;
               (10)  preserving or conserving wildlife;
               (11)  promoting educational development through loans
  or scholarships to students;
               (12)  providing halfway house services pursuant to a
  certification as a halfway house by the parole division of the Texas
  Department of Criminal Justice;
               (13)  providing permanent housing and related social,
  health care, and educational facilities for persons who are 62
  years of age or older without regard to the residents' ability to
  pay;
               (14)  promoting or operating an art gallery, museum, or
  collection, in a permanent location or on tour, that is open to the
  public;
               (15)  providing for the organized solicitation and
  collection for distributions through gifts, grants, and agreements
  to nonprofit charitable, education, religious, and youth
  organizations that provide direct human, health, and welfare
  services;
               (16)  performing biomedical or scientific research or
  biomedical or scientific education for the benefit of the public;
               (17)  operating a television station that produces or
  broadcasts educational, cultural, or other public interest
  programming and that receives grants from the Corporation for
  Public Broadcasting under 47 U.S.C. Section 396, as amended;
               (18)  providing housing for low-income and
  moderate-income families, for unmarried individuals 62 years of age
  or older, for handicapped individuals, and for families displaced
  by urban renewal, through the use of trust assets that are
  irrevocably and, pursuant to a contract entered into before
  December 31, 1972, contractually dedicated on the sale or
  disposition of the housing to a charitable organization that
  performs charitable functions described by Subdivision (9);
               (19)  providing housing and related services to persons
  who are 62 years of age or older in a retirement community, if the
  retirement community provides independent living services,
  assisted living services, and nursing services to its residents on
  a single campus:
                     (A)  without regard to the residents' ability to
  pay; or
                     (B)  in which at least four percent of the
  retirement community's combined net resident revenue is provided in
  charitable care to its residents;
               (20)  providing housing on a cooperative basis to
  students of an institution of higher education if:
                     (A)  the organization is exempt from federal
  income taxation under Section 501(a), Internal Revenue Code of
  1986, as amended, by being listed as an exempt entity under Section
  501(c)(3) of that code;
                     (B)  membership in the organization is open to all
  students enrolled in the institution and is not limited to those
  chosen by current members of the organization;
                     (C)  the organization is governed by its members;
  and
                     (D)  the members of the organization share the
  responsibility for managing the housing;
               (21)  acquiring, holding, and transferring unimproved
  real property under an urban land bank demonstration program
  established under Chapter 379C, Local Government Code, as or on
  behalf of a land bank;
               (22)  acquiring, holding, and transferring unimproved
  real property under an urban land bank program established under
  Chapter 379E, Local Government Code, as or on behalf of a land bank;
               (22-a)  acquiring, holding, and transferring
  unimproved real property under a veterans' land bank program
  established under Section 2306.5622, Government Code, as or on
  behalf of the Texas State Affordable Housing Corporation;
               (23)  providing housing and related services to
  individuals who:
                     (A)  are unaccompanied and homeless and have a
  disabling condition; and
                     (B)  have been continuously homeless for a year or
  more or have had at least four episodes of homelessness in the
  preceding three years;
               (24)  operating a radio station that broadcasts
  educational, cultural, or other public interest programming,
  including classical music, and that in the preceding five years has
  received or been selected to receive one or more grants from the
  Corporation for Public Broadcasting under 47 U.S.C. Section 396, as
  amended; or
               (25)  providing, without regard to the beneficiaries'
  ability to pay, tax return preparation services and assistance with
  other financial matters.
         (o)  For purposes of Subsection (a)(2), real property
  acquired, held, and transferred by an organization that performs
  the function described by Subsection (d)(21), [or] (22), or (22-a)
  is considered to be used exclusively by the qualified charitable
  organization to perform that function.
         SECTION 4.  Section 11.18, Tax Code, as amended by this Act,
  applies only to an ad valorem tax year that begins on or after the
  effective date of this Act.
         SECTION 5.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.
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