88R10204 JAM-D
	By: Garcia	H.B. No. 2476

	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 unit size, in accordance
	with the income and rent limit rules adopted by the Texas Department
	of Housing and Community Affairs.
	(2)  "Community housing development organization" or
	"organization" means an organization that:
	(A)  meets the definition of a community housing
	development organization in 24 C.F.R. Section 92.2; and
	(B)  is certified by a municipality or county as a
	community housing development organization.
	(3)  "Low-income household" means a household with an
	income of not greater than 60 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.
	(4)  "Qualified participating developer" means a
	developer who meets the requirements of Subsection (f) and includes
	a qualified organization under Subsection (t).
	(5)  "Veteran" has the meaning provided by Section
	161.001, Natural Resources Code.
	(6)  "Veterans' land bank" means an entity established
	or approved by the corporation for the purpose of acquiring,
	holding, and transferring unimproved real property under this
	section to provide affordable housing for veterans who are members
	of low-income households.
	(7)  "Veterans' land bank plan" or "plan" means a plan
	adopted by the corporation as provided by Subsection (g).
	(8)  "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 adopt a veterans' land bank
	program and establish or approve a veterans' land bank for the
	purpose of acquiring, holding, and transferring unimproved real
	property under this section to provide affordable housing for
	veterans who are members of low-income households.
	(d)  Property held by the veterans' land bank must include
	property acquired in the manner provided by Subsection (i) and may
	include other property acquired by or transferred to the veterans'
	land bank.
	(e)  A sale or other transfer of property for use in
	connection with the program is a sale for a public purpose.
	(f)  To qualify to participate in the program, a developer
	must:
	(1)  have developed three or more housing units within
	the three-year period preceding the submission of a proposal to the
	veterans' land bank seeking to acquire real property from the
	veterans' land bank;
	(2)  have a development plan approved by the
	corporation for the veterans' land bank property; and
	(3)  meet any other requirements adopted by the
	corporation in the veterans' land bank plan.
	(g)  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.  The plan must
	include the corporation's plan for affordable housing development
	on parcels of real property.
	(h)  Before adopting a plan, the corporation shall hold a
	public hearing on the proposed plan.  The corporation shall provide
	notice of the hearing to all community housing development
	organizations and to neighborhood associations identified by the
	corporation as serving the neighborhoods in which properties
	anticipated to be available for sale or transfer to the veterans'
	land bank under this section are located.  The corporation shall
	make copies of the proposed plan available to the public not later
	than the 30th day before the date of the public hearing.
	(i)  Notwithstanding any other law and except as provided by
	Subsection (m), property that is ordered sold pursuant to
	foreclosure of a tax lien may be sold in a private sale to a
	veterans' land bank by the officer charged with the sale of the
	property without first offering the property for sale as otherwise
	provided by Section 34.01, Tax Code, if:
	(1)  the market value of the property as specified in
	the judgment of foreclosure is less than the total amount due under
	the judgment, including 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;
	(2)  the property is not improved with a building or
	buildings;
	(3)  there are delinquent taxes on the property for a
	total of at least five years; and
	(4)  all taxing units that are parties to the tax suit
	have executed an interlocal agreement that enables those units to
	agree to participate in the program while retaining the right to
	withhold consent to the sale of specific properties to the
	veterans' land bank.
	(j)  If the person being sued in a suit for foreclosure of a
	tax lien does not contest the market value of the property in the
	suit, the person waives the right to challenge the amount of the
	market value determined by the court for purposes of the sale of the
	property under Section 33.50, Tax Code.
	(k)  For any sale of property under Subsection (i), each
	person who was a defendant to the judgment, or that person's
	attorney, shall be given, not later than the 90th day before the
	date of sale, written notice of the proposed method of sale of the
	property by the officer charged with the sale of the property.
	Notice shall be given in the manner prescribed by Rule 21a, Texas
	Rules of Civil Procedure.
	(l)  After receipt of the notice required by Subsection (k)
	and before the date of the proposed sale, the owner of the property
	subject to sale may file with the officer charged with the sale a
	written request that the property not be sold in the manner provided
	by Subsection (i).
	(m)  If the officer charged with the sale receives a written
	request as provided by Subsection (l), the officer shall sell the
	property as otherwise provided in Section 34.01, Tax Code.
	(n)  The owner of the property subject to sale may not
	receive any proceeds of a sale under this section. However, the
	owner does not have any personal liability for a deficiency of the
	judgment as a result of a sale under this section.
	(o)  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 veterans' land bank 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.
	(p)  The deed of conveyance of the property sold to a
	veterans' land bank under Subsection (i) conveys to the veterans'
	land bank 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.
	(q)  Each subsequent resale by a veterans' land bank of
	property acquired by the veterans' land bank under Subsection (i)
	must comply with the conditions of this subsection.  Within the
	10-year period following the date of acquisition, the veterans'
	land bank must sell a property to a qualified participating
	developer for the purpose of construction of affordable housing for
	sale or rent to veterans who are members of low-income households.
	If after 10 years a qualified participating developer has not
	purchased the property, the property shall be transferred from the
	veterans' land bank to the taxing units who were parties to the
	judgment for disposition as otherwise allowed under the law. The
	deed conveying a property sold by the veterans' land bank must
	include a right of reverter so that if the qualified participating
	developer does not apply for a construction permit and close on any
	construction financing within the two-year period following the
	date of the conveyance of the property from the veterans' land bank
	to the qualified participating developer, the property will revert
	to the veterans' land bank for subsequent resale to another
	qualifying participating developer or conveyance to the taxing
	units who were parties to the judgment for disposition as otherwise
	allowed under the law.
	(r)  The veterans' land bank shall impose, in accordance with
	this subsection and Subsection (s), deed restrictions on property
	sold to qualified participating developers requiring the
	development and subsequent sale or rental of the property to
	veterans who are members of low-income households. At least 25
	percent of the veterans' land bank properties sold during any given
	state fiscal year to be developed for sale shall be deed restricted
	for sale to households with incomes not greater than 60 percent of
	the area median family income, based on gross household income,
	adjusted for household size, for the applicable municipality or, if
	located in an area that is not part of a municipality, the
	applicable county, as determined annually by the United States
	Department of Housing and Urban Development. If property is
	developed for rental housing, the deed restrictions must be for a
	period of not less than 20 years and must require that:
	(1)  100 percent of the rental units be occupied by and
	affordable to households with incomes not greater than 60 percent
	of area median family income, based on gross household income,
	adjusted for household size, for the applicable municipality or, if
	located in an area that is not part of a municipality, the
	applicable county, as determined annually by the United States
	Department of Housing and Urban Development;
	(2)  40 percent of the units be occupied by and
	affordable to households with incomes not greater than 50 percent
	of area median family income, based on gross household income,
	adjusted for household size, for the applicable municipality or, if
	located in an area that is not part of a municipality, the
	applicable county, as determined annually by the United States
	Department of Housing and Urban Development; or
	(3)  20 percent of the units be occupied by and
	affordable to households with incomes not greater than 30 percent
	of area median family income, based on gross household income,
	adjusted for household size, for the applicable municipality or, if
	located in an area that is not part of a municipality, the
	applicable county, as determined annually by the United States
	Department of Housing and Urban Development.
	(s)  The deed restrictions relating to rental housing under
	this subsection and Subsection (r) must require the owner to file an
	annual occupancy report with the corporation on a reporting form
	provided by the corporation. The deed restrictions must also
	prohibit any exclusion of an individual or family from admission to
	the development based solely on the participation of the individual
	or family in the housing choice voucher program under Section 8,
	United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. Section 1437f), as
	amended. Except as otherwise provided by this subsection, if the
	deed restrictions imposed under this subsection or Subsection (r)
	are for a term of years, the deed restrictions renew automatically.
	The veterans' land bank or the corporation may modify or add to the
	deed restrictions imposed under this subsection or Subsection (r).
	Any modifications or additions made by the corporation must be
	adopted by the corporation as part of its plan.
	(t)  The veterans' land bank shall first offer for sale to
	qualified organizations any property acquired by the veterans' land
	bank under Subsection (i). Notice must be provided to the qualified
	organizations by certified mail, return receipt requested, not
	later than the 60th day before the beginning of the period in which
	a right of first refusal may be exercised. The corporation shall
	specify in its plan the period during which the right of first
	refusal provided by this subsection may be exercised by a qualified
	organization. That period must be at least nine months but not more
	than 26 months from the date of the deed of conveyance of the
	property to the veterans' land bank. If the veterans' land bank
	conveys the property to a qualified organization before the
	expiration of the period specified by the corporation under this
	subsection, the interlocal agreement executed under Subsection
	(i)(4) must provide tax abatement for the property until the
	expiration of that period. During the specified period, the
	veterans' land bank may not sell the property to a qualified
	participating developer other than a qualified organization. If
	all qualified organizations notify the veterans' land bank that
	they are declining to exercise their right of first refusal during
	the specified period, or if an offer to purchase the property is not
	received from a qualified organization during that period, the
	veterans' land bank may sell the property to any other qualified
	participating developer at the same price that the veterans' land
	bank offered the property to the qualified organizations. In its
	plan, the corporation shall establish the additional period, if
	any, that a property may be held in the veterans' land bank once an
	offer has been received and accepted from a qualified organization
	or other qualified participating developer. If more than one
	qualified organization expresses an interest in exercising its
	right of first refusal, the organization that has designated the
	most geographically compact area encompassing a portion of the
	property shall be given priority. In its plan, the corporation may
	provide for other rights of first refusal for any other nonprofit
	corporation exempted from federal income tax under Section
	501(c)(3), Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, provided that
	the preeminent right of first refusal is provided to qualified
	organizations as provided by this subsection. The veterans' land
	bank is not required to provide a right of first refusal to
	qualified organizations under this subsection if the veterans' land
	bank is selling property that reverted to the veterans' land bank
	under Subsection (q) or was acquired by the veterans' land bank in a
	manner other than that provided by Subsection (i). In this
	subsection, "qualified organization" means a community housing
	development organization that:
	(1)  contains within its designated geographical
	boundaries of operation, as set forth in its application for
	certification filed with and approved by the municipality or county
	certifying the organization, a portion of the property that the
	veterans' land bank is offering for sale;
	(2)  has built at least three single-family homes or
	duplexes or one multifamily residential dwelling of four or more
	units in compliance with all applicable building codes within the
	preceding two-year period and within the organization's designated
	geographical boundaries of operation; and
	(3)  within the preceding three-year period has
	developed or rehabilitated housing units within a two-mile radius
	of the property that the veterans' land bank is offering for sale.
	(u)  The veterans' land bank shall comply with the
	requirements of Chapters 551 and 552. The veterans' land bank shall
	keep accurate minutes of its meetings and shall keep accurate
	records and books of account that conform with generally accepted
	principles of accounting and that clearly reflect the income and
	expenses of the veterans' land bank and all transactions in
	relation to its property.
	(v)  For purposes of evaluating the effectiveness of the
	program, the veterans' land bank shall submit an annual performance
	report to the corporation not later than November 1 of each year in
	which the veterans' land bank acquires or sells property under this
	section. The performance report must include:
	(1)  a complete and detailed written accounting of all
	money and properties received and disbursed by the veterans' land
	bank during the preceding state fiscal year;
	(2)  for each property acquired by the veterans' land
	bank during the preceding state fiscal year:
	(A)  the street address of the property;
	(B)  the legal description of the property;
	(C)  the date the veterans' land bank 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 (i); 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 (i);
	(3)  for each property sold by the veterans' land bank
	during the preceding state fiscal year to a qualified participating
	developer:
	(A)  the street address of the property;
	(B)  the legal description of the property;
	(C)  the name and mailing address of the
	purchaser;
	(D)  the price paid by the purchaser;
	(E)  the maximum incomes allowed for the
	households by the terms of the sale; and
	(F)  the source and amount of any public subsidy
	made available to facilitate the sale or rental of the property to a
	veteran who is a member of a household within the targeted income
	levels;
	(4)  for each property sold by a qualified
	participating developer during the preceding state fiscal year, the
	buyer's household income and a description of all use and sale
	restrictions; and
	(5)  for each property developed for rental housing
	with an active deed restriction, a copy of the most recent annual
	report filed by the owner with the veterans' land bank.
	(w)  The veterans' land bank shall provide copies of the
	performance report to any taxing units who were parties to a sale of
	property under Subsection (i). The veterans' land bank shall
	provide notice of the availability of the performance report for
	review to the organizations and neighborhood associations
	identified by the corporation as serving the neighborhoods in which
	are located properties sold or transferred to the veterans' land
	bank under this section.  The veterans' land bank and the
	corporation shall maintain copies of the performance report
	available for public review.
	(x)  The veterans' land bank shall maintain in its records
	for inspection a copy of the sale settlement statement for each
	property sold by a qualified participating developer and a copy of
	the first page of the mortgage note with the interest rate and
	indicating the volume and page number of the instrument as filed
	with the county clerk.
	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 a veterans' land bank;
	(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.