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The Senate Committee on Intergovernmental Relations met to hear invited and public testimony regarding the committee’s interim charges. The first charge was to review and make recommendations regarding the existing regulations governing the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit Program and the Qualified Allocation Plan. Secondly, the committee was charged with studying all federal housing programs accessible to Texas. The third charge related to Infrastructure Resiliency and the fourth charge was to monitor legislation passed during the 86th session, specifically SB 1303, SB 1474, and HB 2330.

This report is intended to give you an overview and highlight of the discussions on the various topics the committee took up. It is not a verbatim transcript of the hearing, but is based upon what was audible or understandable to the observer and the desire to get details out as quickly as possible with few errors or omissions.

Judge Aurelio Guerra, Willacy County

  • Discussed the work the state has done for the housing authority in recent years
  • I ran the Willacy County housing authority for four years
  • We have paired up with TAMU and have a comprehensive plan
    • Housing continues to be first or second need in this county
  • We need to dissect the need for housing. Today, the focus is on the HUD Section 8 vouchers.
  • There have been 57 vouchers for the past 15 years. There is a waiting list for these vouchers. When one is complete, another takes their slot. 
  • This committee will be influential in increasing the amount of Section 8 vouchers.
  • MenĂ©ndez-I believe 57 is way too low for your county as well. As we are not federal, if there was a way for us to help at the state level, would you be interested?
    • The situation is better now because the state level state agencies are able to upgrade housing in general
    • If the state can mimic the same program as section 8 program vouchers, that would be helpful

Peter M. Lake, Texas Water Development Board

  • Major legislation from the 86th
    • SB 7 provided funding for flood mitigation strategies
      • The creation of the Texas Infrastructure Resiliency Fund
      • Flood Infrastructure Fund
    • SB 8 directs the creation of a state flood plan
  • Funding will go towards the planning and mapping product
  • The average floodplain map is over 13 years old
  • Describes base level engineering (BLE) map components
  • Communities will receive updated data on local floodplain management activities, local hazard mitigation plan efforts, grant applications and disaster response. BLE’s can be used by communities as a resource to update FEMA maps
  • Planning efforts- response to flood control policy; contributes to water supply where possible
    • Describes planning region boundaries as proposed by SB 8
  • Mitigation planning-providing financial resources contingent on good science, and part and planning with neighbors
  • Statutory definition of political subdivision for Flood Infrastructure Fund: entities under Section 52 and 59 in the Constitution, but many other entities will be eligible
  • We want people to participate in Regional Planning Groups, nexus of coordinated planning
  • Thursday, 30th, public comments on the plans we have for both SB 7 and SB 8, applications open in March for those that want to participate in Flood Infrastructure Fund
  • Been working with TDEM and TLO
  • Lucio- What are the different ways the public may submit comment?
    • The most direct is through email, board will be having an open meeting to take comment
  • Nichols- There is a lot of coordination between these agencies. Harvey was a while ago, many of my counties went underwater. We had a regional meeting a month after. It is a drainage problem and regional problem. If we create solution in one county, the drainage flows over into the next. We need a study that identifies which basin projects need to be done, estimates, and order in which they need to be done. The studies are taking too long right now. The locals and counties know where the flooding occurs. We have been asking for a study for two years that identifies them. We need a list of the projects so we can start working on them
    • The expediency of the mapping in the studies is why we provide BLE’s. They are not full FEMA maps. They provide actionable, updated science for those communities. Individual property owners can look up their property online and find their BLE.
  • Nichols- Counties don’t know what projects to apply for. You need to come to each of those counties and the locals can show you where the water backs up and comes from. The coordinated effort between the counties have not been done
  • Campbell- BLE’s are up right now on the website and counties can look them up?
    • Yes, but not every county has up to date BLE’s. In the next five years we will be implementing new, updated BLE’s for the whole state. Critical areas will be mapped first
  • Campbell- When the county looks it up, they will be able to tell if it is outdated, something new, if you have worked with them?
    • All the above. Property owners can see their property and county leader can see whatever they want. Once the regional planning groups get together in the Spring, everyone will be working from the same data. That’s when we will get that project list
  • Campbell- Are the river authorities participating in planning like GBRA and dams?
    • Yes. Legislation identifies we use the same stakeholder groups as we do in the state water plan. Those groups can add other groups as they see fit
  • Campbell- Are hydroelectric lakes like GBRA in Guadalupe County going to be eligible for funding?
    • The rules are still up for comment- it depends on how those rules fit within the legislation was written. We have talked to that river authority and continue to be in communication with them
  • MenĂ©ndez– We wanted the state to take a more universal approach, county by county is not enough. We need regional solutions and must prioritize them. There must be leadership on this issue
    • Our proposed rules for the state flood plan include a prioritization process/criterion that is out for comment now
  • MenĂ©ndez– We need coordination, like what Chairman Nichols talked about
  • That is our goal with regional planning groups.

Chief Nim Kidd, Chief of Emergency Management, State of Texas

  • Discussing charges 2, 3, and 4
  • 2- Housing
    • We plan to have infographic vetted by all our partners by the next meeting
    • Single most successful factor in recovery and housing is insurance, need to keep pushing that message
  • 3- Infrastructure resiliency and special purpose districts
    • I still think we need to encourage committees at the local level to work with county commissioners’ courts
    • Since Harvey, 4 major disaster declarations, generating 18 million FEMA hazard mitigation grants
    • Willacy County- was not affected, working with counties upstream we were awarded a  project there to do this regional approach. The process is not completely clear yet, but we want to implement a regional plan
  • 4- Monitoring legislation related to simplifying disaster assistance (HB 2330)
    • 7 Specific Plans:
    • Infrastructure Resiliency Fund Scoring- the process to award future grants
    • Catastrophic debris management plan for state
    • Local catastrophic debris guide and contract- on website and shared with local government partners
    • Disaster recovery loan program- 60% complete still need to write rules
    • Disaster taskforce- out in force and offering response, more to come as build out
    • Single intake form progress-critical to local citizens that need one place to go to register for services available
    • Mitigation compact- one stop shop for local officials where we have all these projects in one area and are able to look at the funds available for each project. We may need to come back to you to make sure the local and district responsibilities are clear

Mark Havens, Texas GLO

  • Broad overview in relation to mitigation action plan, have been changes since last meeting
  • Hard to have a one size fits all action plan for disaster recovery
  • Have been traveling and gaining public comment- closed on Jan 10th did 8 public hearings
  • Received 4,000 public comments to talk to locals and see what recovery looks like
  • Action plan changes:
    • Initially each individual entity was capped at 3 individual applications
    • HUD pushed for a more regional approach, now have 3 individual applications and 3 partnership applications. A city can partner with a neighboring county or flood district
    • Smaller communities, minimum project score was $5 million, now is lowered to $3 million
    • Initially said that no one would get a second project approved until first round was approved, now a project must score a certain criteria 65-70 points grading which is looked at before the second or third project is awarded
  • Want action plan to HUD by the end of January and then they have a 60-day approval period, should see it back by April
  • Many communities say we need 3-5 months to complete applications together. We hope to start accepting applications late summer
  • Other things:
    • We received notice of a federal register? for 2018-2019 floods
      • HUD has said they would allocate about $72 million for 2018 floods. Primary funds will address housing need from Harvey, leftover will go to infrastructure
      • $212 million allocated for Imelda, focus on housing. We will do the same process, draft action plan and have public comment
  • Our CDBG-DR and mitigation dollars are the largest pot of money with no state match required, but is the most restrictive
    • We are trying to figure out how to utilize that money with FEMA PA and the money the state has set aside
  • Nichols – You are talking about scoring the applications, but individual counties will apply?
    • It will be counties, cities, drainage districts, any of the eligible.
  • Nichols – So it is not a regional basin approach?
    • It could be both, individual counties or multiple counties working together to submit.  
  • Nichols – My eight counties have been trying to work together, but I do not know any three who are trying to do a grant application together
    • The joint application is aiming to be a more regional approach and get counties to work together
  • Nichols – Part of your comments, you are looking for funding through allocations from the council of governments?
    • Yes , $2 billion set aside for a pure competition (on a statewide basis)
      • $500 million set aside for the COGs who will develop the method of distribution
  • Nichols – How are they going to develop the priority for a river basin if they are a COG? From a practical standpoint, they are going to allocate to the counties that flooded, that is my concern. I do not think COGs are going to be coordinating with each other. I wish they would take a more regional approach
  • Alvarado- There are 800 special purpose districts in Harris county, have you determined which ones will be eligible to apply for these funds?
    • Heather Lagrone, Texas GLO- we have put together a list for the special districts who are eligible for the Hurricane Harvey competition. Generally, they are entities that have taxing authority and some sort of control of mitigation activity (port authorities, COGs)
  • Alvarado – COGs own applications, special districts, and local entities, if we could get a chart to see how that would flow, that would be helpful.
  • Alvarado – I passed SB 799 that transferred TDEM to TAMU, how has that transition gone?
    • It is going well. We have moved 300 employees from ERS, and TRS. That took place Sept 1st. We are filling vacancies in disaster finance taskforce
      • Being able to work with higher ed, available research and students will improve resiliency
  • Alvarado – for GLO, in the 2017 CDBG-DR unmet housing needs, Harris county and Houston received 44% of the allocation. In the proposed allocation, that would drop significantly to 27%. How does this happen?
    • The initial Harvey appropriation was based upon methodology that HUD used for damage and unmet need
    • HUD was open with saying mitigation funds will work differently. Here it is not tied to damage, but mitigation and infrastructure resiliency. Because $2 million is based on competition, we do not know exactly how things will shake out
  • Alvarado- What is the timeline to get more definite information?
    • $500 million was set aside for the COGs and $192 million of that goes to HGAC, they will have that once the action plan is approved
    • $2.1 billion in competition basis. We will score that once all entities submit their applications, by summer/fall
  • Alvarado- The application for infrastructure resiliency, the guidelines state “depending on demand, no applicant will be awarded the subsequent application until all successful eligible applicants have been awarded once”
    • That was one of the changes we made the original says that, but now we said we are going to set a minimum scoring floor
  • Alvarado – When was that change made?
    • It was changed as a result of public feedback. The action plan that is going to HUD the last week of Jan will have that info in it
  • Lucio- We would like to have a list of the special districts that qualify
  • Lucio- After reconstruction, the federal government requires the hiring of low-income individuals from the impacted region receiving assistance (referred to as Section 3 requirements). Through the programs you administer, is there a similar requirement to also assist the region’s re-development by requiring the use of locally produced materials?
    • Lake- the funding we receive is through the state, so we are not affected by federal oversight
  • Lucio- During the interim, we are going to see what we can do about that issue, Lagrone?
    • Lagrone- The Land Office has exceeded all federal goals (hiring) under Section 3, throughout the disaster prevention plan. There is a limitation on federal dollars that precludes you from doing a geographic preference. We are not able to include that in the selection of our vendors

Rob Latsha, Texas Bond Review Board

  • SB 1474- what is a private activity bond?
    • Issued for a local or state government for the purpose of financing a project for private use
  • SB 1474- modified the TEX Gov Code 1372 which regulates the state’s administration of this program
  • Benefit- private debt sold like a public security- tax exempt
    • Benefits extend to the borrower as it is paid with borrowed money, there is reduced project risk, shifted from the government to the private sector
  • The community benefit- we can put projects through sooner using private dollars
  • The private investment is incentivized, reduces need for taxes or borrowing to come up with same result
  • SB 1474- 3 Sections (Sec. 4, 12, and 13) vastly improved the administration of the program
  • Increased applications and reservations
  • Have moved demand August to January, allows for initial reservation, then there is time for the authority to be reallocated back into the program if project doesn’t go through

Ken Martin, Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board

  • SB 1474, coordinating board mechanism for its college access student loan program, able to increase efficiency for timing of financing, increase forecasting ability for student loan demand, able to save $4 million annual starting this year

Ricky Thermon, Brazos Higher Education Authority

  • Texas non-profit, helps TX families reduce student loan cost
  • High student load payments are a source of financial strain. Fed reserve show that excessive debt is causing families to put off having families and buying a house-overall hurt to the economy
  • Brazos Refinance Program launched in 2018- for responsible TX borrowers who have earned lower IR, to reduce student loan payments
  • Have helped Texans refinance $50 million in loans, at significantly lower rates
  • Average borrower saving est. $25,000 in interest over life of the load
  • SB 1474 made critical updates to the law to allow Texas non-qualified corporations the ability to provide tax exempt bonds to finance student loans. Thank you for that legislation

David Beslor, TSAHC

  • Statewide nonprofit created at direction of legislature to create affordable housing TX
  • Discuss 4th charge related to private activity bonds
  • Private activity bond, privately held, not a debt of taxpayers
  • To access our bonds, developers must meet 1 of 4 criteria
  • At risk preservation rehabilitation of existing affordable housing
  • Housing in rural and smaller urban markets
  • Senior and service enridged housing developments
  • Housing in areas with disaster declarations
  • SB 1474, for housing, it has increased cap for multifamily housing. TSHAC alone will receive $75 million for bond project
  • SB 1474, increased cap per project from $25 million to $50 million and that new cap will be indexed over time
  • We remain committed to working with Bond Review Board and this committee in the future

Question & Answer

  • Schwertner- Total student loan debt in Texas? We are trying to help students graduate with as little debt as possible
  • Martin- I don’t know total debt but can find out
  • Therman- $104 billion according to TX Dept of Education
  • Schwertner- My understanding is that federal student loans have the ability to be paid off with work-study. Is there any other way they can be paid off?
  • Martin- For coordinating board, Ch. 52 of TEC only provides forgiveness or death and other extreme circumstances. Federal loan may offer forgiveness for certain professions and fidelity of payment over time

Luis Torrez, Real Estate Center

  • Showing slides 
  • Financing has not recovered to where it was at pre-recession
  • Construction wages are higher in TX than in other parts of the U.S., increases cost of production
  • Lot prices per acre have grown exponentially
  • If a homebuilder wants to build at $250,000, there is little land available in that price rang
  • It is difficult to find homes below $200,000. Home sales in that range have gone done, because there is no supply. It is really difficult for people to find a home in their price range
  • In 2012, housing rates began to grow at a higher rate than income
  • Home builders have not been able to build homes at a lower rate because of shortage of workers, increase of labor costs, lot cost, etc.
  • Recommendation-be careful with regulation, that makes housing costs go up 
  • Campbell- You listed regulatory burdens that obstruct builders, what can we fix at state level? 
  • Incentivize home builders, new technology
  • Do you have a list of some bureaucratic burdens/barriers that you have? 
  • I can get a list to you
  • Alvarado- What are you seeing with land banks across the state? 
  • We can get back to you about the effects of those
  • MenĂ©ndez– The subcontractors and lot prices are going up. Every $1,000 that lot goes up, about 75,000 people are kicked out of being able to afford that. We have to increase the number of affordable lots, so there is incentive for people to build at the price point they can afford. We are victims of our own success. If we could do more to get homes out of flood plain, it might help

Jill Miller, Odessa Housing Finance Corporation, TALHFA 

  • Odessa is in middle of nowhere, we have to think outside the box to get things to happen 
  • Partnerships: housing finance corps are not housing authorities. We do partner with them but    are not the same 
  • When oil booms, the price goes sky high on rental rates and they don’t take a lot of the vouchers the housing authority provides 
  • We partnered with the housing authority board, getting voucher out, and helped 114 places get financed 
  • We have line of credit with local banks to have a CRA to go out and build houses. This helps us keep housing prices down 
  • Crisis for workforce housing in our area because rent rates are high. 1 bedroom is almost $1500. We started 550 teachers short this year, we have 70 kids in classrooms, we can’t house teachers. We can’t house police officers or firefighters. They make right above too much money to qualify for assistance
  • 20 oil companies have stepped up in a Permian Strategic Partnership (PSP) to help with education and infrastructure 
  • We are trying to get funding for 216 units of workforce housing through that strategic partnership 
  • We try to be creative and develop partnerships, thank you for SB 1474  
  • Alvarado- You have such a unique set of circumstances with housing. You have land. Is it a shortage of builders, price, what?   
  • We have people willing to donate land, but the development subcontractors get lost to the oilfield because they can offer them more money 

 Janine Sisak, Texas Affiliation of Affordable Housing Providers 

  • Cost of land and building housing is high, pop is growing, younger pop that often cannot afford a single-family home 
  • Need to look at multifamily development and workforce housing 
  • One size fits all approach doesn’t work in TX 
  • 9% and 4% tax housing programs, 9% tax housing program is one of the most highly regulated programs in the country, through the QAP  
  • 2306 required TDHCA to give point categories on a regulated basis. We are not one size fits all, scoring points don’t fit the needs of the communities
  • Was trying to get resolution of support for deal she had been working on for 3 years. Item was pulled from city council meeting. City council wanted to pick the winner under the program, I don’t think this was intent behind trying to get community input under QAP. Problem under 9% program
  • Lots of unintended consequences in these programs with regard to where things are
  • 4% program results in 200, 300, 400 unit bond deals. Concept of local support is virtually veto power. If you don’t have resolution of support from city, you shouldn’t even apply 
  • Give TDHCA ability to prioritize what they want to look at year to year 
  • Schwertner– Are we at odds with fair housing law if you have ability for arbitrary non-market based reasons for vetoing in essence an affordable housing project?
  • There are some fair housing risks. We are the only state in the nation that gives super high point allocations to state rep support and city support. I think it’s okay for 2306 to say that you are having public hearings, should talk with public officials, etc.  
  • Schwertner—It seems that we need to put money where need is
  • Yes, but we have gotten away from looking at real estate fundamentals, need, and we don’t look at census tracts appropriately (not a good way to look at the market). Census tract is part of a larger neighborhood, so it should be looked at in an isolated view 
  • Alvarado-What do you think about creating an incentive reward program for applicants who have an excellent performance record?
  • I think that’s a great idea. TAP is a large tent organization and the 9% program is oversubscribed. We got 300 applications for 45 awards. We end up with flat scoring to keep it a fair playing field, that’s when it gets political. We need clear policy objectives for TDHCA. We are currently hamstrung within parameters of 2306

Demetrio Jimenez Tropicana Properties El Paso

  • Agrees with testimony from Janine Sisak, handed out document 
  • TDHCA is hamstrung with QAP and resolutions of support from state reps
  • If scoring criteria were lower, we could compete 
  • Referring to handout, El Paso drew circles, if you were within the two circles, you got more in scoring, but those were the highest cost areas in El Paso
  • 9% Tax program is the only program that pairs point allocations with support letters from state reps. We can’t compete if we don’t have that 
  • HB 2993 would have created consistent approach to appraisal district policy, but it didn’t pass. We believe this should be revisited in the 87th session 
  • I manage tax credit properties and qualify people to live in our units. We have to provide information to tenants. HUD put together form 12 pages long that we are supposed to give tenant what their rights are if they are a victim of violent abuse. We must give it in 3 different circumstances (when they apply for tenancy, denied for tenancy, and given notice to vacate/eviction). I manage 3500 units in El Paso, about 60 families moving out, 620 pages given to tenants on a daily basis
  • Rents are capped so units are individually metered. Utility paid by tenants We have to subtract utility allowance from rent. We turn in our study on utility cost to TDHCA every year. They did only require 3 months of history on deregulated properties, but they now want 12 months. That drives up utility allowance to $50 a unit, it’s an overburden and eats into profit
  • Schwertner- You have to interview every tenant with criminal background check? Does that include market property or just affordable housing? 
  • It is only required with affordable housing, but we do still do it on the market rate
  • When you check people, you verify income, everyone has to have a source of income? 
  • Yes, we don’t give away homes for free 
  • You are fighting nimbyism  

Scott Norman, Texas Association of Builders

  • Represents primarily single-family lenders 
  • Not doing subsidized programs 
  • 2 things that drive housing economy are population and job growth, we have both 
  • Big segment of community is being left behind 
  • TAMU testimony highlighted entry level workforce and 1st time homebuilders, price point is driving those up 
  • We are in a decade of millennials, they are running into headwinds 
  • Regulation adds to the cost of housing, keep that in mind 
  • Nationally, 25% of cost of the single-family home is due to regulation 
  • In multi-family that same number approaches 30-32% 
  • For every $1,000 you raise median price in TX, you are cutting out 22,000-25,000 Texans that can’t afford to buy a home 

Randy Bowling, Texas Association Builders, Owner Tropicana Companies

  • Growth is not a consistent factor, it changes 
  • What can we do 10 years from now? 
  • El Paso proposed raising impact fee, thankfully didn’t do it. They were trying to raise prices outside developed land 
  • We have taken 50 families over last 5 years from subsidized into new homes 
  • There was a lot done last session with Product Mandates Bill. Easiest way for a city to not allow $185,000 house is to zone the size of lots

Mike Biggerstaff, Homebuilder 

  • 35 years in building industry
  • New Home Construction-Company he founded 
  • Creatively worked with local governments and municipalities, by identifying properties that could be used for affordable housing 
  • Want to make home ownership a reality and priority. Recognize housing costs have soared and eliminated that dream for many people 
  • Home ownership is fastest way to gain wealth 
  • Identify infill lots within a community that have never been developed. Can be bought for much less than lots that have already been developed 
  • Partnered with City of San Angelo to identify available infill lots, foreclosed lots, cladded but undeveloped property, available plots of land, properties in certain areas that are cheaper (lack of water and infrastructure) 
  • Mix of single and multifamily projects provide opportunity to dilute cost of building 
  • Cities have worked with us to help us build homes more affordably, utilize multiple tools to help with land acquisition 
  • Affordable workforce housing doesn’t have to be referred to as “cheap,” they can still be well made. We kept cost of square foot at or below entry level homes by working with the cities 
  • Safety and security in neighborhoods have gotten better, people are proud of their homes, aesthetics have improved 
  • We have projects in multiple cities across TX with more pending, affordable housing is a problem in every community, no matter the size 
  • We hope others can expand this model to take this success statewide to address housing shortage 
  • Schwertner-What are your building costs? 
  • Start at $118 per/sq. foot, move in ready 
  • Schwertner-In order for this to work, the cities need to be willing to partner, so it’s a mutually helpful situation 

Question & Answer

  • Alvarado- From building industry, what do you see as contributing factors to making housing affordable in the state? 
  • Norman- Private sector, competition for jobs. Construction costs on private side is 50% labor and 50% construction. Property taxes are a big portion of people’s monthly payments, makes it harder for people to qualify for a loan 
  • Biggerstaff- Big proponent of privatization on some of these things, there could be savings there. Socorro is going from 50 to 500 houses in 24 months and they are having to privatize to keep costs down

Nick Mitchell, Come Dream Come Build

  • Assisted 1600 families into home ownership or affordable places to rent over the past 10 years 
  • Know about small and rural communities 
  • CDCB participates in almost every affordable housing program that TDHCA and HUD has
  • We need better business model that can save the state money and increase production 
  • Proximity to jobs issues, new point in QAP. It doesn’t work. We suggest the state move to a ratio based on the population of the city
  • Online system is not working. Showing that people live where they work and that’s not true
  • Recommendation to sit down with state and TDHCA to put together pilot program to look at what I am doing and what they are doing 
  • Recommendation to sit down and look at all these programs and see where the issues are and see what they can fix and what we can fix. Like a working group

Mary Lawler, Executive Director of Avenue 

  • Non-profit affordable housing developer in Houston, single family homes
  • Most developed with 9% and 4% tax credits 
  • Profits are reinvested into the communities we serve 
  • Increase number of tax credit property developments awarded to non-profits 
  • Take steps to preserve existing stock of affordable housing, non-profits need more access to affordable housing once affordability period has ended 
  • Eliminate requirements that unnecessarily increase costs. TDHCA has number of rules that increase that cost, site selection criteria (difficult to develop in places where market developers are building high end apartments near rail lines, interstates, etc.) 

Lauren Loney, Texas Housers 

  • Advocate on behalf on low income tenants in the state
  • Building in high opportunity areas, cost associated has to do with allowing access to minority groups where others do have opportunity to build there 
  • Need to have broader conversation about whether getting rid of some of the opportunity index metrics is really furthering our goals
  • Doing away with the only rules protecting racially segregated, low income areas, cannot be the answer
  • Texas Housers is in support of getting rid of the state rep resolution of support. Studies show that could be a significant cost in getting affordable housing 
  • We support change to 12-month utility change study. The person who bears the change in utility cost is the tenant

Question & Answer

  • Alvarado-Are there unique challenges you are having in Brownsville?  
  • Mitchell-We have housing problem that isn’t being met by state or local funding. We are operating housing in this city completely on federal funding. Poverty level is very high 

Marcus Phipps, Harlingen Homes, Texas Realtors

  • Property ownership is linked to greater wealth, better mental health, higher education, and intergenerational wealth 
  • In valley region, we fall under regulations that prevent colonias from happening 

Michael Wilt, TSHAC 

  • 1st interim charge on litech, involved in initiatives that implicate litech program
  • preserving rural rental housing through USDA, using bond funds to preserve them. It won’t be enough resources alone to preserve properties
  • Want to look at role tax credits play in housing for people experiencing homelessness

Adam Pirtle, Texas Housers 

  • Recommend study on state tax credits, set some aside for rural communities, supplement with state assistance as needed
  • Eliminate source of income discrimination for housing choice vouchers. Regulation discriminates based on income-it’s a city regulation 
  • So many vouchers concentrated in high poverty areas. If you allowed voucher holders to combine their own income with their own vouchers, it would allow them to get out of higher poverty areas and to move into more opportunity areas

Bobby Wilkinson, TDHCA

  • Middle of tax credit round
  • 4% tax credits are improving and increasing as well
  • 4% tax credit deal was recently done on 22 small sites in rural towns. Preserved 822 units of rural Texas housing 
  • Beyond statute, I think we could talk more about process revisions 
  • The QAP points hardest to get (shows in table on handout) -apps we never see are the most relevant data point 
  • MenĂ©ndez– Nonprofit community would like to have their own pool. Maybe you could work with them on that. Nimbyism continues and is clashing with Fair Housing Laws. Cost Implication process?
  • Issue is in the process- paperwork requirements are somewhat similar to other states. We are going to do a roundtable to figure out how to make the process easier
  • MenĂ©ndez– I hear they submit application, they get to the end, and then they are asked to resubmit. Why don’t we just ask “what has changed?” Then no one has to resubmit applications and it makes us nimbler, so people can build in areas where it is needed
  • Alvarado- QAP has request for appraisal prepared by licensed 3rd party appraiser. Can that be changed?
  • I don’t think that’s statutory, it can be changed
  • Alvarado- Have you considered modifying the minimum unit sizes to allow for small or tiny houses?
  • Yes, we are open to that

Brooke Boston, TDHCA

  • What we heard from Mr. Mitchell regarding idea of servicing loans, we have done with one program but haven’t expanded to all programs. That is something we will be looking into

There was one person that showed up for public testimony that did not stay until his time to speak.