HBA-MPA H.R. 1048 76(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisH.R. 1048
By: Ehrhardt
Urban Affairs
5/28/1999
Introduced



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

The federal Tax Reform Act of 1986 placed a unified volume cap on the
issuance of most private activity debt by states and local governments; in
more populated states such as Texas, the effective cap is $50 per capita.
The bond cap has since remained constant in the face of intervening
inflation, and consequently its purchasing power has eroded by more than 30
percent, hindering the state's ability to invest in its communities and to
create jobs.  A pressing need in Texas is affordable housing; the state
currently allocates approximately $314 million of its cap to single-family
housing and targets another $74 million for multi-family housing.   Demand
for affordable housing is greater than ever; more than 1.9 million Texas
families will need some form of housing assistance within the next year, a
number that can only increase as the state's population grows and the
available housing stock diminishes.  The United States Congress in the
Taxpayer Relief Act of 1998 has consented to a 50 percent bond cap
increase, raising the per capita limit to $75, but that increase is phased
in over five years, delaying its full usefulness for close to a decade.
Two proposed congressional measures, S. 459 and H.R. 864, each styled the
State and Local Investment Opportunities Act of 1999, would raise the per
capita bond cap immediately from $50 to $75 and lend a timely helping hand
to the many Texans who seek affordable housing 

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this resolution
does not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state
officer, department, agency, or institution. 

ANALYSIS

Provides that the House of Representatives of the 76th Texas Legislature
respectfully urge the Congress of the United States to support legislation
providing for an immediate increase of the per capita tax-exempt private
activity bond cap.  Provides that the chief clerk of the House of
Representatives forward official copies of this resolution to the president
of the United States, to the speaker of the house of representatives and
the president of the senate of the United States Congress, and to all the
members of the Texas delegation to the congress with the request that this
resolution be officially entered in the Congressional Record as a memorial
to the Congress of the United States of America.