HBA-CMT H.B. 191 77(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 191
By: Burnam
Urban Affairs
3/25/2001
Introduced



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

People with disabilities are often institutionalized because of a lack of
affordable and accessible housing. These persons are also more likely to
have a lower income than people without disabilities, and are often unable
to secure and maintain employment.  Non-elderly persons with disabilities
are very likely to have extreme housing cost burdens, and are the single
group most likely to live in severely inadequate housing. House Bill 191
requires the state's housing trust fund to allocate at least 15 percent of
its funds to assist individuals with special needs for the purpose of
developing integrated, accessible housing, providing longterm rent
subsidies to those with special needs, and  removing barriers to
accessibility in existing housing. 

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that rulemaking
authority is expressly delegated to the governing board of the Texas
Department of Housing and Community Affairs in SECTION 2 (Section 2306.203,
Government Code) of this bill. 

ANALYSIS

House Bill 191 amends the Government Code to require that in each biennium
at least 15 percent of funds available through the housing trust fund be
set aside and made available exclusively to assist individuals with special
needs.   

H.B. 191 requires the governing board of the Texas Department of Housing
and Community Affairs (board) to adopt rules to administer the housing
trust fund, including rules that give priority  to programs that assist
individuals and families of very low income and for the administration of
funds to assist individuals with special needs.  The bill requires that
rules adopted by the board for administering funds to assist individuals
with special needs include rules providing: 

_for a process to set priorities for use of the set-aside funds; 

_for the distribution of the set-aside funds under a request for a proposal
process developed and approved by the board; and  

_that the criteria used to rank proposals will include the extent to which
the set-aside funds are directed toward development of integrated,
multifamily housing projects in which the funds are used to provide units
for individuals with special needs, used to provide  rental assistance to
individuals with special needs living in single-family or multifamily
housing, and used to improve the physical accessibility of existing
single-family or multifamily housing to individuals with special needs.

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2001.