Under the Capitol Dome by Diana McIver, Legislative Committee Chair


What an interesting session this has been for me so far as Chair of TALHFA’s Legislative Committee! Six months ago, when I sat down with Tim Nelson, Jim Shaw, Patricia Ward,


Jeanne Talerico and Todd Kercheval to talk about reforms in the Private Activity Bond pro- gram, I thought they were speaking in foreign tongues. Today, I actually have a working knowledge of Chapter 1372 of the Texas Government Code and all its finery, thanks to my colleagues and mentors.


The Private Activity Bond program moved to the forefront early in the session with Sena- tor José Menendez introducing SB 1858 (aka the TALHFA Bill) and Senator Eddie Lucio (Chair, Intergovernmental Relations (IGR)) introducing SB 1474, a bill with good intent but fewer bells and whistles. At the first hearing for SB 1474, IGR heard from TDHCA, TSAHC, Bond Review Board, TALHFA and the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board who all testified in favor of SB 1474, but with support for the enhanced features of SB 1858. Fol- lowing that hearing, Daniel Esparza, Committee Director, convened a Working Group of all those who testified to work on a consensus PAB Modernization bill.


Ken Martin (Texas Higher Ed Coordinating Board) – the only “non-houser” member of the Working Group – quickly took ownership of the PAB Modernization efforts, which we all


agreed was the best thing that could have happened. He became the funnel for all the housing ideas and edits, with no bias for one group over the other. He didn’t mind making late night edits to ensure we stayed on track. The bill that passed out of IGR unanimously on April 8th is a total modernization/reform effort – more than we ever would have achieved without the Working Group.


SB 1474 would raise the cap per project for our local issuers to $50M, or 1.7% of the state ceiling, whichever is greater. It would move up the Collapse date from May 1 to March 1. The multifamily share of the state ceiling would increase from 22% to 26.5%. Single family increases from 28% to 32.25%. When, and if, enacted into law, it will be a real victory for TALHFA and its members. But we can’t rest on our laurels – getting a bill out of Committee is one thing; we’ve got to get it passed by both houses and SIGNED. Expect to hear from TALHFA when we need you to call on your elected officials for their vote in favor.


Although the PAB reform has been our major focus, we also approached Rep Martinez Fischer to get HFCs added to HB 3513, a bill brought to our attention by Mindy Cochran, Arlington HFC. In the Right of First Refusal (ROFR) process, this bill gives PHAs and PFCs the same preference rights as CHDOs, as it relates to multifamily housing developments where they are in an owner- ship position. We think it only fair that HFCs receive the same treatment as their counterpart agencies, when they are also in an ownership position. Rick Sheffield let me accompany him on a whirlwind tour at the Capitol to get the support of Rep Angie Chen Button (Chair, Urban Affairs) for including HFCs as part of this proposed change. (Thank you, Rick!) Affairs on April 4th and left pending. Its companion, SB 958 by Senator Nathan Johnson, has been referred to IGR.


This bill was heard in Urban


TALHFA continues to work with TAAHP on its legislative agenda which is focused towards improvements of the 9% tax credit program, and we are following all bills that relate in any way to housing and economic development. Stay tuned . . . and please feel free to communicate any thoughts on bills that may affect our membership.


Cheers!


Page 8


TALHFA


Spring 2019


Talk


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