Bill Text: TX HB1301 | 2021-2022 | 87th Legislature | Enrolled
Bill Title: Relating to services provided by colonia self-help centers and a study on colonias in this state.
Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 4-1)
Status: (Passed) 2021-06-15 - Effective on 9/1/21 [HB1301 Detail]
Download: Texas-2021-HB1301-Enrolled.html
H.B. No. 1301 |
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relating to services provided by colonia self-help centers and a | ||
study on colonias in this state. | ||
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
SECTION 1. Sections 2306.586(a), (b), (c), and (d), | ||
Government Code, are amended to read as follows: | ||
(a) The purpose of a self-help center is to assist | ||
individuals and families of low income and very low income to | ||
finance, refinance, construct, improve, or maintain a safe, | ||
suitable home and otherwise improve living conditions in the | ||
colonias' designated service area or in another area the department | ||
has determined is suitable. | ||
(b) A self-help center shall set a goal to improve the | ||
living conditions of residents in the colonias designated under | ||
Section 2306.583(b) [ |
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after a contract is awarded under this subchapter. | ||
(c) A self-help center may serve individuals and families of | ||
low income and very low income by: | ||
(1) providing assistance in obtaining loans or grants | ||
to build a home; | ||
(2) teaching construction skills necessary to repair | ||
or build a home; | ||
(3) providing model home plans; | ||
(4) operating a program to rent or provide tools for | ||
home construction and improvement for the benefit of property | ||
owners in colonias who are building or repairing a residence or | ||
installing necessary residential infrastructure; | ||
(5) helping to obtain, construct, access, or improve | ||
the service and utility infrastructure designed to service | ||
residences in a colonia, including potable water, wastewater | ||
disposal, drainage, streets, and utilities; | ||
(6) surveying or platting residential property that an | ||
individual purchased without the benefit of a legal survey, plat, | ||
or record; | ||
(7) providing credit and debt counseling related to | ||
home purchase and finance; | ||
(8) applying for grants and loans to provide housing | ||
and other needed community improvements; | ||
(9) providing other services that the self-help | ||
center, with the approval of the department, determines are | ||
necessary to assist colonia residents in improving their [ |
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living conditions, including help in: | ||
(A) obtaining suitable alternative housing | ||
outside of a colonia's area; and | ||
(B) performing the following authorized public | ||
service activities under Title 1 of the Housing and Community | ||
Development Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. Section 5301 et seq.): | ||
(i) securing employment; | ||
(ii) establishing or expanding a small | ||
business; | ||
(iii) developing professional skills; or | ||
(iv) managing personal finances and | ||
achieving financial literacy; | ||
(10) providing assistance in obtaining loans or grants | ||
to enable an individual or a family to acquire fee simple title to | ||
property that originally was purchased under a contract for a deed, | ||
contract for sale, or other executory contract; and | ||
(11) providing monthly programs to educate | ||
individuals and families on their rights and responsibilities as | ||
property owners. | ||
(d) A self-help center may not provide grants, financing, or | ||
mortgage loan services to purchase, build, rehabilitate, or finance | ||
construction or improvements to a home or otherwise improve living | ||
conditions in a colonia if water service and suitable wastewater | ||
disposal are not available. | ||
SECTION 2. (a) In this section, "colonia" has the meaning | ||
assigned by Section 2306.581, Government Code. | ||
(b) A joint interim committee is established to study | ||
colonias and colonia initiatives in this state. | ||
(c) The joint interim committee is composed of the members | ||
of the standing committees of the legislature with primary | ||
jurisdiction over colonias and colonia issues. The committee | ||
members shall select a presiding officer from among the membership. | ||
(d) In conducting the study under this section, the joint | ||
interim committee shall: | ||
(1) determine the best methods for updating and | ||
maintaining colonia identification systems and for identifying and | ||
classifying colonias in which the highest public health risks | ||
exist; | ||
(2) consider whether colonias should be defined | ||
uniformly across all relevant state agencies and whether that | ||
definition should include essential metrics such as: | ||
(A) economic mobility levels; | ||
(B) poverty levels; | ||
(C) mortality rates; | ||
(D) health professional shortage area scores; | ||
and | ||
(E) the average level of education attained by | ||
colonia residents; | ||
(3) to address the enduring lack of services and | ||
infrastructure in colonias, assess best practices and funding needs | ||
for surveying the services and infrastructure available in, and | ||
demographics of, each colonia; | ||
(4) assess the status of state agency tracking and | ||
reporting of state-funded colonia projects and whether | ||
improvements to the tracking or reporting mechanisms are necessary; | ||
(5) determine and assess any non-infrastructure needs | ||
within colonias and options for this state to address those needs; | ||
and | ||
(6) assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on | ||
colonias and whether additional state services are necessary to | ||
address those impacts. | ||
(e) The joint interim committee has all other powers and | ||
duties provided to a special or select committee by the rules of the | ||
senate and house of representatives, by Subchapter B, Chapter 301, | ||
Government Code, and by policies of the senate and house committees | ||
on administration. | ||
(f) Not later than September 1, 2022, the joint interim | ||
committee shall prepare and submit to the governor, the lieutenant | ||
governor, the speaker of the house of representatives, and the | ||
legislature a written report that includes the findings of the | ||
committee under this section, including any legislative | ||
recommendations. | ||
(g) The joint interim committee established under this | ||
section is abolished and this section expires November 1, 2022. | ||
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021. | ||
______________________________ | ______________________________ | |
President of the Senate | Speaker of the House | |
I certify that H.B. No. 1301 was passed by the House on April | ||
30, 2021, by the following vote: Yeas 79, Nays 49, 1 present, not | ||
voting; and that the House concurred in Senate amendments to H.B. | ||
No. 1301 on May 28, 2021, by the following vote: Yeas 93, Nays 46, | ||
2 present, not voting. | ||
______________________________ | ||
Chief Clerk of the House | ||
I certify that H.B. No. 1301 was passed by the Senate, with | ||
amendments, on May 24, 2021, by the following vote: Yeas 28, Nays | ||
2. | ||
______________________________ | ||
Secretary of the Senate | ||
APPROVED: __________________ | ||
Date | ||
__________________ | ||
Governor |