10/9/00 
         The House Committee on Urban Affairs 
         76th Legislature 
         October 9, 2000 
         10:00 a.m. 
         Capitol Extension 
          
         Pursuant to a notice posted on September 25, 2000, the House  
         Committee on Urban Affairs met in a public hearing and was  
         called to order by the chair, Representative Carter, at 10:07  
         a.m. 
          
         The roll was answered as follows: 
          
         Present:  Representatives Carter; Burnam; Clark; Edwards; Hill  
                   (5). 
          
         Absent:   Representatives Bailey; Ehrhardt; Hodge; Najera (4). 
          
         A quorum was present. 
          
         Chairman Carter laid out the House Committee on Urban Affairs  
         Texas House of Representatives Interim Report 2000.   
          
         Discussion followed on the Interim Charge:  Study the needs of  
         volunteer departments and evaluate their capacity to fulfill  
         their mission of protecting the public. 
          
         The Committee agreed by consensus on the following "Clean-Up  
         Legislation" Recommendations: 
         1.   Expand Long Term Financing Ability of RFPDs/ESDs:   
              Currently RFPDs and ESDs have limited ability to finance  
              the purchase of capital items and the construction of new  
              facilities and equipment under the Health and Safety Code  
              775.085.  This statute authorizes an RFPD/ESD board to  
              secure a loan guaranteed with tax revenues, with  
              unencumbered funds on-hand or with the equipment acquired  
              with the borrowed money.  If tax revenues are pledged, the  
              law requires that the loan mature no later than five years  
              from its execution.  
          
              The Committee recommends extending the maximum repayment  
              period to ten years for capital items and twenty years for  
              real property acquisition and facility construction. 
               
         2.   Authorize "Validation Clause" to Ensure Ability of ESD to  
              Incur Bond Debt:  Currently, ESDs have difficulties with  
              gaining approval from the Attorney General on a bond  
              issuance due to an inability to meet administrative  
              requirements to provide documents authenticating the  
              creation of the ESD.  This has proven a cumbersome and  
              detrimental process for ESDs that wish to incur debt  
              through bonds. 
          
              The Committee recommends approval of a "savings" or  
      
              "validation" clause which will eliminate the need for ESDs  
              to provide creation documentation. 
          
         3.   Revise ESD Statute to Ensure Conformity with State Statute  
              on Bond Indebtedness:  The Committee recommends including  
              in Health and Safety Code Chapters 794, 775, and 776  
              references to Government Code Chapter 1201 and 1207 to  
              ensure the ESD statute conforms with other state bond  
              statutes. 
          
         4.   Allow RFPDs and ESDs to Merge/Exchange Territory through  
              Interlocal Agreements:  The Committee recommends that the  
              Health and Safety Code requirements for RFPDs and ESDs  
              should be amended to streamline the transfer of territory  
              between districts and to allow districts to enter into  
              Interlocal agreements to exchange territory.   
          
         5.   Revise RFPD and ESD Statutes to Ensure Uniformity: The  
              Committee recommends that statutes authorizing RFPDs and  
              ESDs should be amended to make them more uniform.   
          
         Discussion followed.  The "Clean-Up Legislative recommendations  
         #1-#5 were agreed upon by a consensus. 
               
         Chairman Carter laid out the recommendations for the  
         "Legislative Changes". 
          
         1.   Provide Tort Protection for Volunteer Firefighters in their  
              Official Capacity:  The Committee recommends that the Texas  
              Tort Claims Act (Texas Civil Practices & Remedies Code  
              101.001(2)) be amended to change the definition of  
              "employee" to include a volunteer for an emergency  
              services organization or governmental unit so that  
              volunteers have the same immunities and defenses as paid  
              staff of the entities that provide fire and other services. 
          
         Discussion followed.  
          
         Representative Clark offered an amendment to the measure to read  
         as follows: 
          
         "The Committee recommends that the Texas Civil Practice and  
         Remedies Code Section 78.001 be amended to ensure non-liability  
         for volunteer fire fighters in their official duties.  The  
         amendment will be modeled after provision in the Texas Civil  
         Practices and Remedies Code Section 78.0532 pertaining to marine  
         firefighters." 
         The amendment was adopted by the following record vote: 
          
         Ayes:               Representatives Carter; Burnam; Clark;  
                             Edwards; Hill (5).  
           
         Nays:               None (0).  
           
         Present, Not Voting:     None  (0).  
           
         Absent:        Representatives Bailey; Ehrhardt; Hodge; Najera   
                        (4).  
           
         The Chair laid out the following recommendations for  
         "Legislative Changes": 
         2    Raise the Cap on RFPDs/ESDs:  The Committee recommends  
              legislation to raise the cap on the tax levy for RFPDs and  
              ESDs.  This would require a Constitutional Amendment  
              authorizing an increase in the cap for ESDs to $.15 per  
              $100 valuation and for RFPDs to $.10 per $100 valuation. 
          
         3.   Allow ESDs and RFPDs to Levy Full Tax in Overlapping Areas:   
              The Committee recommends amending the Health and Safety  
              Code 775.018(a-b) to allow an ESD to levy the full $.10  
              regardless of whether any area of the district is also  
              included within an RFPD.  This would mean that an area with  
              an overlapping RFPD and ESD could have a maximum combined  
              tax rate of $.13 per $100 valuation, except Harris County  
              which would have a combined tax rate of $.15 per $100  
              valuation. 
          
         4.   Allow ESDs to Overlap and Authorize Each to Levy Maximum  
              Tax Rate:  The Committee recommends amending the Health and  
              Safety Code 775.020 which expressly prohibits overlapping  
              ESDs.  This would mean that in the overlapping territory  
              the maximum tax levy could be $.20 per $100 valuation ($.10  
              going to each ESD). 
          
         Representative Clark offered an amendment to the measure to read  
         as follows:   
          
         "The above recommendations (Legislative Change Recommendations  
         #2-4) be limited in the following way:  That the Health and  
         Safety Code be amended to ensure that a property owner's total  
         tax paid to his/her local RFPD(s) and/or ESD(s) may not exceed  
         $.20 per $100 valuation." 
          
         The amendment was adopted by the following record vote: 
         Ayes:               Representatives Carter; Burnam; Clark;  
                             Edwards; Hill (5).  
           
         Nays:               None (0).  
           
         Present, Not Voting:     None  (0).  
           
         Absent:        Representatives Bailey; Ehrhardt; Hodge; Najera   
                        (4).  
          
         Chairman Carter laid out the fifth recommendation for  
         Legislative Change that read as follows: 
          
         5.   Provide a Dedicated Funding Source to the TCFP Through  
              Optional Fee on Vehicle Registration:  The Committee  
      
              recommends legislation to authorize a voluntary assessment  
              on all vehicle registration dedicated for all fire  
              departments.  The Texas Commission on Fire Protection  
              (TCFP) will receive the monies and distribute them through  
              its Emergency Services Grant Program.  The Committee  
              recommends that the money be split equally between paid and  
              volunteer departments. 
          
         Discussion followed.   
          
         Representative Hill made a motion to exclude the fifth  
         Legislative Change from the Interim Committee Report.  
          
         The motion prevailed by the following record vote:  
          
         Ayes:               Representatives Carter; Burnam; Clark;  
                             Edwards; Hill (5).  
           
         Nays:               None (0).  
           
         Present, Not Voting:     None  (0).  
           
         Absent:        Representatives Bailey; Ehrhardt; Hodge; Najera   
                        (4).  
          
         Chairman Carter laid out the following "Additional Funding  
         Requests": 
          
         Additional Funding Requests 
          
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         1.Provide Additional Funds to Local Services Division at TDHCA to  
              Coordinate and Provide Technical Support for RFPDs/ESDs:   
              The Committee recommends that additional funds be  
              appropriated to the Local Services Division at TDHCA for 2  
              FTEs to assist with outreach to RFPDs and ESDs. 
          
         Discussion followed.  The Additional Funding Request number one  
         (1)  was agreed upon by consensus. 
          
         2.Provide Additional Funds to TEEX to Fund Satellite Training for  
              Volunteer Firefighters:  The Committee recommends that  
              additional funds be appropriated to TEEX to provide  
              satellite dishes for volunteer departments.  With an  
              estimated 1,600 volunteer departments, the total cost of  
              this program should be $320,000.  
          
         Discussion followed.  The Additional Funding Request number two  
         (2) was agreed upon by consensus. 
          
         3.Provide Additional Funds for the Legislative Council to Fund a  
              Study to Accurately Count and Assess the Needs of Texas'  
              Volunteer Firefighters:  The Committee recommends that  
              additional funds be appropriated to the Legislative Council  
              to fund a study which counts all volunteer firefighters and  
      
              departments in the State and assesses the needs of these  
              departments. 
          
         Discussion followed. 
          
         Representative Hill offered an amendment to the measure to read  
         as follows: 
          
         "Request the State Firemens' and Firemarshals' Association,  
         inconjunction with the Texas Commission on Fire Protection, to  
         provide the Urban Affairs Committee a recommendation for a  
         reporting system for the volunteer fire fighters of Texas, along  
         with enforcement provisions.  Also request the State Firemens'  
         and Firemarshals' Association and the Texas Commission on Fire  
         Protection to assess the needs of the volunteer fire fighters of  
         Texas and report back to the Committee." 
          
         The motion prevailed by the following record vote:  
          
         Ayes:               Representatives Carter; Burnam; Clark;  
                             Edwards; Hill (5).  
           
         Nays:               None (0).  
           
         Present, Not Voting:     None  (0).  
           
         Absent:        Representatives Bailey; Ehrhardt; Hodge; Najera   
                        (4).  
          
         Representative Clark offered the following Additional Funding  
         Request:   
          
         "Provide funding for eight (8) additional instructors and mobile  
         training aids in order to train volunteers locally through the  
         Texas Training Extension Service." 
          
         The motion prevailed by the following record vote:  
          
         Ayes:          Representatives Carter; Burnam; Clark; Edwards;  
         Hill (5).  
           
         Nays:               None (0).  
           
         Present, Not Voting:     None  (0).  
           
         Absent:        Representatives Bailey; Ehrhardt; Hodge; Najera   
         (4).  
           
         Chairman Carter laid out the "General Recommendations": 
  
         General Recommendations 
          
         1.   Encourage Departments to Use Design/Build Concept in  
              Capital Projects:  The Committee encourages counties  
              involved in the building of fire stations to utilize the  
              Design-Build concept.  This method ensures that the  
              facilities will be erected within a few months, thereby  
              eliminating the expensive "overruns" which often occur when  
              the building of a facility takes years to accomplish. 
          
         Discussion followed.  The General Recommendation number one (1)  
         was agreed upon by consensus. 
          
         2.   Encourage TDH to Develop a Rule to Allow Volunteers to  
              Transport Victims if Ambulatory Care is Unavailable:  The  
              Committee encourages the Texas Department of Health (TDH)  
              to develop a rule which allows an EMS-certified volunteer  
              firefighter, under the guidance of an MD, to transport a  
              victim to a hospital in the event that ambulatory care is  
              unavailable or the injury is life-threatening.  The rule  
              should include liability protections for the volunteer  
              firefighters. 
          
         Discussion followed.  The General Recommendation number two (2)  
         was agreed upon by consensus. 
          
         Chairman Carter laid out General Recommendation number three  
         (3). 
          
         3.   Explore Creative Funding Opportunities Through Grant  
              Anticipation Bonds:  The Committee encourages the use of  
              flexible funding sources for capital projects for volunteer  
              fire departments and recommends that appropriate state  
              agencies explore opportunities to use grant anticipation  
              bonds (similar to the Garvee bond program) to assist  
              volunteer departments with debt financing. 
          
         Discussion followed.  The Committee reached a consensus to  
         exclude number (3) General Recommendation from the Interim  
         Committee Report. 
          
         Chairman Carter laid out the Interim Charge:  "Review the data  
         used by the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs to  
         make decisions affecting affordable housing.  Determine the  
         adequacy of the data as it relates to the scope, timeliness, and  
         accuracy of information." 
          
         Chairman Carter laid out the Interim Report Committee  
         Recommendations for the Charge: 
          
         1.   In order to meet the vast ever-increasing affordable  
              housing demand for the State of Texas,  TDHCA needs to  
              broaden its scope and work intimately with the Entitlement  
              Cities, Participating Jurisdictions, USDA, Community  
      
              Development Corporations, Public Housing Authorities, Local  
              Banks, etc., in order to leverage funds in a more  
              comprehensive manner.  The Committee recommends that a new  
              position be created entitled Regional Development  
              Coordinator.  This new position was developed through a  
              working group of TDHCA, USDA, Council of Governments, Texas  
              Community Development Corporations, Texas Low Income  
              Housing Information Service and Texas Rural Communities  
              Foundation. 
          
              One Regional Development Coordinator would office in each  
              of the 11 State Planning Regions.  The Coordinator will be  
              responsible for working with local stakeholders (local  
              governments, nonprofits, lending institutions, private  
              sector, etc.) to develop strategies to address housing and  
              community development needs in each region. 
          
              TDHCA has submitted seven (7) additional Full Time  
              Employees (FTEs) in their exception item request.   
              Alternative funding can also be sought through the Council  
              of Governments, local funding sources, etc. 
          
         2.   Request TDHCA to report back to the Committee in April,  
              2001 on the implementation of the TDHCA/Texas Low Income  
              Housing Information Service Joint Recommendations as  
              reported to the Committee at the July 11, 2000 Public  
              Hearing.  
          
         Discussion followed.  Recommendations number one (1) and two (2)  
         were agreed upon by consensus by the Committee. 
          
         Chairman Carter laid out the Interim Charge "Assess the  
         advantages and disadvantages of manufactured housing as one  
         means to alleviate affordable housing deficits." 
          
         Chairman Carter laid out the Interim Committee Report  
         recommendations for the Charge: 
          
         1.   Appraisals - Request the State Comptroller's Office to  
              include in their annual study a separate sample of  
              manufactured housing in school districts, in both urban and  
              rural areas, to assure that adequate appraisal of  
              manufactured housing is being conducted.  Report results of  
              study back to the Committee. 
          
         2.   The Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs  
              (TDHCA) currently regulates the manufactured housing  
              retailers that extend credit or arrange for the extension  
              of credit under Chapter 357, Texas Finance Code. 
          
              Excerpts from the Texas Manufactured Housing Standards Act,  
              Texas Civil Statutes, Article 5221f, Section 6e, details  
              some of the areas TDHCA currently regulates: 
         10/9/00 
                It is unlawful for a retailer or broker to fail to comply  
           
                   with the requirements and provisions of the Texas  
                   Credit Code or the federal Truth-in-Lending Act or to  
                   advertise any interest rate or finance charge which is  
                   not expressed as an annual percentage rate. 
                It is unlawful for a retailer to set forth in any retail  
                   installment sales contract or other credit document  
                   any down payment unless all of the down payment has  
                   actually been received by the retailer at the time of  
                   execution of the contract or document. 
                It is unlawful for a retailer or a salesperson to aid or  
                   assist a consumer in preparing or providing false or  
                   misleading information on a document related to the  
                   purchase of financing of a manufactured homes or for a  
                   salesperson to submit information known to be a false  
                   or misleading to a credit underwriter or lending  
                   institution. 
          
              Encourage TDHCA to continue to work closely with the  
              manufactured housing retailers as "creditors", as defined  
              under Section 347.002 in the Texas Finance code, to  
              encourage more in-depth self-regulation. 
         10/9/00 
         ,,,,,,,, 
         3.   Request TDHCA to more actively provide education  
              information regarding the use of federal funds that are  
              applicable to the development of manufactured housing  
              communities, along with the purchase and repair of  
              manufactured homes.  Some of the information to include the  
              following: 
              In order to receive federal dollars for manufactured  
              housing and to be eligible for a 30 year mortgage from the  
              Federal National Mortgage Association, the following  
              requirements need to be met: 
         10/9/00 
                A HUD-Code manufactured home has the meaning defined in  
                   Section 3, Article 5221f, Vernon's Texas Civil  
                   Statute. 
                The new HUD-Code manufactured home will be securely affixed  
                   to a permanent foundation, classified as real property  
                   under Section 2.001 Property Code 
                The plans and specifications for the permanent foundation  
                   and other on-site construction are approved by the  
                   municipal building official or bear the seal of  
                   registered professional engineer. 
                Depending on the type of federal funds, there may be  
                   additional requirements. 
              10/9/00 
              TTTTTTTT 
              Direct TDHCA to report back to the House Committee on Urban  
              Affairs on their educational outreach programs and its  
              results. 
          
         Discussion followed on the above three recommendations.  The  
         Committee adopted the above three (3) recommendations by  
         consensus. 
  
         Chairman Carter laid out the Interim Charge:  "Conduct active  
         oversight of the agencies under the committee's jurisdictions." 
          
         Chairman Carter laid out the oversight activities report in the  
         Interim Report as it related to the Texas Department of Housing  
         and Community Affairs and the Texas State Affordable Housing  
         Corporation as both agencies are currently under Sunset review. 
          
         At 11:54 p.m., on the motion of the chair and without objection,  
         the meeting was adjourned subject to the call of the chair. 
          
         ________________________ 
         Rep. Carter, Chair 
          
         ________________________ 
         Donna Chatham, Clerk