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HB 1595TEXASSession 89RState Billdead
Did Not Advance

Texas Bill HB 1595 places strict conditions and audit requirements on public housing tax exemptions

Original title: Relating to public housing authorities; authorizing a fee.

Last action · March 17, 2025: Referred to Intergovernmental AffairsSponsor: Gary Gates

Bill progressHistory & official text ↓
Introduced
Committee
Floor Vote
Passed
Law

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What This Bill Proposed

Texas HB 1595 establishes rigorous occupancy, rent restriction, notice, and annual audit requirements for public housing authorities seeking property tax exemptions on multifamily residential developments. Under the measure, authorities must reserve specific percentages of units for lower- or moderate-income households, prohibit discrimination against housing choice voucher holders, and submit compliance audits to the state.

Why it matters

Property owners, housing authorities, local taxing units, and low-income renters face new compliance obligations, mandatory rent caps, anti-retaliation lease protections, and potential loss of tax exemptions if requirements are not met.

Background
  • Public housing authorities in Texas have historically utilized Chapter 392 and Chapter 303 of the Local Government Code to acquire multifamily developments and secure broad property tax exemptions. context

Who It Would Have Affected

Groups the bill's text would have affected, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.

Directly affected

Public housing authorities

Housing authorities must comply with new unit set-asides, tenant lease protections, anti-discrimination rules for voucher holders, and mandatory annual compliance audits to maintain property tax exemptions.

Directly affected

Lower and moderate income tenants

Tenants gain rent-capped housing units, explicit lease renewal protections, non-retaliation rights, and expanded access for housing choice voucher holders.

Directly affected

Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs

The department must review audit reports, publish compliance summaries, adopt reporting standards and forms, and establish implementing rules.

Key Facts

You don't have to trust us. Each fact below is taken straight from the official document - click any one to see the exact passage, highlighted in the original.

Frequently Asked Questions

What conditions must a housing authority meet to keep its property tax exemption?
The authority must satisfy unit set-aside quotas for low- and moderate-income tenants, submit annual independent compliance audits, provide specific lease protections, publish underwriting assessments, and avoid discriminating against housing voucher holders.
What are the rules regarding housing choice vouchers under this bill?
Housing authorities owning developments cannot refuse to rent to voucher holders or impose a minimum income standard requiring voucher holders to earn more than 250 percent of their share of the monthly rent.
When are the audit reports due to the state?
Initial audit reports are due by June 1 of the year following the first anniversary of acquisition or occupancy, or by June 1, 2026, for existing developments, with subsequent reports due annually on June 1.

What else do you want to know?

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Where This Stands

This bill did not become law - Died at adjournment · in House committee.

Procedural history

3 actions
  1. Mar 17, 2025HouseCommittee
    Referred to Intergovernmental Affairs
  2. Mar 17, 2025HouseIntroduced
    Read first time
  3. Mar 14, 2025HouseIntroduced
    Filed

Version history

Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.

View official text →

Lobbying Activity

No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.

Full breakdown

Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.

Sponsors

Gary GatesHouse · District 28RepublicanAuthor

Discoveries

1 pattern noticed across the record

Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.

policy shift95% confidence

Stricter Oversight of Housing Tax Exemptions

The bill shifts from broad property tax exemptions for housing authority properties to conditional exemptions tied to strict income-restriction quotas, mandatory underwriting disclosures, and independent annual audits.

Texas Department of Housing and Community AffairsLocal Government Code

Connected Entities

Local Government Code, Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs, Gary Gates and 1 more
otherLocal Government Code“Statutory code amended by the bill”Map →
OrganizationTexas Department of Housing and Community Affairs“State agency receiving exemption applications, audit reports, and adopting imple”Map →
PersonGary Gates“Bill sponsor in the Texas House”Map →
OrganizationUnited States Department of Housing and Urban Development“Federal agency defining area median income and income standards”Map →

Sources

Open source document

capitol.texas.gov

Analysis Score

0–100
  • Significance20
    Lowered because this bill did not pass (its text scored 80)
  • Controversy60
    Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
  • Entertainment5
    Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
  • Buzz40
    Current news / social attention level

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