HB4601 - Relating to the establishment of a down payment assistance grant program for veterans purchasing manufactured homes and the dedication of certain sales and use tax revenue to finance that program.

  89R14050 JAM-D     By: Cortez H.B. No. 4601       A BILL TO BE ENTITLED   AN ACT   relating to the establishment of a down payment assistance grant   program for veterans purchasing manufactured homes and the   dedication of certain sales and use tax revenue to finance that   program.          BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:          SECTION 1.  Subchapter B, Chapter 162, Natural Resources   Code, is amended by adding Section 162.0105 to read as follows:           Sec.   162.0105.     DOWN PAYMENT ASSISTANCE GRANT PROGRAM. (a)   In this section, "manufactured home" has the meaning assigned by   Section 1201.003, Occupations Code.           (b)     Using money from the manufactured home grant fund   established under Subsection (f), the board shall award to eligible   veterans grants to be used as down payment assistance for the   purchase of new manufactured homes.           (c)     The board may award a grant under this section only in   accordance with a contract between the commission and a grant   recipient. The contract must include provisions under which the   board is granted sufficient control to ensure the public purpose of   providing affordable housing to veterans is accomplished and the   state receives the return benefit.           (d)     To be eligible for a grant under this section, a person   must be a veteran at the time the person applies for the grant. If   an eligible veteran dies after filing an application, the surviving   spouse may complete the transaction.           (e)     A manufactured home for which a grant is awarded under   this section may not be leased, transferred, sold, or conveyed in   whole or in part until the original veteran purchaser has occupied   the home as the veteran's principal residence for a period of three   years following the date of the purchase of the home and complied   with the terms and conditions of this section and the rules of the   board. After the three-year period, a home may be transferred,   sold, or conveyed if the terms and conditions of this section and   rules of the board have been met and the approval of the board has   been obtained. The board may waive the time limitation of this   subsection at any time the board considers a waiver to be in the   best interest of the grant program, including on the death,   bankruptcy, financial incapacity, or divorce of the veteran and   including when the veteran is forced to move due to a change in   employment or because the veteran's home is condemned through no   fault of the veteran. If the time limitation requirement of this   subsection is not met and the board does not waive the time   limitation as provided in this subsection, the board may provide in   its rules for the repayment of the grant or any other remedy as the   board considers appropriate.           (f)     The manufactured home grant fund is established as a   special fund in the state treasury outside the general revenue   fund. The board shall administer the fund. The board may use money   in the fund only for the purposes of awarding grants under this   section and for paying the reasonable expenses of managing the fund   and its assets. The fund consists of:                 (1)     money transferred by the comptroller to the fund   under Section 158.059, Tax Code;                 (2)     money the legislature appropriates, credits, or   transfers to the fund;                 (3)     gifts and grants, including grants from the   federal government, and other donations received for the fund; and                 (4)     investment earnings and interest earned on amounts   credited to the fund.           (g)  The board by rule shall establish:                 (1)  the value of a grant awarded under this section;                   (2)     income limits for a veteran's eligibility for a   grant awarded under this section; and                 (3)     any other provision necessary to implement this   section.          SECTION 2.  The heading to Subchapter B, Chapter 158, Tax   Code, is amended to read as follows:   SUBCHAPTER B. IMPOSITION AND COLLECTION OF TAX ; DISPOSITION OF TAX   PROCEEDS          SECTION 3.  Subchapter B, Chapter 158, Tax Code, is amended   by adding Section 158.059 to read as follows:           Sec.   158.059.     ALLOCATION OF REVENUE. The comptroller shall   deposit the revenue attributable to the taxes imposed by this   chapter as follows:                 (1)     10 percent to the credit of the manufactured home   grant fund established under Section 162.0105, Natural Resources   Code; and                 (2)     the remainder to the credit of the general revenue   fund.          SECTION 4.  Section 158.059, Tax Code, as added by this Act,   applies only to the allocation of tax proceeds received by the   comptroller of public accounts with a report that covers a period   beginning on or after September 1, 2025.          SECTION 5.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.