The Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (TDHCA) is releasing a proposed rule action for public comment, as approved by the TDHCA Governing Board on September 7, 2023.
Section 2306.1112 Tex. Gov’t Code required the Department to establish the Executive Award Review and Advisory Committee (EARAC), which provided approval of all awards prior to presentation to the Board. However, HB 4550, passed by the 88th Texas Legislature, removed Section 2306.1112 from the Department’s statutes, thereby eliminating EARAC. Sections 2306.057 and 2306.6713 still require the Compliance Division to assess the compliance history of applicants, the compliance issues associated with the proposed or existing Development, and provide such assessment to the Board. 2 CFR Section 200.331(b) and (c), and Texas Grant Management Standards (TxGMS), also require that the potential performance and background of applicants are reviewed with state and federal funds. The processes used for Previous Participation and EARAC exist in the Department’s rules at 10 TAC Chapter 1, Subchapter C, and are now in need of revision to reflect the removal of EARAC, while retaining the Department’s commitment to thoroughly vet all awards through a review process for previous participation. Therefore, the rule is being made available for public comment.
The public comment period on this rule begins on September 22, 2023, and ends on October 23, 2023, at 5 p.m., Central Time.
The proposed rule action can be found on the TDHCA Public Comment Center at http://www.tdhca.state.tx.us/public-comment.htm, and is expected to be posted in the Texas Register edition dated September 22, 2023, at http://www.sos.state.tx.us/texreg/index.shtml.
Written comments may be submitted to the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs, Attn: Brooke Boston, Rule Comments, at brooke.boston@tdhca.state.tx.us.
ALL COMMENTS MUST BE RECEIVED BY 5 p.m., Central Time, on October 23, 2023.