October 18, 2023
In This Issue:
- Texas Legislature: Special Session Update
- Early Voting Starts Monday for Property Tax Proposition, Other Constitutional Amendments
- White House Announces Homebuyer Assistance
- Mortgage Demand Falls to Lowest Level Since 1995
Texas Legislature: Special Session Update
TLTA | Oct. 18, 2023
LATEST NEWS
The Texas House State Affairs Committee
scheduled a meeting to hear invited testimony-only regarding the following item on the Governor's special session call:
Legislation concerning public safety, security, environmental quality, and
property ownership in areas like the Colony Ridge development in Liberty County, Texas.
COLONY RIDGE DEBATE RE: PROPERTY OWNERSHIP
The debate over Colony Ridge could produce legislation impacting ownership of property by undocumented immigrants, as well as other changes that could impact our industry's operations and the real estate market. Here's
some background on the Colony Ridge debate. Your TLTA Advocacy Team will attend the House State Affairs hearing mentioned above and we will continue to monitor this issue closely.
You may recall that during the regular legislative session earlier this year, our industry and our building trades partners engaged on a slew of bills related to foreign ownership of property in Texas. The Colony Ridge debate above could expand to encompass the broader scope of foreign ownership bills debated during the regular session. Or, foreign ownership could appear as a stand-alone issue in this or subsequent special sessions. The Governor can call as many special sessions as he sees fits, and he can expand a special session's call at any time.
FOREIGN OWNERSHIP BILLS FILED
The following foreign ownership bills have been filed during the currrent special session:
SB 51,
HB 93. Again, foreign ownership is not on the call for this special session, but legislators can file bills on any subject they want. While these bills are not currently eligible for consideration in Special Session 3, we're likely to see debate on these bills sooner or later, so its helpful to know what form they are taking. Both of these bills were refiled from the regular session. Sen. Kolkhorst's bill, SB 51, matches the version of her regular session foreign ownership bill as written following Senate amendments (i.e., this refiled bill matches the engrossed version of her foreign ownership bill from regular session).
BACKGROUND ON SPECIAL SESSION 3 AND TLTA ADVOCACY
The 3rd Called Session of the 88th Texas Legislature commenced last week. The list of issues on the special session call can be
found here.
Your TLTA advocacy team continues to monitor all developments at the Capitol in Austin and we'll keep you apprised as the special session progresses.
Early Voting Starts Monday for Property Tax Proposition, Other Constitutional Amendments
TLTA | Oct. 18, 2023
Early voting for the upcoming election on Nov. 7 starts this Monday, Oct. 23. Texans statewide will have the opportunity to approve or reject 14 constitutional amendments, including a property tax reduction proposition passed by the Texas Legislature during their second special session this summer.
Learn more about the property tax relief plan that must be approved by voters before it can be implemented.
In addition to the property tax relief measure mentioned above, there are 13 other constitutional amendments to consider, and your local ballot may have additional local government propositions.
Learn more about the other constitutional amendments on the ballot (scroll to pg. 6) »
Where and when to vote early »
White House Announces Homebuyer Assistance
Newsweek | Oct. 16, 2023
The Biden administration announced new measures Monday to help prospective homebuyers get closer to their dream of owning a home.
Some of the measures include allowing buyers to use potential or actual income from units connected to a home, so-called accessory dwelling units (ADUs) such as garage apartments, as leverage when applying for a Federal Housing Administration-insured mortgage.
More on the new measures from Newsweek »
Review the White House's press release outlining the new measures »
Mortgage Demand Falls to Lowest Level Since 1995
CNBC | Oct. 18, 2023
Mortgage rates last week rose for the sixth straight week, causing demand for home loans to drop to the lowest level since 1995.
Total application volume fell 6.9% compared with the previous week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s seasonally adjusted index.
Read more »