As previously discussed here at Texas Housers, TDHCA is currently undergoing Sunset Review. We are presenting recommendations for ways to improve TDHCA that have been endorsed by a broad range of stakeholders in TDHCA’s activities.
Issue:
The Manufactured Housing Division receives inadequate attention in the sunset process.
Background:
The Manufactured Housing Division of the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs in Texas administers the Texas Manufactured Housing Standards Act and acts as HUD’s state supervisory agent to administer the National Manufactured Housing Construction and Safety Standards Act of 1974.
The Manufactured Housing Division is operated as an independent agency, with its own independent governing statute, governing board, and rulemaking process. It is physically located in offices separate from the rest of TDHCA, and does not report to the TDHCA executive director. Nevertheless, by statute the Manufactured Housing Division is nominally “administratively attached[1]” to TDHCA and lacks its own statutory sunset clause. Because of this arrangement, it is not scheduled to receive a dedicated review in the sunset process.
With a $6.1 Million budget (FY 2009) and a staff of 64, the manufactured housing division is comparable to many smaller agencies which do receive a dedicated review in the Sunset process. This agency performs an important regulatory function, overseeing an industry that affects many Texans. Nevertheless, the current review schedule suggests that the Manufactured Housing Division’s regulatory functions could be overshadowed by the primary housing programs of TDHCA.
Recommendation:
Give the Manufactured Housing Division its own sunset clause and review.
The Sunset commission should recognize the functional reality of the Manufactured Housing Division’s independence and recommend the Manufactured Division receive its own sunset clause. The Manufactured Housing Division deserves a dedicated sunset review.
This Recommendation is Endorsed By:
- Advocacy, Inc.
- Association of Rural Communities in Texas
- Center on Disability and Development – Texas A&M University
- Easter Seals Central Texas
- Habitat Texas
- Motivation Education & Training, Inc.
- Texas Association of Community Development Corporations
- Texas Association of Local Housing Finance Agencies
- Texas Council for Developmental Disabilities
- Texas Center for Disability Studies-UT
- Texas Low Income Housing Information Service
[1] Texas Government Code 10.G §2306.6003
