Housing Assistance

This bill is about letting people who are trying to get help with housing know about programs that can help people.

• This bill:

  • Changes part of the Government Code, starting April 1, 2025.

    • Government Code: A set of rules that explains how the Texas government should work and what government workers can and cannot do.

    • This change lets people who are trying to get help with housing know about programs that can help people.

  • Defines "Department" as the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs, which is a Texas government office that helps people find affordable homes, fixes unsafe housing, and supports communities with housing programs.

  • Defines "Housing choice voucher program" as Section 8 Housing, which is a government program that supports families that don’t have a lot of money, pay for rent by giving them vouchers (coupons) to help pay for housing.

  • Defines "Public assistance program" to include:

    • Medicaid: A government program that helps pay for doctor visits, medicine, and hospital care for people that make a small amount of money.

    • Child health plan program: A Texas health insurance program that supports children from families that don’t have a lot of money, to get doctor visits, medicine, and medical care.

    • Financial assistance programs: Programs that give money or support to people who need help paying for basic needs like rent, or healthcare.

    • Nutritional assistance programs: Programs that help people buy healthy food if they don’t have enough money for groceries.

  • Makes the commission, a group of people in the Texas government that makes big decisions about how and when to help people and creates steps to check for applications to the housing choice voucher program.

  • The commission finds who could get Government help that gives people money, food, healthcare, or housing support if they need it.

    • People who could get this support will need to be told about the programs that can help them and given info on how to get into the programs.

• If this bill passes, the commission and department will set up an agreement that explains who does what.

• If permission from a federal office is needed before starting any part of this, the state agency needs to ask for it.

  • Getting started might be delayed until the commission gets this permission.

• If this bill passes, these changes start on September 1, 2025.