Texas Senate bill by Sen. Menéndez prohibits school quality criteria in housing tax credit allocations

Passed bill authored by State Sen. José Menéndez seeks to prevent the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs from considering public school quality in allocating low-income housing tax credits, aiming to study the impact of this change, according to the Texas Legislature website.

In the Senate, 10 Democrats and 14 Republicans voted in favor of the bill, while six Republicans opposed it.

Meanwhile, in the House, 51 Democrats and 40 Republicans voted in favor, while one Democrat and 43 Republicans voted against it.

José Menéndez introduced the bill in the Texas Senate on Monday, March 10, during the 89th regular legislative session.

Menéndez graduated from Southern Methodist University with a BBA.

Menéndez, a Democrat, was elected to the Texas State Senate in 2015 to represent the state’s 26th Senate district, replacing previous state senator Leticia Van de Putte.

According to the Texas Legislature, the bill’s official text was summarized as follows: ‘Relating to the allocation of low income housing tax credits’.

The following is our breakdown, based on the actual bill text, and may include interpretation to clarify its provisions.

In essence, this bill prohibits the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs from requiring or using criteria related to the educational quality of public school campuses in the allocation of low income housing tax credits until Sept. 1, 2027. It mandates the department to study the effects of this change on the credit allocation process and report findings by Nov. 1, 2027. The changes apply to applications submitted during the 2026 and 2027 cycle. The act takes effect Sept. 1, 2025.

The bill was co-authored by Sen. Borris Miles (Democrat – District 13) and Sen. Carol Alvarado (Democrat – District 6).

The bill received its final legislative approval on Saturday, May 24, and was filed without the Governor’s signature on Friday, June 20.

Bills in Texas go through a multi-step legislative process, including committee review, debates, and votes in both chambers before reaching a final decision. Each session, there are typically thousands of bills introduced, but only a portion successfully navigate the process to become law.

You can read more about the bills and other measures here.