Sec. 2306.6723.  COORDINATION WITH RURAL DEVELOPMENT AGENCY.  (a)  The department shall jointly administer with the rural development agency any set-aside for rural areas to:
(1)  ensure the maximum use and optimum geographic distribution of housing tax credits in rural areas;  and
(2)  provide for information sharing, efficient procedures, and fulfillment of development compliance requirements in rural areas.
(b)  The rural development agency shall assist in developing all threshold, scoring, and underwriting criteria applied to applications eligible for the rural area set-aside.  The criteria must be approved by that agency.
(c)  To ensure that the rural area set-aside receives a sufficient volume of eligible applications, the department shall fund and, with the rural development agency, shall jointly implement outreach, training, and rural area capacity building efforts as directed by the rural development agency.
(d)  The department and the rural development agency shall jointly adjust the regional allocation of housing tax credits described by Section 2306.111 to offset the under-utilization and over-utilization of multifamily private activity bonds and other housing resources in the different regions of the state.
(e)  From application fees collected under this subchapter, the department shall reimburse the rural development agency for any costs incurred by the agency in carrying out the functions required by this section.
Added by Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 1367, Sec. 8.01, eff. Sept. 1, 2001.