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Authors, sign in!Since first posting on Senator Royce West's proposed legislation (SB 950) that would impose a small ($20 maximum) recording fee on all real estate transactions in Texas as a means of beefing up the state's Housing Trust Fund, I've received several inquiries and criticisms about the actual amount of revenue that the plan would produce.
My first post on the subject estimated $30 million annually to grow the fund that would benefit housing production for our poorest citizens. A number of people called my numbers "funny," inaccurate and flat bogus!
To clarify, the estimate is based on work from two sources.
First, the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts provided the Legislative Budget Board the following estimates of new income to be collected from the proposed recording fee by budget years:
2010 $25,506,000
2011 $31,250,000
2012 $31,906,000
2013 $32,544,000
2014 $33,195,000
Second, the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs provided a more conservative estimate of what might be expected from the new plan. They determined that the state would realize approximately $24 million annually.
Take your pick. The impact of Senator West's solid plan will be substantial and would provide a relatively painless plan to grow this much needed fund.
Read more about this issue in the Op-Ed essay published by The Dallas Morning News last week.
Published April 11, 2009 by Larry James |
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| Tags:
Affordable Housing
Housing
Public Policy
Social Justice
Texas
