Sec. 392.052. OPERATION, CONSTRUCTION, AND LEASING OF HOUSING PROJECTS

(a) An authority may prepare, carry out, acquire, lease, and operate a housing project in its area of operation.

(b) An authority may provide for the construction, improvement, alteration, or repair of a housing project, or part of a housing project, in its area of operation.

(c) An authority may arrange or contract for services, privileges, works, or facilities for, or in connection with, a housing project or the occupants of a housing project to be furnished by a person or public or private agency.

(d) Without regard to another provision in this chapter or other law, an authority may include stipulations in a contract made in connection with a housing project that require the contractor and subcontractors to comply with the requirements regarding minimum wages and maximum hours of labor and with any conditions the federal government has attached to its financial aid to the project.

(e) An authority may lease or rent housing, land, buildings, structures, or facilities included in a housing project at rents established or revised, subject to the limitations of this chapter, by the authority.

(f) An authority may take action necessary or desirable in the undertaking, construction, maintenance, or operation of a housing project, including action to:

(1) borrow money or accept grants or other financial assistance from the federal government for, or in aid of, a housing project in the authority's area of operation;

(2) take over, lease, or manage a housing project or undertaking constructed or owned by the federal government;

(3) comply with conditions and enter into mortgages, trust indentures, leases, or agreements that are necessary, convenient, or desirable to accomplish the public purposes of this chapter;

(4) form a partnership or another legal entity to raise capital for a housing project to be owned by the partnership or other legal entity; and

(5) acquire, construct, lease, or manage commercial space incidental to a mixed-finance housing project, as defined by 42 U.S.C. Section 1437z-7, if:

(A) the commercial space occupies less than 20 percent of the square footage of the housing project and can reasonably be expected to be used by the residents of the housing project; and

(B) the housing project is designed in a manner that minimizes the noise, safety, and traffic impact of the commercial space on the residential space.

(g) A housing project is subject to the planning, zoning, sanitary, and building laws, ordinances, and regulations applicable to the site of the housing project. In planning a housing project, including site location, an authority shall consider the relationship of the project to a larger plan or long-range program for the development of the area within the housing authority.

(h) Competitive bidding laws, including Chapter 271, do not apply to an authority activity to develop a mixed-finance housing project as defined by 42 U.S.C. Section 1437z-7, if the housing project otherwise complies with the procurement requirements imposed by federal law and regulations.

Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 149, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1987. Amended by Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 677, Sec. 3, eff. Aug. 28, 1989; Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 1346, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 2001; Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 1347, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 2001.