THE HOME BUILDER
August 2025
Page Two
The HomeFront Government Affairs News and Info
David Lehde Director of Government Affairs
True Cost of Impact Fees Displays the Need for New State Law
In September, priority legisla- tion will become effective law adding stronger transparency and disclosure requirements to the process of imple- menting or updating impact fees, the one-time up-front fee assessed for the claimed purpose of funding infrastruc- ture related to new development. Senate Bill 1883, by Senator Paul Bettencourt, was signed into law by the Governor in June. Supported by the Texas Association of Builder, the Dallas BA, and other local HBAs, SB 1883 amends Chapter 395 of the Local Government Code. Beginning Sept. 1, municipalities will be required to meet the bill’s standards. Approval of the imposition of a new or updated impact fee by a political subdivision will require an affirmative vote of two-thirds of the members of its governing body. The legislation also puts a limi- tation on when an impact fee can be approved or updated, setting that three years must have passed from the date an impact fee was adopted or most recently increased before the existing fee can be increased. Cities will also be required to make use of an advisory committee, as opposed to a city plan commission, and the committee must be composed of not less than 50 percent of member- ship being representatives from the real estate, development, or building industries. Just as important as the bench- marks for the approval process are two key measures of disclosure. An ability for stakeholders to review the engineering study that im- pact fee rates are based on is provided via the requirement that the capital
And it is important to remember that it is the homebuyer who ultimately pays for these increases. It is also that homebuyer who will also be paying the monthly utility fees. Dallas BA’s Director of Govern- ment Affairs and Dallas BA members joined TAB and members of other lo- cal HBAs in offering expert testimony on SB 1883. Registration is Open for Association’s Aug. 27 Clay Shoot Registration is open for the HOMEPAC Shootout, presented by BGE, Inc. Registrations benefit HOMEPAC of Greater Dallas and include break- fast, lunch, beverages, 100 sporting clays and the range fee. The HOMEPAC Shootout will be
improvements plan and land use as- sumptions, including any proposed amended impact fee per service unit, must be made available to the public at least 60 days before the date of the first notice of a public hearing. SB 1883 also includes the re- quirement for an independent finan - cial audit to be conducted before any increase of an existing impact fee. The audit covers the amount of funds that have been collected per service area, the amount of interest accumulated on the fees, a list of projects that were part of the previous plan that were not constructed, and several other telling factors. When considering the conse- quences that impact fees have on housing affordability and attainability, the provisions set by SB 1883 are more than fair. In parts of the Dallas BA service area, it is not uncommon for a munici- pality to assess impact fees totaling in excess of $20,000 per home. But the actual cost of the impact fees to the homebuyer is actually much higher, Due to the cost to finance the differ - ence in the fee, as well as that new total being assessed interest over the life of the home mortgage. Proposed water and wastewater impact fees in a local municipality include a service area rate equaling more than $25,000 per home. When calculating the current roadway impact fee, and the cost of financing that additional cost over the life of the mortgage, the additional price of the monthly payment can be more than $230. In current interest rate talk, those impact fees can cost the homebuyer more than $80,000.
held at the famed Elm Fork Shooting Range in Dallas. Partnerships are also available at multiple levels. Registration and Partnership information can be found at the link below: HOMEPAC Shootout The Shootout is a fun opportunity to support Dallas BAAdvocacy, enjoy the outdoors and fellowship with fel- low members. Members who have questions re- garding Dallas BAAdvocacy efforts or the HOMEPAC Shootout can contact the Association’s Director of Govern- ment Affairs. “Coming together is the
beginning. Keeping together is progress.Working together is success.” – Henry Ford
The Home Builder is published monthly by the Dallas Builders Association at 5816 W. Plano Pkwy., Plano, Texas 75093. Telephone 972-931-4840. BARCIE VILCHES, Editor
Made with FlippingBook - Online Brochure Maker