Legislation to make it easier for veterans to find housing near Veterans Administration Hospitals has passed the Texas legislature and is on its way to Gov. Greg Abbott for his signature before coming law.
“HB 1558 passed the Senate last night/early this morning,” State Rep. Angie Chen Button, ( R-Garland) said on Twitter May 27. “I filed this bill to make it easier for veterans to find housing close to a Vets Hospital.”
The legislation encourages housing developers who are applying for low-income housing tax credits to provide preference to low-income veterans. Applications for the tax credits that meet certain threshold criteria are then scored and ranked using a point system.
One of the factors in the point system would be whether low-income veterans are given preference for leasing units in developments that are near veterans hospitals.
“Quality, affordable housing located close to a veterans hospital should be available to those who served our country,” Chen Button said in a statement earlier this year. “HB 1558 will help remove an obstacle some veterans face when seeking medical care.”
After passage of the bill, Chen Button thanked State Sen. Nathan Johnson (D-Dallas) and State Reps. Victoria Neave (D-Dallas) and Rhetta Andrews Bowers (D-Rowlett) for their help.
“Great work by in helping get this passed for the City of Garland,” the legislator said on Facebook.
Chen Button was born in Taiwan.
“When communism took over China, Chen Button’s parents were forced to flee to Taiwan because of persecution for their Christian faith,” according to the legislator’s website biography. “Angie grew up with her family of seven packed into a living space of only about 300 square feet made of bamboo and mud. Her parents sometimes struggled to make ends meet, but they gave Angie and her siblings a happy childhood. Angie’s parents instilled in her the importance of hard work, education and not letting her present define her future.”
After earning a master’s degree at the University of Texas/Dallas, she worked for Texas Instruments for 35 years.
“Angie has never forgotten the doors that opened thanks to her education and wants to make sure others have the same opportunities,” her biography says.