Commissioners ratify amended El Paso County Housing Finance Corporation bylaws

Assistant County Attorney Anna Schumacher briefed the court April 21 on housekeeping amendments recently adopted by the El Paso County Housing Finance Corporation (HFC) and asked the court to ratify those bylaw changes.

Schumacher said amendments authorize the HFC to make expenditures permitted by law, better define "residential development" for tax-exemption purposes, clarify that the HFC is a public instrumentality rather than a political subdivision, and capture immunity provisions available to governmental entities. The amendments also clarify the relationship between commissioners who serve on the HFC board and their commissioner terms (so that a county commissioner's HFC board membership ends when that commissioner's elected term expires). The bylaws were also amended to allow remote participation consistent with the Texas Open Meetings Act (TOMA) and to permit the HFC to reimburse reasonable county attorney costs for general counsel assistance if those costs do not exceed the HFC's annual operating budget.

Nut graf: The court's ratification was a procedural step required by the HFC articles of incorporation — it did not alter county policy or create new county obligations beyond previous statutory authorities; rather, it clarified governance and administrative mechanics for the HFC.

The motion to approve and ratify the HFC bylaw amendments was made by Judge Ricardo Samaniego, seconded by Commissioner Coronado; Commissioner Stout was noted as absent and the motion carried.

Ending: County attorneys will continue to provide counsel to the HFC under the established reimbursement provisions and the court ratified the bylaws to ensure corporate governance alignment with county expectations.