The chairman of the Texas Dept. of Housing and Community Affairs says his agency should soon be able to continue its business, which came to an abrupt halt June 16 when federally indicted board member Florita Bell Griffin showed up at a board meeting. According to board chair Michael E. Jones, the next TDHCA board meeting has been set for July 15. Jones says a settlement has been arranged between his agency, the U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development, and Griffin, who has refused to remove herself from TDHCA proceedings after being barred by HUD from voting on federal fund allocations as she awaits trial on charges of bribe-taking, theft, and mail fraud.
That’s good news for developers who’ve been biting their nails the past two weeks as their deadlines to close on financial commitments — which often depend on allocations made through the state housing agency — loom closer. Griffin’s appearance June 16 prompted Jones to immediately cancel that meeting, which prevented the board from signing off on $56 million in subsidies scheduled for new apartment complexes, rental assistance, and a variety of other programs. The massive $20 million tax-credit allocation scheduled for July 28 is also threatened if the agency does not resume business soon. Agency officials say appropriating funds with Griffin present could lead federal officials to eventually revoke them.
The crisis dominated discussions of the agency’s future at last week’s meeting of the state Sunset Advisory Commission, whose staff recently recommended placing TDHCA on probation for two years and reconstituting its governing board. The Sunset Commission put off a decision on both of those recommendations until September, however, and gave the TDHCA board and HUD officials until Friday, June 30, to find a way to prevent Griffin from attending meetings.
If those attempts fail, state lawmakers can ask Gov. George W. Bush, who appointed Griffin to the board in 1995, to call a special two-day session of the Senate to dissolve the TDHCA board, or request that the governor place the agency under a conservator. The first suggestion is not particularly appealing to lawmakers or the governor, and the second may not be feasible because the state Legislative Audit Committee would have to determine that TDHCA is guilty of extreme financial mismanagement. Another possibility is that the attorney general’s office will file a court order on TDHCA’s behalf that would prevent Griffin from participating in TDHCA business.
A HUD spokesperson said that given the severity of the charges filed against Griffin in federal district court, which are punishable by up to 55 years in prison and a $2 million fine, the agency is not inclined to back off from its demand that Griffin remove herself from board proceedings. This week, HUD officials explained to Griffin’s lawyers that while the agency will not require Griffin to resign from the board, she must recuse herself from participating in any decision involving federal funds, which constitute most of TDHCA’s appropriations. If Griffin does not agree to those terms, said the HUD spokesperson, the agency itself would consider filing an injunction barring her participation so that TDHCA can convene meetings in the near future. “It’s unacceptable to leave that $56 million lying on the table,” said the spokesperson.
This article appears in June 30 • 2000.