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Presentation, discussion, and possible action regarding a new outside counsel contract, and delegation of contract signature authority to the Executive Director
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RECOMMENDED ACTION
recommendation
WHEREAS, the Department currently has outside legal counsel contracts covering four legal services: Single Family and Multifamily Bond Counsel, Bond Disclosure Counsel, Document Preparation Counsel, and Low Income Housing Tax Credit Counsel;
WHEREAS, the Department has identified the potential to create efficiencies by retaining outside counsel to provide multifamily contract and loan closing document preparation services in selected NHTF and TCAP-RF funded transactions;
WHEREAS, the contracts with outside counsel are generally made every two years, with the current contracts ending on August 31, 2025, and new contracts can be formed only with the permission of and through the Office of the Texas Attorney General (OAG);
WHEREAS, A Requests for Qualification for a new multifamily document preparation counsel contract was published in July of 2024, responded to in August of 2024, and were reviewed and scored by independent committee members in September of 2024, with the result being that one firm received the highest scores; and
WHEREAS, a “request to retain” will be filed with the OAG regarding this outside counsel, and the OAG is expected to presently issue the contract for signature with an effective date during the month of October, 2024.
NOW, therefore, it is hereby
RESOLVED, that the Board approves the award of a new outside counsel contract as described herein, and delegates to the Executive Director the authority to sign the outside counsel contract as approved by the OAG.
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BACKGROUND
General Information: As a result of the Request for Qualification publication and response process performed earlier this year, the following firm and legal services will be requested to be retained through the Office of the Attorney General: Best Best & Krieger -- Multifamily Document Preparation Counsel. The scope of services in this area will be coordinating with TDHCA Legal on boilerplate contract and loan documents on NHTF and TCAP-RF transactions, and preparation of selected contracts and loan documents for closing, as well as amendments to loan documents for closing prepared by outside counsel. The OAG sets the maximum hourly billable rate for attorneys, and that rate has not changed for several years. Accordingly, the “not to exceed” amounts of the forthcoming contract will be paid from NHTF and TCAP-RF administrative funds, limited by the number of hours and referrals for services made, and subject to redundant checks for any conflicts of interest.