Existing law imposes a tax on certain transfers of real property. The tax includes, without limitation, a tax, at the rate of $1.30 on each $500 of value or fraction thereof of the transferred property. After a portion of this tax is withheld by the county recorder of each county as reimbursement for the cost of collecting the tax, the proceeds of the tax are transmitted to the State Controller for deposit in the State General Fund. (NRS 375.023) Section 21.5 of this bill requires a portion of this tax equal to 15 cents on each $500 of value of the transferrer property to be transmitted to the Critical Needs Fund created by section 14 of this bill. Section 14: (1) requires the Housing Division of the Department of Business and Industry to administer the Fund; and (2) requires the money in the Fund to be used to provide certain assistance for very low income housing, supportive housing and supportive services. Section 14 also authorizes the Division to apply for and accept gifts, bequests, grants, donations and other sources of money for credit to the Fund. Sections 3-13 of this bill define certain terms related to the use of money in the Fund. Existing law divides this State into five behavioral health regions and creates a regional behavioral health policy board for each region. (NRS 433.428, 433.429) Existing law requires each policy board to advise certain agencies, including the Department of Health and Human Services, concerning priorities for allocating money to support and develop behavioral health services in each region. (NRS 433.4295) Section 15 of this bill requires the Division to annually allocate money in the Fund to be used in each behavioral health region and prescribes the manner in which the Division is required to calculate such allocations. From the money allocated for use in a behavioral health region, sections 15 and 23 of this bill require the policy board created for the region, or the Division if the policy board fails to act, to determine an amount to be used for: (1) rental or other assistance or home repair assistance to assist eligible individuals to obtain or retain very low income housing; and (2) supportive housing and supportive services. Section 16 of this bill requires the Division to distribute the money allocated by each policy board to rental and other assistance and home repair assistance for very low income housing to the housing authorities whose area of operation includes any part of the behavioral health region. Section 16 requires each housing authority to distribute that money to provide rental and other assistance and home repair assistance for very low income housing in the applicable behavioral health region, prioritizing households with the lowest income and households which are in supportive housing. Section 18 of this bill requires the Division to distribute the money allocated by each policy board to supportive housing projects and supportive services to itself for the purpose of awarding grants to provide: (1) rental assistance to supportive housing projects within the applicable behavioral health region; and (2) funding for the acquisition and rehabilitation of properties suitable for conversion to supportive housing within the applicable behavioral health region. Section 18 requires the Division to adopt regulations prescribing the process for awarding those grants. Section 20 of this bill prescribes certain conditions applicable to the grants.

Statutes affected:
As Introduced: 375.020, 375.070, 433.4295
Reprint 1: 375.023, 433.4295