(1) Existing law defines the duties of the Treasurer, which include, but are not limited to, receiving and keeping the vaults of the State Treasury, paying warrants drawn by the Controller in certain circumstances, and keeping an account of all money received and disbursed.
This bill would require the Treasurer, in consultation with other specified state agencies, to develop a framework for the California Dream For All Program, the goals of which would include, but would not be limited to, making home ownership more affordable. The bill would require the Treasurer to submit a report outlining the framework for the program to the Legislature. The bill would also state the intent of the Legislature that the program include certain elements.
(2) Existing law authorizes the Director of General Services, with the consent of the state agency concerned and the approval of the governing body of any concerned local agency, to lease state-owned real property when the Director of General Services deems that leasing serves a beneficial public purpose limited to the development of housing, including emergency shelters or park and recreation facilities. Existing law requires that at least 25% of the housing units developed on state property leased pursuant to these provisions be available for the term of the lease to persons and families of very low, low, and moderate income, as provided.
This bill would remove the above-described requirement that the leasing receive the approval of the governing body of any concerned local agency. The bill would expand the list of beneficial public purposes for which property may be leased to include permanent supportive housing and traditional housing.
This bill would instead require that a minimum of 20% of housing units developed pursuant to these provisions be made available for the term of the lease to, and occupied by, lower income households and very low income households, as provided. The bill would authorize the Director of Housing and Community Development to prescribe alternative minimum percentages in each income category in specified instances.
This bill would authorize the Director of General Services to permit commercial development on property leased pursuant to these provisions if the Director of Housing and Community Development deems the commercial development necessary for the successful delivery of housing to lower income households and deems the commercial development to provide community benefits. The bill would, upon a written formal recommendation from the Director of Housing and Community Development that it is in the best interest of the state and reasonably necessary to facilitate the development of affordable housing, authorize the Director of General Services to permit phased development, subject to specified terms and conditions, or to sell property or portions of a property that have been leased pursuant to these provisions for housing to a lessee for the purposes of affordable homeownership, consistent with specified affordability provisions.
(3) The California Constitution prohibits the development, construction, or acquisition in any manner of a low-rent housing project by any state public body, as defined, until a majority of the qualified electors of the city, town, or county in which it is proposed to develop, construct, or acquire the same, voting upon that issue, approve the project by voting in favor at an election. The California Constitution, for purposes of this prohibition, defines low-rent housing project to mean any development composed of urban or rural dwellings, apartments, or other living accommodations for persons of low income, financed in whole or in part by the federal government or a state public body or to which the federal government or a state public body extends assistance by supplying all or part of the labor, by guaranteeing the payment of liens, or otherwise. Existing law establishes exclusions from this definition of "low-rent housing project," including a development that consists of the acquisition, rehabilitation, reconstruction, alterations work, or any combination thereof, of lodging facilities or dwelling units using moneys received from the Coronavirus Relief Fund established by the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.
This bill would expand that exclusion to include developments that consist of new construction and developments using moneys received from the Coronavirus State Fiscal Recovery Fund established by the federal American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) or moneys appropriated and disbursed pursuant to specified programs or to fund the uses and to accomplish objectives under specified law, thereby excluding these developments from the scope of the above-described constitutional provision.
(4) Existing law establishes the Department of Housing and Community Development (department) in the Business, Consumer Services, and Housing Agency. The Planning and Zoning Law requires a city or county to adopt a general plan for land use development within its boundaries that includes, among other things, a housing element. That law requires the department, in consultation with each council of governments, to determine the existing and projected need for housing in each region and further requires the appropriate council of governments, or the department for cities and counties without a council of governments, to adopt a final regional housing need plan that allocates a share of the regional housing need to each city, county, or city and county, as provided.
This bill would establish the Regional Early Action Planning Grants Program of 2021 developed and administered by the department, in collaboration with the Office of Planning and Research, the Strategic Growth Council, and the State Air Resources Board, for the purpose of providing regions with funding, including grants, for transformative planning and implementation activities. The bill, upon appropriation, would require funds for the grants to be distributed in accordance with state planning priorities and considering geographic equity among regions of the state to specified entities, including councils of governments, certain regional entities, and multiagency working groups, as described, to be used for eligible transformative planning and implementation activities, as provided. The bill would specify that eligible entities shall determine the use of the funds and suballocations within their boundaries in a manner that appropriately addresses their unique housing, land use, transportation, climate change, equity and other planning priorities in compliance with eligible uses of these funds. The bill would authorize, in consultation with the department, any entity that receives an allocation of funds to suballocate moneys directly to eligible entities in the form of grants, as prescribed. The bill would require the department to set aside up to 5% of the total appropriation for program administration, as specified.
This bill would authorize, until December 31, 2022, an eligible entity to request an allocation of funds by submitting an application containing specified information, including an explanation of how the proposed uses will meet the definition of transformative planning and implementation activities and an explanation of how the proposed uses will implement and achieve the housing goals that also result in per capita vehicle miles traveled reductions. The bill would authorize, if appropriated funds remain unallocated after December 31, 2022, the department to, at its discretion, make those funds available through a subsequent notice of funding availability in which funds are offered on a competitive basis, as prescribed. The bill would authorize, commencing January 1, 2022, certain eligible entities to request up to 10% of the funding available to it in advance of a full request for funding in order to develop and accelerate the implementation of certain program requirements as described in the application.
This bill would require entities that receive funds to submit an annual report to the department, and to make that report publicly available on their internet website, containing specified information regarding the uses of funds allocated under the program. The bill would require, not later than June 30, 2025, each eligible entity that receives an allocation of funds to submit a final report on the use of those funds to the department. The bill would require the department to maintain records of specified information relating to the funds, and provide that information publicly on its internet website. The bill would require recipients of funds to post, make available and update, as appropriate on their websites, land use maps and vehicle miles traveled generation maps produced in the development of their adopted sustainable communities strategy; collaborate, and share progress, templates, and best practices with the department and fellow recipients in implementation of funds; and to expend those funds no later than June 30, 2024.
This bill would authorize the department to monitor expenditures and activities of an applicant, as the department deems necessary; to ensure compliance with program requirements; to request the repayment of funds from an applicant, or pursue any other remedies available to it by law for failure to comply with program requirements; and in collaboration with the Office of Planning and Research, Strategic Growth Council, and the State Air Resources Board, to implement the program through the issuance of forms, guidelines, application materials, funding allocation methodologies, and one or more notices of funding availability, as provided. The bill would specify that the department's decision to approve or deny an application or request for funding pursuant to the program, and its determination of the amount of funding to be provided or request for repayment or other remedies for failure to comply with program requirements, would be final.
(5) Existing law requires the Department of Housing and Community Development to administer various housing programs, including the Multifamily Housing Program, as described below. Existing law creates the Housing Rehabilitation Loan Fund and continuously appropriates moneys in that fund for, among other purposes, making deferred-payment rehabilitation loans for financing all or a portion of the cost of rehabilitating existing housing to meet rehabilitation standards, as provided.
This bill would authorize the department, upon appropriation, to make loans or grants, or both loans and grants, to rehabilitate, capitalize operating subsidy reserves for, and extend the long-term affordability of department-funded housing projects that have affordability restriction that has expired, that have an affordability restriction with a remaining term of less than 5 years, or are otherwise at risk for conversion, as provided. The bill would authorize the department to adopt guidelines to implement this program and exempt those guidelines from the rulemaking provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act. The bill would authorize the department to establish loan processing or transaction fees for loans or grants authorized under these provisions.
This bill would authorize the department, upon appropriation, to award a forgivable loan or grant to a qualified rental housing development to replace federal and state low-income housing credit equity, as specified. The bill would define "qualified rental housing development" for these purposes to mean a qualified low-income housing project that received an award letter from specified multifamily housing programs administered by the department. The bill would require that a loan awarded under these provisions be provided with an interest rate of zero. The bill would authorize the department to determine the terms under which a loan or grant awarded under these provisions is subject to repayment. The bill would require a rental housing development that receives a grant or loan under these provisions to commence construction within 180 days of issuance of an award letter, and would authorize the department to issue a 90-day extension, as specified. The bill would authorize the department to adopt guidelines to implement this program and exempt those guidelines from the rulemaking provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act.
This bill would require any loan repayments under either of the loan programs established by the bill's provisions to be deposited in the Housing Rehabilitation Loan Fund, to be used for the purposes of the Multifamily Housing Program. By increasing the amount of money deposited in a continuously appropriated fund, this bill would make an appropriation.
(6) Existing law establishes the Multifamily Housing Program administered by the Department of Housing and Community Development. Existing law requires assistance for projects under the program to be provided in the form of deferred payment loans to pay for eligible costs of specified types of development, as provided. Existing law requires that funds appropriated in the 2020 Budget Act or an act related to the 2020 Budget Act, including specified moneys received under specified law, to provide housing for individuals and families who are experiencing homelessness or who are at risk of homelessness and who are impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, be disbursed in accordance with the Multifamily Housing Program for specified uses, as provided, but exempts assistance provided under these provisions from the requirement to provide assistance under that program in the form of deferred payment loans.
This bill would require that funds appropriated to provide housing for individuals and families who are experiencing homelessness or who are at risk of homelessness and who are inherently impacted by or at increased risk for medical diseases or conditions due to the COVID-19 pandemic or other communicable diseases be disbursed in accordance with the Multifamily Housing Program for specified uses, and would provide that the above-described deferred payment loan requirement under the program would not apply to assistance provided pursuant to these provisions, as specified. The bill would authorize the department to adopt guidelines for the expenditure of funds appropriated to the department under these provisions. The bill would require the department to report to the Legislature on the use of the funds in the department's annual report, including, among other things, an explanation of how funding decisions were made and the number of individuals housed, or likely to be housed, using the funds.
Existing law, the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) , requires a lead agency, as defined, to prepare, or cause to be prepared, and certify the completion of, an environmental impact report on a project that it proposes to carry out or approve that may have a significant effect on the environment.
This bill would, until July 1, 2024, exempt from CEQA a project described above and funded pursuant to these provisions if certain requirements are met, including that the project proponent submits to the lead agency a letter of support from a county, city, or other local public entity for any proposed rehabilitation, construction, or major alteration work. If the lead agency determines that a project is not subject to CEQA and the lead agency determines it will approve or carry out the project, the bill would require the lead agency to file a notice of exemption, as specified.
(7) Existing law establishes, among various other programs intended to address homelessness in this state, the Homeless Housing, Assistance, and Prevention program for the purpose of providing jurisdictions with one-time grant funds to support regional coordination and expand or develop local capacity to address their immediate homelessness challenges informed by a best-practices framework focused on moving homeless individuals and families into permanent housing and supporting the efforts of those individuals and families to maintain their permanent housing. Existing law provides for the allocation of funding under the program among continuums of care, cities, and counties in 2 rounds, the first of which is administered by the Business, Consumer Services, and Housing Agency and the 2nd of which is administered by the Homeless Coordinating and Financing Council.
This bill would provide for the allocation of a total of $2,000,000,000 in a 3rd and 4th round of funding under the program, to be administered by the council. Upon appropriation, the bill would require the council to distribute $1,000,000,000 in the 2021–22 fiscal year and $1,000,000,000 in the 2022–23 fiscal year. The bill would require the council to allocate up to 80% of the amount available for each fiscal year to cities, counties, and continuums of care, in a manner similar to existing provisions of the program and used for similar purposes, to set aside up to 18% for awarding bonus funds, as provided, and to allocate the remaining 2% to federally recognized tribal governments, as provided. Except as provided, the bill would require that all round 3 program funds be expended by June 30, 2026, and that all round 4 program funds be expended by June 30, 2027. The bill would require that any round 3 program funds not expended by June 30, 2026, be available for round 4 of the program and that any round 4 programs not expended by June 30, 2027, revert to the General Fund. The bill would require a recipient of a round 3 or round 4 program allocation, including tribal recipients, to expend funds on evidence-based solutions that address and prevent homelessness among eligible populations, as specified.
For allocations of round 3 program funds to cities, counties, and continuums of care, the bill would require the council to issue a standard agreement for applicants to apply for funding no later than September 15, 2021, and would require applicants to submit an agreement within 30 days after the date the council issues that agreement. Upon receipt of an agreement, the bill would require the council to allocate 20% of the eligible city's, county's, or continuum of care's allocation of round 3 funds, or 25% of that allocation if the city, county, or continuum of care applies jointly with a counterpart entity or entities, as provided. In order to receive the balance of its round 3 allocation, the bill would require the applicant to submit an application to the council by June 30, 2022, that includes a local homelessness action plan and specific outcome goals developed in accordance with specified requirements. The bill would require the council to either approve the application or return it to the applicant with written, detailed comments and request specified amendments to the application within 30 days. The bill would require a recipient to contractually obligate not less than 50% of round 3 program allocations no later than May 31, 2024, except that the bill would require a recipient that is a county to contractually obligate the full amount of its allocation by that date, and would require the reversion of funds not contractually obligated in accordance with this requirement, as provided. The bill would require recipients to demonstrate whether they have successfully met their outcome goals no later than June 30, 2024, and provide for the award of bonus funds to jurisdictions that have met those goals.
For allocations of round 4 program funds to cities, counties, and continuums of care, the bill would require the council to make applications available no later than September 30, 2021, and would require the applicant to submit an application to the council within 60 days after the date the council makes those appl