Bill Text: CA AB1459 | 2009-2010 | Regular Session | Chaptered
Bill Title: Multifamily Housing Program: veterans.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2009-10-11 - Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 533, Statutes of 2009. [AB1459 Detail]
Download: California-2009-AB1459-Chaptered.html
BILL NUMBER: AB 1459 CHAPTERED
BILL TEXT
CHAPTER 533
FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE OCTOBER 11, 2009
APPROVED BY GOVERNOR OCTOBER 11, 2009
PASSED THE SENATE JULY 16, 2009
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY AUGUST 17, 2009
AMENDED IN SENATE JULY 6, 2009
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 11, 2009
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 1, 2009
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Davis
FEBRUARY 27, 2009
An act to amend Sections 50675.1 and 50675.14 of the Health and
Safety Code, relating to housing.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1459, Davis. Multifamily Housing Program: veterans.
Existing law establishes the Multifamily Housing Program under the
administration of the Department of Housing and Community
Development to provide a standardized set of program rules and
features applicable to all housing types based on the department's
California Housing Rehabilitation Program. Existing law authorizes a
sponsor of a supportive housing development, as defined, to restrict
occupancy to persons with veteran status if, among other things, the
development is located on property that is owned or leased by the
United States Department of Veterans Affairs or the California
Department of Veterans Affairs and is leased to the sponsor for not
less than 55 years.
This bill would delete the requirement that the development be
located on property owned or leased by the United States Department
of Veterans Affairs or the California Department of Veterans Affairs
for the specified term. The bill would also define a certain phrase
for purposes of authorizing a sponsor of a supportive housing
development to restrict occupancy in the development.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 50675.1 of the Health and Safety Code is
amended to read:
50675.1. (a) This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the
Multifamily Housing Program.
(b) Assistance provided to a project pursuant to this chapter
shall be provided in the form of a deferred payment loan to pay for
the eligible costs of development as hereafter described.
(c) Except as provided in paragraph (3), on and after January 1,
2008, of the total assistance provided under this chapter, the
percentage that is awarded for units restricted to senior citizens,
as defined in paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) of Section 51.3 of the
Civil Code, shall be proportional to the percentage of lower income
renter households in the state that are lower income elderly renter
households, as reported by the federal Department of Housing and
Urban Development on the basis of the most recent decennial census
conducted by the United States Census Bureau.
(1) The department shall be deemed to have met its obligation
under this subdivision if the assistance awarded is not less than 1
percent below the proportional share.
(2) This subdivision does not require the department to provide
loans to projects that fail to meet minimum threshold requirements
under subdivision (b) of Section 50675.7.
(3) Assistance for projects meeting the definitions in paragraphs
(2) and (3) of subdivision (e) of Section 11139.3 of the Government
Code and subdivisions (c) and (d) of Section 53260 shall be excluded
from the total assistance calculation under this subdivision.
(4) The department shall determine the time period over which it
will measure compliance with this section, but that period shall not
be less than one year or two funding cycles, whichever period is
longer.
(5) If, at the end of the time period determined by the
department, the total amount of funding for which sponsors have
submitted qualified applications is lower than the proportional
share, the department may award the remaining funds to units that are
not restricted to senior citizens.
(6) The department's annual report to the Legislature submitted
under Section 50408 shall include a breakdown of funding awards
between units restricted to senior citizens and units that are not
age-restricted.
(d) This chapter shall be administered by the department and the
department shall establish the terms upon which loans may be made
consistent with the provisions of this chapter.
SEC. 2. Section 50675.14 of the Health and Safety Code is amended
to read:
50675.14. (a) This section shall apply only to projects funded
with funds appropriated for supportive housing projects.
(b) For purposes of this section the following terms have the
following meanings:
(1) "May restrict occupancy to persons with veteran status" means
that the sponsor may limit occupancy to persons meeting the criteria
of paragraphs (1) and (2) of subdivision (h) with respect to either
of the following:
(A) Any unit in the development that has not been previously
occupied.
(B) Any unit in the development that subsequently becomes vacant,
for a period of not more than 120 days following the vacancy.
(2) "Supportive housing" means housing with no limit on length of
stay, that is occupied by the target population, and that is linked
to onsite or offsite services that assist the supportive housing
resident in retaining the housing, improving his or her health
status, and maximizing his or her ability to live and, when possible,
work in the community.
(3) "Target population" means persons with low incomes having one
or more disabilities, including mental illness, HIV or AIDS,
substance abuse, or other chronic health conditions, or individuals
eligible for services provided under the Lanterman Developmental
Disabilities Services Act (Division 4.5 (commencing with Section
4500) of the Welfare and Institutions Code) and may include, among
other populations, adults, emancipated youth, families, families with
children, elderly persons, young adults aging out of the foster care
system, individuals exiting from institutional settings, veterans,
and homeless people.
(c) The criteria, established by the department, for selecting
supportive housing projects shall give priority to the following:
(1) Supportive housing projects that house persons with
disabilities who would otherwise be at high risk of homelessness,
where the application for funding demonstrates collaboration with
programs that meet the needs of the supportive housing residents'
disabilities.
(2) Supportive housing projects that include a focus on measurable
outcomes and a plan for evaluation, which evaluation shall be
submitted by the borrowers, annually, to the department.
(d) The department may provide higher per-unit loan limits as
reasonably necessary to provide and maintain rents that are
affordable to the target population.
(e) In an evaluation or ranking of a borrower's development and
ownership experience, the department shall consider experience
acquired in the prior 10 years.
(f) (1) A borrower shall, beginning the second year after
supportive housing project occupancy, include the following data in
his or her annual report to the department. However, a borrower who
submits an annual evaluation pursuant to subdivision (c) may,
instead, include this information in the evaluation:
(A) The length of occupancy by each supportive housing resident
for the period covered by the report.
(B) Changes in each supportive housing resident's employment
status during the previous year.
(C) Changes in each supportive housing resident's source and
amount of income during the previous year.
(2) The department shall include aggregate data with respect to
the supportive housing projects described in this section in the
report that it submits to the Legislature pursuant to Section
50675.12.
(g) The department shall consider, commencing in the second year
of the funding, the feasibility and appropriateness of modifying its
regulations to increase the use of funds by small projects. In doing
this, the department shall consider its operational needs and prior
history of funding supportive housing facilities.
(h) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the sponsor of a
supportive housing development may restrict occupancy to persons with
veteran status if all the following conditions apply:
(1) The veterans possess significant barriers to social
reintegration and employment that require specialized treatment and
services that are due to a physical or mental disability, substance
abuse, or the effects of long-term homelessness.
(2) The veterans are otherwise eligible to reside in an assisted
unit.
(3) The sponsor also provides, or assists in providing, the
specialized treatment and services.
