Bill Text: CA AB1335 | 2015-2016 | Regular Session | Amended

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Building Homes and Jobs Act.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 20-0)

Status: (Failed) 2016-02-01 - Died on third reading file. [AB1335 Detail]

Download: California-2015-AB1335-Amended.html

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BILL NUMBER: AB 1335	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  APRIL 20, 2015

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Atkins
   (Principal coauthors: Assembly Members Chau, Chiu, and Gordon)
   (Coauthors: Assembly Members Alejo, Bloom, Bonilla, Bonta, Cooper,
Gonzalez, Lopez, Low, McCarty, Mullin, Rendon, Santiago, Mark Stone,
Ting, and Weber)

                        FEBRUARY 27, 2015

   An act to add Section 27388.1 to the Government Code, and to add
Chapter 2.5 (commencing with Section 50470) to Part 2 of Division 31
of the Health and Safety Code, relating to housing, and declaring the
urgency thereof, to take effect immediately.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 1335, as amended, Atkins. Building Homes and Jobs Act.
   Under existing law, there are programs providing assistance for,
among other things, emergency housing, multifamily housing,
farmworker housing, home ownership for very low and low-income
households, and downpayment assistance for first-time homebuyers.
Existing law also authorizes the issuance of bonds in specified
amounts pursuant to the State General Obligation Bond Law. Existing
law requires that proceeds from the sale of these bonds be used to
finance various existing housing programs, capital outlay related to
infill development, brownfield cleanup that promotes infill
development, and housing-related parks.
   This bill would enact the Building Homes and Jobs Act. The bill
would make legislative findings and declarations relating to the need
for establishing permanent, ongoing sources of funding dedicated to
affordable housing development. The bill would impose a fee, except
as provided, of $75 to be paid at the time of the recording of every
real estate instrument, paper, or notice required or permitted by law
to be recorded  , per each single transaction per single parcel
of real property, not to exceed $225  . By imposing new duties
on counties with respect to the imposition of the recording fee, the
bill would create a state-mandated local program. The bill would
require that revenues from this fee, after deduction of any actual
and necessary administrative costs incurred by the county recorder,
be sent quarterly to the Department of Housing and Community
Development for deposit in the Building Homes and Jobs Fund, which
the bill would create within the State Treasury. The bill would
 provide that   ,   upon appropriation
by the Legislature, require that 20% of the moneys in the fund be
expended for affordable homeowership activities and authorize the
remainder of the  moneys in the fund  may  
to  be expended for supporting affordable housing, home
ownership opportunities, and other housing-related program, as
specified. The bill would impose certain auditing and reporting
requirements. 
   This bill would state the intent of the Legislature to enact
legislation that would create the Secretary of Housing within state
government to oversee all activities related to housing in the state.

   The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local
agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
   This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this
act for a specified reason.
   This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as
an urgency statute.
   Vote: 2/3. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  This act shall be known as the Building Homes and Jobs
Act.
  SEC. 2.  (a) The Legislature finds and declares that having a
healthy housing market that provides an adequate supply of homes
affordable to Californians at all income levels is critical to the
economic prosperity and quality of life in the state.
   (b) The Legislature further finds and declares all of the
following:
   (1) Funding approved by the state's voters in 2002 and 2006, as of
June 2014, has financed the construction, rehabilitation, and
preservation of over 14,000 shelter spaces and 149,000 affordable
homes. These numbers include thousands of supportive homes for people
experiencing homelessness. In addition, these funds have helped tens
of thousands of families become or remain homeowners. Nearly all of
the voter-approved funding for affordable housing was awarded by the
beginning of 2015.
   (2) The requirement in the Community Redevelopment Law that
redevelopment agencies set aside 20 percent of tax increment for
affordable housing generated roughly $1 billion per year. With the
elimination of redevelopment agencies, this funding stream has
disappeared.
   (3) In 2014, the Legislature committed 10 percent of ongoing
cap-and-trade funds for affordable housing that reduces greenhouse
gas emissions and dedicated $100 million in one-time funding for
affordable multifamily and permanent supportive housing. In addition,
the people of California thoughtfully approved the repurposing of
$600 million in already committed bond funds for the creation of
affordable rental and permanent supportive housing for veterans
through the passage of Proposition 41.
   (4) Despite these investments, the need in the state of California
greatly exceeds the available resources, considering 36.2 percent of
mortgaged homeowners and 47.7 percent of all renters are spending
more than 35 percent of their household incomes on housing.
   (5) California has 12 percent of the United States population, but
20 percent of its homeless population. California has the highest
percentage of unsheltered homeless in the nation, with 63 percent of
homeless Californians not having shelter. California has 24 percent
of the nation's homeless veterans population and one-third of the
nations' chronically homeless population. California also has the
largest populations of unaccompanied homeless children and youth,
with 30 percent of the national total.
   (6) Furthermore, four of the top 10 metropolitan areas in the
country  for homeless   with the highest rate of
homelessness  are in the following metropolitan areas in
California: San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, Los Angeles-Long
Beach-Santa Ana, Fresno, and Stockton.
   (7) California continues to have the second lowest homeownership
rate in the nation, and the Los Angeles metropolitan area is now a
majority renter area. In fact, five of the eight lowest homeownership
rates are in metropolitan areas in California.
   (8) Los Angeles and Orange Counties have been identified as the
epicenter of overcrowded housing, and numerous studies have shown
that children in crowded homes have poorer health, worse scores on
mathematics and reading tests, and higher rates of depression and
behavioral problems--even when poverty is taken into account.
   (9) Millions of Californians are affected by the state's chronic
housing shortage, including seniors, veterans, people experiencing
chronic homelessness, working families, people with mental, physical,
or developmental disabilities, agricultural workers, people exiting
jails, prisons, and other state institutions, survivors of domestic
violence, and former foster and transition-aged youth.
   (10) Eight of the top 10 hardest hit cities by the foreclosure
crisis in the nation were in California. They include the Cities of
Stockton, Modesto, Vallejo, Riverside, San Bernardino, Merced,
Bakersfield, and Sacramento.
   (11) California's workforce continues to experience longer commute
times as persons in the workforce seek affordable housing outside
the areas in which they work. If California is unable to support the
construction of affordable housing in these areas, congestion
problems will strain the state's transportation system and exacerbate
greenhouse gas emissions.
   (12) Many economists agree that the state's higher than average
unemployment rate is due in large part to massive shrinkage in the
construction industry from 2005 to 2009, including losses of nearly
700,000 construction-related jobs, a 60-percent decline in
construction spending, and an 83-percent reduction in residential
permits. Restoration of a healthy construction sector will
significantly reduce the state's unemployment rate.
   (13) The lack of sufficient housing impedes economic growth and
development by making it difficult for California employers to
attract and retain employees.
   (14) To keep pace with continuing demand, the state should
identify and establish a permanent, ongoing source or sources of
funding dedicated to affordable housing development. Without a
reliable source of funding for housing affordable to the state's
workforce and most vulnerable residents, the state and its local and
private housing development partners will not be able to continue
increasing the supply of housing after existing housing bond
resources are depleted.
   (15) The investment will leverage billions of dollars in private
investment, lessen demands on law enforcement and dwindling health
care resources as fewer people are forced to live on the streets or
in dangerous substandard buildings, and increase businesses' ability
to attract and retain skilled workers.
   (16) In order to promote housing and homeownership opportunities,
the recording fee imposed by this act shall not be applied to any
recording made in connection with a sale of real property. Purchasing
a home is likely the largest purchase made by Californians, and it
is the intent of this act to not increase transaction costs
associated with these transfers.
  SEC. 3.  Section 27388.1 is added to the Government Code, to read:
   27388.1.  (a) (1) Commencing January 1, 2016, and except as
provided in  paragraphs (2) and (3),   paragraph
(2),  in addition to any other recording fees specified in this
code, a fee of seventy-five dollars ($75) shall be paid at the time
of recording of every real estate instrument, paper, or notice
required or permitted by law to be recorded ,  except those
expressly exempted from payment of recording fees  , per each
single   transaction per parcel of real property. The fee
imposed by this section shall not exceed two hundred twenty-five
dollars ($225)  . "Real estate instrument, paper, or notice"
means a document relating to real property,  including, but
not limited to,   including  the following: deed,
grant deed, trustee's deed, deed of trust, reconveyance, quit claim
deed, fictitious deed of trust, assignment of deed of trust, request
for notice of default, abstract of judgment, subordination agreement,
declaration of homestead, abandonment of homestead, notice of
default, release or discharge, easement, notice of trustee sale,
notice of completion, UCC financing statement, mechanic's lien, maps,
and covenants, conditions, and restrictions.
   (2) The fee described in paragraph (1) shall not be imposed on any
real estate instrument, paper, or notice recorded in connection with
a transfer subject to the imposition of a documentary transfer tax
as defined in Section 11911 of the Revenue and Taxation Code or on
any real estate instrument, paper, or notice recorded in connection
with a transfer of real property that is a residential dwelling to an
owner-occupier. 
   (3) The fee described in paragraph (1) shall be reduced so that
the fee, together with any charges or recording fees that are in
effect on or before the effective date of the act adding this
section, shall not exceed a per parcel maximum charge of two hundred
twenty-five dollars ($225). 
   (b) The fees, after deduction of any actual and necessary
administrative costs incurred by the county recorder in carrying out
this section, shall be remitted quarterly, on or before the last day
of the month next succeeding each calendar quarterly period, to the
Department of Housing and Community Development for deposit in the
California Homes and Jobs Trust Fund established by Section 50470 of
the Health and Safety Code, to be expended for the purposes set forth
in that section. In addition, the county shall pay to the Department
of Housing and Community Development interest, at the legal rate, on
any funds not paid to the Controller before the last day of the
month next succeeding each quarterly period.
  SEC. 4.  Chapter 2.5 (commencing with Section 50470) is added to
Part 2 of Division 31 of the Health and Safety Code, to read:
      CHAPTER 2.5.  BUILDING HOMES AND JOBS ACT



      Article 1.  General Provisions


   50470.  (a) (1) There is hereby created in the State Treasury the
Building Homes and Jobs Trust Fund. All interest or other increments
resulting from the investment of moneys in the fund shall be
deposited in the fund, notwithstanding Section 16305.7 of the
Government Code.
   (2) Moneys in the Building Homes and Jobs Trust Fund shall not be
subject to transfer to any other fund pursuant to any provision of
Part 2 (commencing with Section 16300) of Division 4 of Title 2 of
the Government Code, except to the Surplus Money Investment Fund.
Upon appropriation by the  Legislature, moneys in the fund
may be expended for the following purposes:  
Legislature:  
   (A) Twenty percent of moneys in the fund shall be expended for
affordable homeownership activities.  
   (B) The remainder of the moneys in the fund may be expended for
the following purposes:  
   (A) 
    (i)  The development, acquisition, rehabilitation, and
preservation of rental housing that is affordable to extremely low,
very low,  low-   low-,  and
moderate-income households, including necessary operating subsidies.

   (B) 
    (ii)  Affordable rental and ownership housing that meets
the needs of a growing workforce up to 120 percent of area median
income. 
   (C) 
    (iii)  Matching portions of funds placed into local or
regional housing trust funds. 
   (D) 
    (iv)  Matching portions of funds available through the
Low and Moderate Income Housing Asset Fund pursuant to subdivision
(d) of Section 34176 of the Health and Safety Code. 
   (E) 
    (v)  Capitalized reserves for services connected to the
creation of new permanent supportive housing, including, but not
limited to, developments funded through the Veterans Housing and
Homelessness Prevention Program. 
   (F) 
    (vi)  Emergency shelters, transitional housing, and
rapid rehousing. 
   (G) 
    (vii)  Accessibility modifications. 
   (H) 
    (viii)  Efforts to acquire and rehabilitate foreclosed
or vacant homes. 
   (I) 
    (xi)  Homeownership opportunities, including, but not
limited to, down payment assistance.
   (b) Both of the following shall be paid and deposited in the fund:

   (1) Any moneys appropriated and made available by the Legislature
for purposes of the fund.
   (2) Any other moneys that may be made available to the department
for the purposes of the fund from any other source or sources. 
   50470.5.  For purposes of this chapter, "department" means the
Department of Housing and Community Development. 
   50471.  (a) In order to maximize efficiency and address
comprehensive needs, the department, in consultation with the
California Housing Finance Agency, the California Tax Credit
Allocation Committee, and the California Debt Limit Allocation
Committee, shall develop and submit to the Legislature, at the time
of the Department of Finance's adjustments to the proposed 2015-16
fiscal year budget pursuant to subdivision (e) of Section 13308 of
the Government Code, the Building Homes and Jobs Investment Strategy.
Notwithstanding Section 10231.5 of the Government Code, commencing
with the 2020-21 fiscal year, and every five years thereafter,
concurrent with the release of the Governor's proposed budget, the
department shall update the investment strategy and submit it to the
Legislature. The investment strategy shall do all of the following:
   (1) Identify the statewide needs, goals, objectives, and outcomes
for housing for a five-year time period. Goals should include targets
of the total number of affordable homes created and preserved with
the funds.
   (2) Promote a geographically balanced distribution of funds
including consideration of a direct allocation of funds to local
governments.
   (3) Emphasize investments that serve households that are at or
below 60 percent of area median income.
   (4) Meet the following minimum objectives:
   (A) Encourage economic development and job creation by helping to
meet the housing needs of a growing workforce up to 120 percent of
area median income.
   (B) Identify opportunities for coordination among state
departments and agencies to achieve greater efficiencies, increase
the amount of federal investment in production, services, and
operating costs of housing, and promote energy efficiency in housing
produced.
   (C) Incentivize the use and coordination of nontraditional funding
sources including philanthropic funds, local realignment funds,
nonhousing tax increment,  the  federal Patient Protection
and Affordable Care Act, and other resources.
   (D) Incentivize innovative approaches that produce cost savings to
local and state services by reducing the instability of housing for
frequent, high-cost users of hospitals, jails, detoxification
facilities, psychiatric hospitals, and emergency shelters.
   (b) Before submitting the Building Homes and Jobs Investment
Strategy to the Legislature, the department shall hold at least four
public workshops in different regions of the state to further inform
the development of the investment strategy.
   (c) The department shall form an advisory body of experts and
stakeholders to help develop the Building Homes and Jobs Investment
Strategy, including, but not limited to, representatives from the
banking and financial sector, real estate sector, real estate and
housing developers, and homeless service providers.
   (d) Expenditure requests contained in the Governor's proposed
budget shall be consistent with the Building Homes and Jobs
Investment Strategy developed and submitted pursuant to this part.
Moneys in the Building Homes and Jobs Act Fund shall be appropriated
through the annual Budget Act.
   (e) The Building Homes and Jobs Investment Strategy and updates
required by this section shall be submitted pursuant to Section 9795
of the Government Code.

      Article 2.  Audits and Reporting


   50475.  The California State Auditor's Office shall conduct
periodic audits to ensure that the annual allocation to individual
programs is awarded by the department in a timely fashion consistent
with the requirements of this chapter. The first audit shall be
conducted no later than 24 months from the effective date of this
section.
   50476.  (a) In its annual report to the Legislature pursuant to
Section 50408, the department shall report how funds that were made
available pursuant to this chapter and allocated in the prior year
were expended, including efforts to promote a geographically balanced
distribution of funds. The report shall also assess the impact of
the investment on job creation and the economy. With respect to any
awards made specifically to house or support persons who are homeless
or at-risk of homelessness, the report shall include an analysis of
the effectiveness of the funding in allowing these households to
retain permanent housing. The department shall make the report
available to the public on its Internet Web site.
   (b) (1) In the report, the department shall make a determination
of whether any of the moneys derived from fees collected pursuant to
Section 27388.1 of the Government Code are being allocated by the
state for any purpose not authorized by Section 50470 and shall share
the information with the county recorders.
   (2) If the department determines that any moneys derived from fees
collected pursuant to Section 27388.1 of the Government Code are
being allocated by the state for a purpose not authorized by Section
50470, the county recorders shall, upon notice of the determination,
immediately cease collection of the fees imposed by Section 27388.1
of the Government Code, and shall resume collection of those fees
only upon notice that the moneys derived from fees collected pursuant
to Section 23788.1 of the Government Code are being allocated by the
state only for a purpose authorized by Section 50470.
   SEC. 5.    (a) The Legislature finds and declares
that the housing market plays a critical role in the functioning of
the California economy.  
   (b) The Legislature further finds and declares all of the
following:  
   (1) The need for housing is something every Californian
encounters.  
   (2) Adequate and stable housing is a crucial component of all
Californians' quality of life.  
   (3) The expenditure for housing is one of the largest expenses all
Californians undertake in their day-to-day lives.  
   (4) Housing and housing-related activities are of such significant
importance to the state that it warrants a clear and unified voice
in state government. 
    (c)     It is the intent of the Legislature
to enact legislation that would create a Secretary of Housing within
state government to oversee all activities related to housing in the
state. In creating this position, it is the intent of the
Legislature that all professional entities that play a role in the
housing market would be authorized to be incorporated in order to
have a clearer and more unified approach to housing in California.

   SEC. 5.   SEC. 6.   No reimbursement is
required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIII B of the
California Constitution because a local agency or school district has
the authority to levy service charges, fees, or assessments
sufficient to pay for the program or level of service mandated by
this act, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code.

   SEC. 6.   SEC. 7.   This act is an
urgency statute necessary for the immediate preservation of the
public peace, health, or safety within the meaning of Article IV of
the Constitution and shall go into immediate effect. The facts
constituting the necessity are:
   In order to provide affordable housing opportunities at the
earliest possible time, it is necessary for this act to take effect
immediately.