Bill Text: CA AB1386 | 2023-2024 | Regular Session | Amended

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

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Bill Title: Veterans housing: tenant referrals.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)

Status: (Passed) 2023-10-11 - Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 760, Statutes of 2023. [AB1386 Detail]

Download: California-2023-AB1386-Amended.html

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Amended  IN  Senate  June 13, 2023

Amended  IN  Assembly  April 11, 2023

Amended  IN  Assembly  March 21, 2023

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2023–2024 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill

No. 1386

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Introduced by Assembly Member Gabriel
(Coauthor: Assembly Member Addis)

February 17, 2023

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An act to amend Section Sections 987.003 and 987.005 of, and to add Article 3.3 (commencing with Section 987.300) to Chapter 6 of Division 4 of, the Military and Veterans Code, relating to veterans.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

AB 1386, as amended, Gabriel. Veterans housing: tenant referrals.

Existing law, the Veterans Housing and Homeless Prevention Act of 2014, requires the California Housing Finance Agency, the Department of Housing and Community Development, and the Department of Veterans Affairs (referred to collectively as “the departments”) to establish and implement programs that focus on veterans at risk for homelessness or experiencing temporary or chronic homelessness, as specified. In this regard, existing law requires the departments to establish and implement programs that, among other things, ensure projects combine housing and supportive services. Existing law requires the departments to ensure at least 50% of funds awarded for capital development are used to provide housing to veterans with extremely low incomes, and requires that at least 60% of units funded targeting extremely low income households are supportive housing.

This bill would authorize an entity tasked with making referrals of units targeted to extremely low income households to match prospective secondary tenants with incomes at or below 60% of the area median income, if the source of the income is service-connected in the event that an eligible income that are receiving income as a result of service-connected disability if a qualified tenant is unable to be matched to and accept placement in an available unit within 21 28 days of the unit becoming available. The bill would provide the entity 21 days to match and place a tenant meeting this criteria in an available unit. If an eligible If a secondary tenant is unable to be matched to and accept placement in an available unit within 21 14 days, this the bill would authorize the entity to match prospective tenants a veteran experiencing homelessness with incomes an income at or below 60% of the area median income, regardless of the source of the income, in an available unit. This The bill would prohibit the rate of rent for a qualified unit that is matched with a secondary tenant or other veteran experiencing homelessness pursuant to these provisions from exceeding the rate of rent that would have been charged had the unit been occupied by an extremely low income household. The bill would require a unit originally that is restricted to a tenant with an extremely low income to revert back to its initial eligibility criteria once a tenant with an income at or below between 30% and 60% of area median income vacates the unit. The bill would require an a qualified entity tasked with making referrals to these units to make a good faith effort to match a tenant with an extremely low income, document these good faith efforts, and make this documentation available to the departments upon request. housing sponsor and, upon request, to the departments.

Existing law establishes the California Tax Credit Allocation Committee, composed of specified members, and requires that the California Tax Credit Allocation Committee, among other things, allocate specified federal low-income housing tax credits, as provided.

This bill would authorize an entity that is responsible for making referrals of extremely low income veteran tenants to qualified units, as defined, to submit a petition to the California Tax Credit Allocation Committee for purposes of requesting authority to allow veterans who have an income of up to 60% of the area median income to be located, matched to, or otherwise placed in a qualified unit, if the entity is unable to locate, match, or otherwise place extremely low income veterans in a qualified unit within 21 days of the qualified unit becoming available. The bill would require the committee to create or otherwise establish by July 1, 2024, a standardized form for the petition, an online portal for the submission of the petition, and rules and regulations for the review of and determination on the petition. The bill would also require the committee to review and make a determination on the petition, as described, and provide a written determination to the entity that made the petition within 30 days of receiving a petition.

This bill, for purposes of supportive housing units that are restricted to extremely low income veterans pursuant to a regulatory agreement with the committee, would authorize an entity tasked with making referrals of those units targeted to extremely low income households to match prospective secondary tenants with incomes at or below 60% of the area median income that are receiving income as a result of service-connected disability benefits if a qualified tenant is unable to be matched to and accept placement in an available unit within 28 days of the unit becoming available. If a secondary tenant is unable to be matched to and accept placement in an available unit within 14 days, the bill would authorize the entity to match a veteran experiencing homelessness with an income at or below 60% of the area median income, regardless of the source of the income, in an available unit. The bill would prohibit the rate of rent for a qualified unit that is matched with a secondary tenant or other veteran experiencing homelessness pursuant to these provisions from exceeding the rate of rent that would have been charged had the unit been occupied by an extremely low income household. The bill would require a unit that is restricted to a tenant with an extremely low income to revert back to its initial eligibility criteria once a tenant with an income between 30% and 60% of area median income vacates the unit. The bill would require a qualified entity tasked with making referrals to these units to make a good faith effort to match a tenant with an extremely low income, document these good faith efforts, and make this documentation available to the housing sponsor and, upon request, to the departments.

Digest Key

Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: NO  

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Bill Text

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.

 Section 987.003 of the Military and Veterans Code is amended to read:

987.003.

 As used in this article:

(a) “Affordable rental housing” shall mean a rental housing development, as defined in subdivision (d) of Section 50675.2 of the Health and Safety Code, with affordable rents, as defined in subdivision (a) of Section 50675.2 of the Health and Safety Code, but neither definition is restrictive to only projects with five or more units.

(b) “Extremely low income” has the same meaning as defined in Section 50106 of the Health and Safety Code.

(c) “Homeless” has the same meaning as defined in Section 578.3 of Title 24 of the Code of Federal Regulations, as that section read on January 10, 2019.

(d) “Qualified entity” means an entity that is responsible for making referrals of qualified tenants to qualified units.

(e) “Qualified tenant” means an extremely low income veteran who is homeless.

(f) “Qualified unit” means a supportive housing unit restricted to extremely low income veterans pursuant to this article.

(g) “Secondary tenants” means a veteran who is homeless who has an income of up to 60 percent of the area median income and is receiving income as a result of service-connected disability benefits.

(a)

(h) “Supportive housing” has the same meaning as defined in paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) of Section 50675.14 of the Health and Safety Code, but is not restrictive to only projects with five or more units.

(b)

(i) “Transitional housing” has the same meaning as defined in subdivision (h) of Section 50675.2 of the Health and Safety Code, but is not restrictive to only projects with five or more units.

(c)“Affordable rental housing” shall mean a rental housing development, as defined in subdivision (d) of Section 50675.2 of the Health and Safety Code, with affordable rents, as defined in subdivision (a) of Section 50675.2 of the Health and Safety Code, but neither definition is restrictive to only projects with five or more units.

(d)

(j) “Veteran” means any person who served in the active military, naval, or air service of the United States, or as a member of the National Guard who was called to and released from active duty or active service, for a period of not less than 90 consecutive days or was discharged from the service due to a service-connected disability within that 90-day period.

SECTION 1.SEC. 2.

 Section 987.005 of the Military and Veterans Code is amended to read:

987.005.

 (a) The departments shall establish and implement programs pursuant to the purposes of this article that focus on veterans at risk for homelessness or experiencing temporary or chronic homelessness. To the extent feasible, the departments shall establish and implement programs that, among other things, do the following:

(1) Leverage public (federal, state, and local), private, and nonprofit program and fiscal resources.

(2) Ensure projects combine housing and supportive services, including, but not limited to, job training, mental health and drug treatment, case management, care coordination, or physical rehabilitation.

(3) Promote public and private partnerships.

(4) Foster innovative financing opportunities.

(5) Ensure program guidelines and terms provide threshold requirements to advance applicants with experience in combining permanent or transitional housing, or both, with supportive services for veterans, or for partnering with housing developers or service providers with experience offering housing or services to veterans.

(b) (1) The departments shall ensure at least 50 percent of funds awarded for capital development under this article provide housing to veteran households with extremely low incomes, as defined in Section 50106 of the Health and Safety Code. incomes.

(2) In Except as provided in paragraph (5), in determining whether a potential tenant is eligible for supportive, affordable, or transitional housing targeted to extremely low income households under this provision, eligibility shall take into consideration all of a household’s income sources upon initial tenancy.

(3) At least 60 percent of units funded targeting extremely low income households shall be supportive housing.

(4) This section shall not deter the departments from funding projects serving mixed-income populations.

(5) (A) An A qualified entity tasked with making referrals of to qualified units targeted to extremely low income households may match prospective tenants with incomes at or below 60 percent of the area median income, if the income is above 30 percent of the area median income as a result of the prospective tenant receiving service-connected disability benefits, as defined in Section 50105 of the Health and Safety Code, secondary tenants if, after 21 28 days of a qualified unit becoming available, an eligible a qualified tenant is unable to be matched to and accept placement in the available unit.

(B) If, after 21 14 days of a qualified unit becoming available to a prospective tenant secondary tenants under subparagraph (A), a qualified tenant or secondary tenant is unable to be matched and accept placement in the available qualified unit, an entity tasked with making referrals may match prospective tenants a tenant who is a veteran experiencing homelessness with incomes an income at or below 60 percent of the area median income.

(C) This shall include circumstances in which housing tenants with incomes at up to 60 percent of the area median income would cause a supported development to have less than 50 percent of its units occupied by tenants with extremely low incomes. The supported development shall not have less than 30 percent of its units occupied by tenants with extremely low incomes.

(D) If a qualified unit that is restricted to a qualified tenant with an extremely low income is occupied by a secondary tenant or other tenant who is a veteran experiencing homelessness with an income between 30 and 60 percent of area median income pursuant to subparagraph (A) or (B), the rate of rent shall not exceed the rate that would be charged had the unit been placed with a qualified tenant with an extremely low income.

(D)

(E) If a qualified unit that was originally is restricted to a qualified tenant with an extremely low income is occupied by a secondary tenant or other tenant who is a veteran experiencing homelessness with an income between 30 and 60 percent of area median income, income pursuant to subparagraph (A) or (B), and the tenant vacates the unit, that qualified unit shall return to its initial eligibility criteria for qualified tenants with extremely low incomes.

(6) The qualified entity tasked with making referrals to these units shall make a good faith effort to match a tenant with an extremely low income, shall document these good faith efforts, and shall make this documentation available to the departments upon request. housing sponsor, who shall include the documentation in the tenant file, and, upon request, to the departments. Documentation of these good faith efforts shall include, but not be limited to, the following:

(A) Efforts to advertise to the community at least 90 days prior to the lease-up of the building.

(B) Efforts to work in partnership with local homeless services providers, including those that serve veterans experiencing homelessness.

(C) Efforts to coordinate with the local continuum of care to identify veterans experiencing homelessness with extremely low incomes.

(D) Efforts to coordinate with the United States Department of Veterans Affairs to identify veterans experiencing homelessness with extremely low incomes.

(E) Documentation of contact with veterans experiencing homelessness with extremely low incomes and their case managers who were matched to the available unit and chose not to lease the unit.

(c) The departments may review, adopt, amend, and repeal guidelines or terms, or both, to implement this article. Any guidelines or terms adopted to implement this article shall not be subject to Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code.

(d) Nothing in this article permits the departments or the board to purchase, operate, or manage properties except in the event of a foreclosure on a borrower or grantee.

(e) (1) Notwithstanding any other law, a housing developer or service provider that provides housing or services pursuant to this article may provide housing or services to female veterans and their children in women-only facilities in limited instances in which a female veteran (A) has suffered any form of sexual abuse, trauma, or intimidation or harassment while serving in the military and is seeking treatment for that sexual abuse, trauma, or intimidation or harassment, or (B) is seeking the housing or services as a result of being a victim of sexual abuse or domestic violence.

(2) A housing developer or service provider that provides housing or services to female veterans in women-only facilities pursuant to paragraph (1) shall ensure that the housing or services shall provide supportive housing or services with a focus on, among others, treating the effects of military sexual abuse, trauma, or intimidation in a gender-specific manner.

(3) For purposes of this subdivision, “women-only facilities” means the facilities may house and provide services to female veterans only and their children, and shall not house or provide services to any adult who is not a dependent of a female veteran.

(f) In administering the programs established under this article, the departments shall do all of the following:

(1) Make program funds available at the same time funds, if any, are made available under the Multifamily Housing Program (Chapter 6.7 (commencing with Section 50675) of Part 2 of Division 31 of the Health and Safety Code).

(2) Rate and rank applications in a manner consistent with the Multifamily Housing Program (Chapter 6.7 (commencing with Section 50675) of Part 2 of Division 31 of the Health and Safety Code), except that the department may establish additional point categories for the purposes of rating and ranking applications that seek funding pursuant to this article in addition to those used in the Multifamily Housing Program.

(3) Administer funds subject to this article in a manner consistent with the Multifamily Housing Program (Chapter 6.7 (commencing with Section 50675) of Part 2 of Division 31 of the Health and Safety Code).

(4) Only applications serving veterans and meeting any additional threshold requirements established by the departments, shall be eligible to receive funds pursuant to this article.

SEC. 2.SEC. 3.

 Article 3.3 (commencing with Section 987.300) is added to Chapter 6 of Division 4 of the Military and Veterans Code, to read:

Article  3.3. Supportive Housing Unit Petitions for Veterans Funded by Tax Credits and Private Activity Bonds

987.300.

 (a) If a qualified entity is unable to locate, match, or otherwise place a qualified tenant in a qualified unit within 21 28 days of the qualified unit becoming available, the qualified entity shall be eligible to submit, pursuant to this section, a petition to the California Tax Credit Allocation Committee for purposes of requesting authority to allow secondary tenants to be located, matched to, or otherwise placed in the qualified units. match secondary tenants to the qualified units and the California Tax Credit Allocation Committee and the California Debt Limit Allocation Committee shall treat secondary tenants as eligible for the qualified unit.

(b)The committee shall create or otherwise establish all of the following by July 1, 2024:

(1)A standardized form for petitions that a qualified entity may submit for the purpose described in subdivision (a).

(2)An online portal for the submission of the petition.

(3)If necessary, rules and regulations for the review of and determination on the petitions that are consistent with the requirements of this section.

(c)Within 30 days of receiving a petition pursuant to this section, the committee shall do both of the following:

(1)Review the petition and make a determination of whether the qualified unit is eligible to accept secondary tenants pursuant to all applicable federal Internal Revenue Service and committee guidelines, rules, and regulations, and other law.

(2)Provide a written determination to the qualified entity that made the petition.

(b) If, subsequent to the 14 days of the unit becoming available to secondary tenants, the qualified entity is unable to locate, match, or otherwise place either a qualified tenant or a secondary tenant in a qualified unit, the qualified entity shall be eligible to match a veteran experiencing homelessness with an income at or below 60 percent of area median income to the qualified unit and the California Tax Credit Allocation Committee and the California Debt Limit Allocation Committee shall treat the tenants as eligible for the qualified unit.

(c) If a qualified unit that is restricted to a qualified tenant with an extremely low income is occupied by a secondary tenant or other tenant who is a veteran experiencing homelessness with an income between 30 and 60 percent of area median income pursuant to subdivision (a) or (b), the rate of rent shall not exceed the rate that would be charged had the unit been placed with a qualified tenant with an extremely low income.

(d) If a qualified unit that is restricted to a qualified tenant with an extremely low income is occupied by a tenant with an income between 30 and 60 percent of area median income pursuant to subdivisions (a) or (b), and the tenant vacates the unit, that qualified unit shall return to its initial eligibility criteria for qualified tenants with extremely low incomes.

(e) (1) The qualified entity tasked with making referrals to qualified units shall make a good faith effort to match a qualified tenant with an extremely low income, shall document these good faith efforts, and shall make this documentation available to the housing sponsor, who shall include the documentation in the tenant file, and, upon request, to the California Housing Finance Agency, the Department of Housing and Community Development, and the Department of Veterans Affairs. Documentation of these good faith efforts shall include, but not be limited to, the following:

(A) Efforts to advertise to the community at least 90 days prior to the lease-up of the building.

(B) Efforts to work in partnership with local homeless services providers, including those that serve veterans experiencing homelessness.

(C) Efforts to coordinate with the local continuum of care to identify veterans experiencing homelessness with extremely low incomes.

(D) Efforts to coordinate with the United States Department of Veterans Affairs to identify veterans experiencing homelessness with extremely low incomes.

(E) Documentation of contact with veterans experiencing homelessness with extremely low incomes and their case managers who were matched to the available unit and chose not to lease the unit.

(2) The California Tax Credit Allocation Committee and the California Debt Limit Allocation Committee may adopt regulations to establish additional documentation standards for demonstrating a good faith effort.

(d)

(f) For purposes of this section, the following definitions apply:

(1) “Extremely low income” has the same meaning as defined in Section 50106 of the Health and Safety Code.

(2) “Homeless” has the same meaning as defined in Section 578.3 of Title 24 of the Code of Federal Regulations, as that section read on January 10, 2019.

(3)“Project-based voucher” means a project-based voucher issued under Section 8 of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. Sec. 1437f), including project-based federal Department of Housing and Urban Development Veterans Supportive Housing vouchers, as authorized by that federal act.

(4)

(3) “Qualified entity” means an entity that is responsible for making referrals of qualified tenants to qualified units.

(5)

(4) “Qualified tenant” means an extremely low income veteran who is homeless.

(6)

(5) “Qualified unit” means a supportive housing unit restricted to extremely low income veterans that is funded or otherwise supported at least in part by a project-based voucher. pursuant to a regulatory agreement with the California Tax Credit Allocation Committee or with a bond issuer under the private activity bonds program administered by the California Debt Limit Allocation Committee.

(7)

(6) “Secondary tenants” means a veteran who is homeless who has an income of up to 60 percent of the area median income. income and is receiving income as a result of service-connected disability benefits.

(8)

(7) “Supportive housing unit” has the same meaning as defined in Section 987.003.

(9)

(8) “Veteran” has the same meaning as defined in Section 987.003.