Bill Text: CA AB1487 | 2019-2020 | Regular Session | Amended

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

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Bill Title: San Francisco Bay area: housing development: financing.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 4-0)

Status: (Passed) 2019-10-08 - Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 598, Statutes of 2019. [AB1487 Detail]

Download: California-2019-AB1487-Amended.html

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Amended  IN  Assembly  March 26, 2019

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2019–2020 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill

No. 1487

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Introduced by Assembly Member Chiu
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Mullin and Wicks)
(Coauthor: Senator Wiener)

February 22, 2019

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An act to amend Section 65584 of the Government Code, relating to land use. add Title 6.8 (commencing with Section 64500) to the Government Code, relating to housing.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

AB 1487, as amended, Chiu. Land use: housing element. San Francisco Bay area: housing development: financing.

Existing law provides for the establishment of various special districts that may support and finance housing development, including affordable housing special beneficiary districts that are authorized to promote affordable housing development with certain property tax revenues that a city or county would otherwise be entitled to receive.

This bill, the San Francisco Bay Area Regional Housing Finance Act, would establish the Housing Alliance for the Bay Area (hereafter “the entity”) and would state that the entity’s purpose is to increase affordable housing in the San Francisco Bay area, as defined, by providing for enhanced funding and technical assistance at a regional level for tenant protection, affordable housing preservation, and new affordable housing production. The bill would establish a governing board of the entity, composed of members appointed by the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, the Association of Bay Area Governments, and the Governor. The bill would authorize the entity to exercise various specified powers, including the power to raise revenue and allocate funds throughout the San Francisco Bay area, subject to applicable voter approval requirements and other specified procedures, as provided. The bill would also require the board to provide for annual audits of the entity and financial reports, as provided. The bill would include findings that the changes proposed by this bill address a matter of statewide concern rather than a municipal affair and, therefore, apply to all cities within the San Francisco Bay Area, including charter cities.

The bill would state the intent of the Legislature to authorize the entity to, among other things, raise and allocate new revenue by placing funding measures on the ballot in the 9 San Francisco Bay area counties, incur and issue indebtedness, and allocate funds to the various cities, counties, and other public agencies and affordable housing projects within its jurisdiction to finance affordable housing development, preserve and enhance existing affordable housing, and fund tenant protection programs, in accordance with applicable constitutional requirements.

This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the San Francisco Bay area.

By adding to the duties of local officials with respect to (1) membership on the governing board of the entity and (2) elections procedures for revenue measures on behalf of the entity, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

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, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.

The Planning and Zoning Law requires a city or county to adopt a comprehensive, long-term general plan that includes various mandatory elements, including a housing element. That law requires the housing element to contain, among other things, an assessment of housing needs and an inventory of resources and constraints relevant to meeting those needs. That law requires the Department of Housing and Community Development to determine the existing and projected need for housing for each region, as specified.

This bill would make nonsubstantive changes to that law.

Digest Key

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

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Bill Text

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

SECTION 1.

 Title 6.8 (commencing with Section 64500) is added to the Government Code, to read:

TITLE 6.8. San Francisco Bay Area Regional Housing Finance

PART 1. Formation of the Housing Alliance for the Bay Area and General Powers

CHAPTER  1. General Provisions

64500.

 This title shall be known, and may be cited, as the San Francisco Bay Area Regional Housing Finance Act.

64501.

 The Legislature finds and declares the following:

(a) The San Francisco Bay area is facing the most significant housing crisis in the region’s history, as countless residents are contemplating moving, spend hours driving every day, are one paycheck away from an eviction, or experience homelessness.

(b) The San Francisco Bay area faces this crisis because, as a region, it has failed to produce enough housing at all income levels, preserve affordable housing, protect existing residents from displacement, and address the housing issue regionally.

(c) The housing crisis in the San Francisco Bay area is regional in nature and too great to be addressed individually by the region’s 101 cities and 9 counties.

(d) However, the current process is anything but regional; instead each city and county is each responsible for their own decisions around housing.

(e) The San Francisco Bay area faces an annual funding shortfall of two billion five hundred million dollars ($2,500,000,000) in its efforts to address the affordable housing crisis.

(f) A regional entity is necessary to help address the housing crisis in the San Francisco Bay area by delivering resources and technical assistance at a regional scale, including:

(1) Providing up to one billion five hundred million dollars ($1,500,000,000) from regional funding measures for critical funding to affordable housing projects across the San Francisco Bay area.

(2) Providing staff support to local jurisdictions that require capacity or technical assistance to expedite the preservation and production of housing.

(3) Funding tenant services, such as emergency rental assistance and access to counsel, thereby relieving local jurisdictions of this cost and responsibility.

(4) Assembling parcels and acquiring land for the purpose of building affordable housing.

(5) Monitoring and reporting on progress at a regional scale.

64502.

 For purposes of this title:

(a) “Board” means the governing board of the Housing Alliance for the Bay Area created pursuant to Section 64511.

(b) “Entity” means the Housing Alliance for the Bay Area established pursuant to Section 64510.

(c) “San Francisco Bay area” means the entire area within the territorial boundaries of the Counties of Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Solano, and Sonoma and the City and County of San Francisco.

64503.

 The Legislature finds and declares that providing a regional financing mechanism for affordable housing development and preservation in the San Francisco Bay Area, as described in this section and Section 64501, is a matter of statewide concern and is not a municipal affair as that term is used in Section 5 of Article XI of the California Constitution. Therefore, this title applies to all cities within the San Francisco Bay area, including charter cities.

CHAPTER  2. The Housing Alliance for the Bay Area and Governing Board

64510.

 (a) The Housing Alliance for the Bay Area is hereby established with jurisdiction extending throughout the San Francisco Bay area.

(b) The formation and jurisdictional boundaries of the entity are not subject to the Cortese-Knox-Hertzberg Local Government Reorganization Act of 2000 (Division 3 (commencing with Section 56000) of Title 5).

(c) The entity’s purpose is to increase affordable housing in the San Francisco Bay area by providing for enhanced funding and technical assistance at a regional level for tenant protection, affordable housing preservation, and new affordable housing production.

(d) It is the intent of the Legislature that the entity complement existing efforts by cities, counties, districts, and other local, regional, and state entities, related to addressing the goals described in this title.

(e) It is the intent of the Legislature that the entity be staffed by the existing staff of the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, or any successor agency, with the understanding that additional staff with expertise in affordable housing finance and other aspects of the entity’s work will be needed.

64511.

 (a) (1) The entity shall be governed by a board composed of __ voting members, including __ from the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, ___ from the Association of Bay Area Governments and __ appointees of the Governor reflecting stakeholders from the San Francisco Bay area with knowledge and experience in the area of housing finance and development.

(2) Each member shall serve at the pleasure of the appointing authority.

(3) The appointing authority shall fill any vacancy on the board within 90 days from the date on which the vacancy occurs.

(b) The board shall select from its members a chair, who shall preside over meetings of the board, and a vice chair from its members, who shall preside in the absence of the chair.

(c) (1) A member appointed pursuant to this section may receive a per diem for each board meeting that the member attends. The board shall set the amount of that per diem for a member’s attendance, but that amount shall not exceed one hundred dollars ($100) per meeting. A member shall not receive a payment for more than two meetings in a calendar month.

(2) A member may waive a payment of per diem authorized by this subdivision.

(d) (1) Members of the board are subject to Article 2.4 (commencing with Section 53234) of Chapter 2 of Part 1 of Division 2 of Title 5.

(2) The entity shall be subject to the Ralph M. Brown Act (Chapter 9 (commencing with Section 54950) of Part 1 of Division 2 of Title 5), the California Public Records Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 6250) of Division 7 of Title 1), and the Political Reform Act of 1974 (Title 9 (commencing with Section 81000)).

64512.

 A member shall exercise independent judgment on behalf of the interests of the residents, the property owners, and the public as a whole in furthering the intent and purposes of this title.

64513.

 (a) The time and place of the first meeting of the board shall be at a time and place within the San Francisco Bay area fixed by the chair of the board.

(b) After the first meeting described in subdivision (a), the board shall hold meetings at times and places determined by the board.

64514.

 (a) The board may make and enforce rules and regulations necessary for the government of the board, the preservation of order, and the transaction of business.

(b) In exercising the powers and duties conferred on the entity by this title, the board may act either by ordinance or resolution.

CHAPTER  3. Powers of the Housing Alliance for the Bay Area

64520.

 In implementing this title, the entity may do all of the following:

(a) Raise revenue and allocate funds throughout the San Francisco Bay area, as provided in Part 2 (commencing with Section 64600).

(b) Apply for and receive grants from federal and state agencies.

(c) Solicit and accept gifts, fees, grants, and allocations from public and private entities.

(d) Deposit or invest moneys of the entity in banks or financial institutions in the state, as provided in Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 53600) of Part 1 of Division 2 of Title 5.

(e) Sue and be sued, except as otherwise provided by law, in all actions and proceedings, in all courts and tribunals of competent jurisdiction.

(f) Engage counsel and other professional services.

(g) Enter into and perform all necessary contracts.

(h) Enter into joint powers agreements pursuant to the Joint Exercise of Powers Act (Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 6500) of Division 7 of Title 1).

(i) Hire staff, define their qualifications and duties, and provide a schedule of compensation for the performance of their duties.

(j) Use staff provided by the Metropolitan Transportation Commission. A person who performs duties as interim or temporary staff pursuant to this subdivision shall not be considered an employee of the entity.

(k) Assemble parcels and acquire land for housing development.

(l) Any other express or implied power necessary to carry out the intent and purposes of this title.

64521.

 (a) If the entity proposes a measure pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 64520 that will generate revenues, the board of supervisors of the county or counties in which the entity has determined to place the measure on the ballot shall call a special election on the measure. The special election shall be consolidated with the next regularly scheduled statewide election and the measure shall be submitted to the voters in the appropriate counties, consistent with the requirements of Articles XIII A, XIII C, and XIII D of the California Constitution, as applicable.

(b) (1) The entity is a district, as defined in Section 317 of the Elections Code. Except as otherwise provided in this section, a measure proposed by the entity that requires voter approval shall be submitted to the voters of the entity in accordance with the provisions of the Elections Code applicable to districts, including the provisions of Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 9300) of Division 9 of the Elections Code.

(2) Because the entity has no revenues as of the effective date of this section, the appropriations limit for the entity shall be originally established based on receipts from the initial measure that would generate revenues for the entity pursuant to subdivision (a), and that establishment of an appropriations limit shall not be deemed a change in an appropriations limit for purposes of Section 4 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution.

(c) The entity shall file with the board of supervisors of each county in which the measure shall appear on the ballot a resolution of the entity requesting consolidation, and setting forth the exact form of the ballot question, in accordance with Section 10403 of the Elections Code.

(d) The legal counsel for the entity shall prepare an impartial analysis of the measure. The impartial analysis prepared by the legal counsel for the entity shall be subject to review and revision by the county counsel of the county that contains the largest population, as determined by the most recent federal decennial census, among those counties in which the measure will be submitted to the voters.

(e) Each county included in the measure shall use the exact ballot question, impartial analysis, and ballot language provided by the entity. If two or more counties included in the measure are required to prepare a translation of ballot materials into the same language other than English, the county that contains the largest population, as determined by the most recent federal decennial census, among those counties that are required to prepare a translation of ballot materials into the same language other than English shall prepare the translation, or authorize the entity to prepare the translation, and that translation shall be used by the other county or counties, as applicable.

(f) Notwithstanding Section 13116 of the Elections Code, if a measure proposed by the entity pursuant to this title is submitted to the voters of the entity in two or more counties, the elections officials of those counties shall mutually agree to use the same letter designation for the measure.

(g) The county clerk of each county shall report the results of the special election to the entity.

(h) (1) Notwithstanding Section 10520 of the Elections Code, for any election at which the entity proposes a measure pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 64520 that would generate revenues, the entity shall reimburse each county in which that measure appears on the ballot only for the incremental costs incurred by the county elections official related to submitting the measure to the voters with any eligible funds transferred to the entity from the Association of Bay Area Governments or the Metropolitan Transportation Commission.

(2) For purposes of this subdivision, “incremental costs” include all of the following:

(A) The cost to prepare, review, and revise the impartial analysis of the measure that is required by subdivision (d).

(B) The cost to prepare a translation of ballot materials into a language other than English by any county, as described in subdivision (e).

(C) The additional costs that exceed the costs incurred for other election races or ballot measures, if any, appearing on the same ballot in each county in which the measure appears on the ballot, including both of the following:

(i) The printing and mailing of ballot materials.

(ii) The canvass of the vote regarding the measure pursuant to Division 15 (commencing with Section 15000) of the Elections Code.

64522.

  The entity shall not do either of the following:

(a) Regulate or enforce local land use decisions.

(b) Acquire property by eminent domain.

CHAPTER  4. Financial Provisions

64530.

 The board shall provide for regular audits of the entity’s accounts and records and shall maintain accounting records and shall report accounting transactions in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles adopted by the Governmental Accounting Standards Board of the Financial Accounting Foundation for both public reporting purposes and for reporting of activities to the Controller.

64531.

 The board shall provide for annual financial reports. The board shall make copies of the annual financial reports available to the public.

PART 2. Financing Activities of the Housing Alliance for the Bay Area

CHAPTER  1. General Provisions

64600.

 It is the intent of the Legislature to authorize the entity to do all of the following:

(a) Raise and allocate new revenue by authorizing the entity to place on the ballot in all or a subset of the nine counties in the San Francisco Bay area various funding measures that distribute the responsibility across commercial developers, businesses above a certain size, taxpayers, and property owners within its jurisdiction.

(b) Incur and issue indebtedness and assess fees on any debt issuance and loan products for reinvestment of fees and loan repayments in affordable housing production and preservation.

(c) Allocate funds to the various cities, counties, and other public agencies and affordable housing projects within its jurisdiction to finance affordable housing development, preserve and enhance existing affordable housing, and fund tenant protection programs, pursuant to this title, in accordance with applicable constitutional requirements.

(d) Assemble parcels and lease or purchase land for housing development.

(e) Collect data on housing production and monitor progress on meeting regional and state housing goals.

(f) Provide support and technical assistance to local governments in relation to producing and preserving affordable housing.

(g) Provide public information about the entity’s housing programs and policies.

SEC. 2.

 The Legislature finds and declares that a special statute is necessary and that a general statute cannot be made applicable within the meaning of Section 16 of Article IV of the California Constitution because of the uniquely severe shortage of available funding and resources for the development and preservation of affordable housing and the particularly acute nature of the housing crisis within the nine counties of the San Francisco Bay area region.

SEC. 3.

 If the Commission on State Mandates determines that this act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.

SECTION 1.Section 65584 of the Government Code, as amended by Chapter 989 of the Statutes of 2018, is amended to read:

65584.

(a)(1)For the fourth and subsequent revisions of the housing element pursuant to Section 65588, the department shall determine the existing and projected need for housing for each region pursuant to this article. For purposes of subdivision (a) of Section 65583, the share of a city or county of the regional housing need shall include that share of the housing need of persons at all income levels within the area significantly affected by the general plan of the city or county.

(2)It is the intent of the Legislature that cities, counties, and cities and counties should undertake all necessary actions to encourage, promote, and facilitate the development of housing to accommodate the entire regional housing need, and reasonable actions should be taken by local and regional governments to ensure that future housing production meets, at a minimum, the regional housing need established for planning purposes. These actions shall include applicable reforms and incentives in Section 65582.1.

(3)The Legislature finds and declares that insufficient housing in job centers hinders the state’s environmental quality and runs counter to the state’s environmental goals. In particular, when Californians seeking affordable housing are forced to drive longer distances to work, an increased amount of greenhouse gases and other pollutants is released and puts in jeopardy the achievement of the state’s climate goals, as established pursuant to Section 38566 of the Health and Safety Code, and clean air goals.

(b)The department, in consultation with each council of governments, shall determine each region’s existing and projected housing need pursuant to Section 65584.01 at least two years prior to the scheduled revision required pursuant to Section 65588. The appropriate council of governments, or for cities and counties without a council of governments, the department, shall adopt a final regional housing need plan that allocates a share of the regional housing need to each city, county, or city and county at least one year prior to the scheduled revision for the region required by Section 65588. The allocation plan prepared by a council of governments shall be prepared pursuant to Sections 65584.04 and 65584.05.

(c)Notwithstanding any other law, the due dates for the determinations of the department, or for the council of governments, respectively, regarding the regional housing need may be extended by the department by not more than 60 days, if the extension will enable access to more recent critical population or housing data from a pending or recent release of the United States Census Bureau or the Department of Finance. If the due date for the determination of the department or the council of governments is extended for this reason, the department shall extend the corresponding housing element revision deadline pursuant to Section 65588 by not more than 60 days.

(d)The regional housing needs allocation plan shall further all of the following objectives:

(1)Increasing the housing supply and the mix of housing types, tenure, and affordability in all cities and counties within the region in an equitable manner, which shall result in each jurisdiction receiving an allocation of units for low- and very low income households.

(2)Promoting infill development and socioeconomic equity, the protection of environmental and agricultural resources, the encouragement of efficient development patterns, and the achievement of the region’s greenhouse gas reductions targets provided by the State Air Resources Board pursuant to Section 65080.

(3)Promoting an improved intraregional relationship between jobs and housing, including an improved balance between the number of low-wage jobs and the number of housing units affordable to low-wage workers in each jurisdiction.

(4)Allocating a lower proportion of housing need to an income category when a jurisdiction already has a disproportionately high share of households in that income category, as compared to the countywide distribution of households in that category from the most recent American Community Survey.

(5)Affirmatively furthering fair housing.

(e)For purposes of this section, “affirmatively furthering fair housing” means taking meaningful actions, in addition to combating discrimination, that overcome patterns of segregation and foster inclusive communities free from barriers that restrict access to opportunity based on protected characteristics. Specifically, affirmatively furthering fair housing means taking meaningful actions that, taken together, address significant disparities in housing needs and in access to opportunity, replacing segregated living patterns with truly integrated and balanced living patterns, transforming racially and ethnically concentrated areas of poverty into areas of opportunity, and fostering and maintaining compliance with civil rights and fair housing laws.

(f)For purposes of this section, “household income levels” are as determined by the department as of the most recent American Community Survey pursuant to the following code sections:

(1)Very low incomes as defined by Section 50105 of the Health and Safety Code.

(2)Lower incomes, as defined by Section 50079.5 of the Health and Safety Code.

(3)Moderate incomes, as defined by Section 50093 of the Health and Safety Code.

(4)Above moderate incomes are those exceeding the moderate-income level of Section 50093 of the Health and Safety Code.

(g)Notwithstanding any other law, determinations made by the department, a council of governments, or a city or county pursuant to this section or Section 65584.01, 65584.02, 65584.03, 65584.04, 65584.05, 65584.06, or 65584.07 are exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (Division 13 (commencing with Section 21000) of the Public Resources Code).