Bill Text: CA SB341 | 2015-2016 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Housing: Department of Housing and Community
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Failed) 2016-02-01 - Returned to Secretary of Senate pursuant to Joint Rule 56. [SB341 Detail]
Download: California-2015-SB341-Amended.html
BILL NUMBER: SB 341 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE MARCH 26, 2015
INTRODUCED BY Senator Nguyen
FEBRUARY 23, 2015
An act to amend Section 50464 of, and to add
Section 50464.5 to to, the Health and
Safety Code, relating to land use.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 341, as amended, Nguyen. Housing: Department of Housing
and Community Development: local fees: study.
fees.
Existing law authorizes the Department of Housing and Community
Development to make take specified actions
related to housing that include, among other things,
investigations of housing and community development in the state.
This bill would require the department to take these actions.
Existing law requires fees charged by a local agency for specified
purposes, including zoning variances, zoning changes, use permits,
building inspections, building permits, the processing of maps under
the provisions of the Subdivision Map Act, and planning services, to
not exceed the estimated reasonable cost of providing the service for
which the fee is charged, unless a question regarding the amount of
the fee charged in excess of this cost is submitted to, and approved
by, 2/3 of the electors.
This bill would require, by January 1, 2017, and every 5 years
thereafter, the department to conduct a statewide survey of cities
and counties to determine the total amount of fees and charges
imposed on new home construction by local jurisdictions and submit
the survey to specified committees of the Legislature.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The Legislature hereby finds and declares the
following:
(a) According to the most recent United States Census, California'
s poverty rate is 16 percent, 1.4 percent higher than the national
rate of 14.6 percent. However, under an alternative method, also
calculated by the United States Census Bureau, called the
Supplemental Poverty Measure, California has the highest poverty rate
in the nation at 23.4 percent, well above the national alternative
rate of 15.5 percent.
(b) The median value of a home in California of $383,900
$437,800 is 111.6 144.3
percent higher than the national median home value of
$181,400, $179,200, yet the median household
income of $61,400 in California is only 15.7 percent higher than the
national average of $53,046. This may help to explain why only
56 54 percent of Californians own a
home, far behind the national average of 65.5
64 percent. Fourty -six percent of
Californians rent. By national standards, California's homeownership
rate of 54 percent is the third lowest in the nation.
(c) According to the Department of Housing and Community
Development's 2001 report on local development fees, "California's
high residential development fees significantly contribute to its
high housing costs and prices." In fact, 15 years ago, local fees
accounted for 10 to 15 percent of the cost of building a home. At
that time, it was estimated that a reduction of local fees by half
could increase home ownership by as much as 14 percent. Today, data
from the California Building Industry Association shows local fees
may account for 30 percent of the cost of a new home.
SEC. 2. Section 50464 of the Health and
Safety Code is amended to read:
50464. The department may: shall do all
of the following:
(a) Make investigations of housing and community development in
California.
(b) Call conferences of representatives of all levels of
government, industry, and private groups, to discuss housing and
community development problems of California.
(c) Investigate and report upon substandard housing and the
problems resulting therefrom and the work being done to remedy
such these conditions.
(d) Study the operation and enforcement of housing, building,
zoning, and subdivision laws and regulations, of housing finance,
taxes, redevelopment programs and public housing projects, as related
to housing and community development.
(e) Examine the records of housing authorities and redevelopment
agencies, and secure from them reports and copies of their records at
any time.
(f) Promote the formation of organizations intended to increase
the supply of adequate housing and the proper living environment for
all the people of the state.
(g) With the Department of Transportation, investigate and report
upon the consistency between state, local, and federal housing plans
and programs and state, local, and federal transportation plans and
programs.
SEC. 2. SEC. 3. Section 50464.5 is
added to the Health and Safety Code, to read:
50464.5. (a) The department shall conduct a statewide survey of
cities and counties to determine the total amount of fees and charges
imposed on new home construction by local jurisdictions. The survey
shall include the fees and charges imposed by at least 150 cities, at
least one city within each county, and all 58 counties. These fees
and charges shall include, but not be limited to, all of the
following:
(1) Planning and zoning fees.
(2) Environmental documentation fees.
(3) Building permit fees.
(4) Plan check fees.
(5) School fees.
(6) School mitigation fees.
(7) Highway, road, traffic, and transit fees.
(8) Water, wastewater, sewer, and drainage fees.
(9) Utility or water connection fees.
(10) Public safety fees.
(11) Capital facilities fees.
(12) Affordable housing fees and assessments.
(13) Parks and recreation fees.
(b) The department shall complete this survey and submit its
findings to the Senate Committee on Transportation and Housing and
the Assembly Committee on Housing and Community Development by
January 1, 2017, and every five years thereafter.
