Bill Text: FL S1500 | 2015 | Regular Session | Comm Sub
Bill Title: Housing for the Homeless
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Failed) 2015-05-01 - Died in Appropriations [S1500 Detail]
Download: Florida-2015-S1500-Comm_Sub.html
Florida Senate - 2015 CS for SB 1500 By the Committee on Children, Families, and Elder Affairs; and Senator Latvala 586-02545A-15 20151500c1 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to housing for the homeless; amending 3 s. 420.5087, F.S.; requiring that the reservation of 4 funds within each notice of fund availability to 5 persons who are homeless and persons with special 6 needs be at least 10 percent of the funds available at 7 the time of the notice; amending s. 420.622, F.S.; 8 requiring that the State Office on Homelessness 9 coordinate among certain agencies and providers to 10 produce a statewide consolidated inventory for the 11 state’s entire system of homeless programs which 12 incorporates regionally developed plans; directing the 13 State Office on Homelessness to create a task force to 14 make recommendations regarding the implementation of a 15 statewide Homeless Management Information System 16 (HMIS) subject to certain requirements; requiring the 17 task force to include in its recommendations the 18 development of a statewide, centralized coordinated 19 assessment system; requiring the task force to submit 20 a report to the Council on Homelessness by a specified 21 date; deleting the requirement that the Council on 22 Homelessness explore the potential of creating a 23 statewide Management Information System and encourage 24 future participation of certain award or grant 25 recipients; requiring the State Office on Homelessness 26 to accept and administer moneys appropriated to it to 27 provide annual Challenge Grants to certain lead 28 agencies of homeless assistance continuums of care; 29 removing the requirement that levels of grant awards 30 be based upon the total population within the 31 continuum of care catchment area and reflect the 32 differing degrees of homelessness in the respective 33 areas; allowing expenditures of leveraged funds or 34 resources only for eligible activities subject to 35 certain requirements; providing that preference for a 36 grant award must be given to those lead agencies that 37 have demonstrated the ability to leverage specified 38 federal homeless-assistance funding with local 39 government funding, as well as private funding, for 40 the provision of services to homeless persons; 41 revising preference conditions relating to grant 42 applicants; requiring the State Office on 43 Homelessness, in conjunction with the Council on 44 Homelessness, to establish specific objectives by 45 which it may evaluate the outcomes of certain lead 46 agencies; requiring that any funding through the State 47 Office on Homelessness be distributed to lead agencies 48 based on their performance and achievement of 49 specified objectives; revising the factors that may be 50 included as criteria for evaluating the performance of 51 lead agencies; amending s. 420.624, F.S.; revising 52 requirements for the local homeless assistance 53 continuum of care plan; providing that the components 54 of a continuum of care plan should include Rapid 55 ReHousing; requiring that specified components of a 56 continuum of care plan be coordinated and integrated 57 with other specified services and programs; creating 58 s. 420.6265, F.S.; providing legislative findings and 59 intent relating to Rapid ReHousing; providing a Rapid 60 ReHousing methodology; amending s. 420.9071, F.S.; 61 redefining the term “rent subsidies”; conforming a 62 provision to changes made by the act; amending s. 63 420.9072, F.S.; prohibiting a county or an eligible 64 municipality from expending its portion of the local 65 housing distribution to provide ongoing rent 66 subsidies; specifying exceptions; amending s. 67 420.9073, F.S.; requiring the Florida Housing Finance 68 Corporation to first distribute a certain percentage 69 of the total amount to be distributed each fiscal year 70 from the Local Government Housing Trust Fund to the 71 Department of Children and Families and to the 72 Department of Economic Opportunity, respectively, 73 subject to certain requirements; amending s. 420.9075, 74 F.S.; providing that a certain partnership process of 75 the State Housing Initiatives Partnership Program 76 should involve lead agencies of local homeless 77 assistance continuums of care; encouraging counties 78 and eligible municipalities to develop a strategy 79 within their local housing assistance plans which 80 provides program funds for reducing homelessness; 81 revising the criteria that apply to awards made to 82 sponsors or persons for the purpose of providing 83 housing; requiring that a specified report submitted 84 by counties and municipalities include a description 85 of efforts to reduce homelessness; creating s. 86 420.9089, F.S.; providing legislative findings and 87 intent; providing an effective date. 88 89 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 90 91 Section 1. Subsection (3) of section 420.5087, Florida 92 Statutes, is amended to read: 93 420.5087 State Apartment Incentive Loan Program.—There is 94 hereby created the State Apartment Incentive Loan Program for 95 the purpose of providing first, second, or other subordinated 96 mortgage loans or loan guarantees to sponsors, including for 97 profit, nonprofit, and public entities, to provide housing 98 affordable to very-low-income persons. 99 (3) During the first 6 months of loan or loan guarantee 100 availability, program funds shall be reserved for use by 101 sponsors who provide the housing set-aside required in 102 subsection (2) for the tenant groups designated in this 103 subsection. The reservation of funds to each of these groups 104 shall be determined using the most recent statewide very-low 105 income rental housing market study available at the time of 106 publication of each notice of fund availability required by 107 paragraph (6)(b). The reservation of funds within each notice of 108 fund availability to the tenant groups specified in this 109 subsection must be at leastin paragraphs (a), (b), and (e) may110not be less than10 percent of the funds available at that time. 111 Any increase in funding required to reach the 10-percent minimum 112 must be taken from the tenant group that has the largest 113 reservation.The reservation of funds within each notice of fund114availability to the tenant group in paragraph (c) may not be115less than 5 percent of the funds available at that time. The116reservation of funds within each notice of fund availability to117the tenant group in paragraph (d) may not be more than 10118percent of the funds available at that time.The tenant groups 119 are: 120 (a) Commercial fishing workers and farmworkers; 121 (b) Families; 122 (c) Persons who are homeless; 123 (d) Persons with special needs; and 124 (e) Elderly persons. Ten percent of the amount reserved for 125 the elderly shall be reserved to provide loans to sponsors of 126 housing for the elderly for the purpose of making building 127 preservation, health, or sanitation repairs or improvements 128 which are required by federal, state, or local regulation or 129 code, or lifesafety or security-related repairs or improvements 130 to such housing. Such a loan may not exceed $750,000 per housing 131 community for the elderly. In order to receive the loan, the 132 sponsor of the housing community must make a commitment to match 133 at least 5 percent of the loan amount to pay the cost of such 134 repair or improvement. The corporation shall establish the rate 135 of interest on the loan, which may not exceed 3 percent, and the 136 term of the loan, which may not exceed 15 years; however, if the 137 lien of the corporation’s encumbrance is subordinate to the lien 138 of another mortgagee, then the term may be made coterminous with 139 the longest term of the superior lien. The term of the loan 140 shall be based on a credit analysis of the applicant. The 141 corporation may forgive indebtedness for a share of the loan 142 attributable to the units in a project reserved for extremely 143 low-income elderly by nonprofit organizations, as defined in s. 144 420.0004(5), where the project has provided affordable housing 145 to the elderly for 15 years or more. The corporation shall 146 establish, by rule, the procedure and criteria for receiving, 147 evaluating, and competitively ranking all applications for loans 148 under this paragraph. A loan application must include evidence 149 of the first mortgagee’s having reviewed and approved the 150 sponsor’s intent to apply for a loan. A nonprofit organization 151 or sponsor may not use the proceeds of the loan to pay for 152 administrative costs, routine maintenance, or new construction. 153 Section 2. Paragraphs (a) and (b) of subsection (3) and 154 subsections (4), (5), and (6) of section 420.622, Florida 155 Statutes, are amended to read: 156 420.622 State Office on Homelessness; Council on 157 Homelessness.— 158 (3) The State Office on Homelessness, pursuant to the 159 policies set by the council and subject to the availability of 160 funding, shall: 161 (a) Coordinate among state, local, and private agencies and 162 providers to produce a statewide consolidated inventoryprogram163and financial planfor the state’s entire system of homeless 164 programs which incorporates regionally developed plans. Such 165 programs include, but are not limited to: 166 1. Programs authorized under the Stewart B. McKinney 167 Homeless Assistance Act of 1987, 42 U.S.C. ss. 11371 et seq., 168 and carried out under funds awarded to this state; and 169 2. Programs, components thereof, or activities that assist 170 persons who are homeless or at risk for homelessness. 171 (b) Collect, maintain, and make available information 172 concerning persons who are homeless or at risk for homelessness, 173 including demographics information, current services and 174 resources available, the cost and availability of services and 175 programs, and the met and unmet needs of this population. All 176 entities that receive state funding must provide access to all 177 data they maintain in summary form, with no individual 178 identifying information, to assist the council in providing this 179 information. The State Office on Homelessness shall establish a 180 task force to make recommendations regarding the implementation 181 of a statewide Homeless Management Information System (HMIS). 182 The task force shall define the conceptual framework of such a 183 system; study existing statewide HMIS models; establish an 184 inventory of local HMIS systems, including providers and license 185 capacity; examine the aggregated reporting being provided by 186 local continuums of care; complete an analysis of current 187 continuum of care resources; and provide recommendations on the 188 costs and benefits of implementing a statewide HMIS. The task 189 force shall also make recommendations regarding the development 190 of a statewide, centralized coordinated assessment system in 191 conjunction with the implementation of a statewide HMIS. The 192 task force findings must be reported to the Council on 193 Homelessness no later than December 31, 2015.The council shall194explore the potential of creating a statewide Management195Information System (MIS), encouraging the future participation196of any bodies that are receiving awards or grants from the197state, if such a system were adopted, enacted, and accepted by198the state.199 (4) The State Office on Homelessness, with the concurrence 200 of the Council on Homelessness, shallmayaccept and administer 201 moneys appropriated to it to provide annual “Challenge Grants” 202 to lead agencies of homeless assistance continuums of care 203 designated by the State Office on Homelessness pursuant to s. 204 420.624. The department shall establish varying levels of grant 205 awards up to $500,000 per lead agency.Award levels shall be206based upon the total population within the continuum of care207catchment area and reflect the differing degrees of homelessness208in the catchment planning areas.The department, in consultation 209 with the Council on Homelessness, shall specify a grant award 210 level in the notice of the solicitation of grant applications. 211 (a) To qualify for the grant, a lead agency must develop 212 and implement a local homeless assistance continuum of care plan 213 for its designated catchment area. The continuum of care plan 214 must implement a coordinated assessment or central intake system 215 to screen, assess, and refer persons seeking assistance to the 216 appropriate service provider. The lead agency shall also 217 document the commitment of local government and private 218 organizations to provide matching funds or in-kind support in an 219 amount equal to the grant requested. Expenditures of leveraged 220 funds or resources, including third-party cash or in-kind 221 contributions, are permitted only for eligible activities 222 committed on one project which have not been used as leverage or 223 match for any other project or program and must be certified 224 through a written commitment. 225 (b) Preference must be given to those lead agencies that 226 have demonstrated the ability of their continuum of care to 227 provide quality services to homeless persons and the ability to 228 leverage federal homeless-assistance funding under the Stewart 229 B. McKinney Act with local government and private funding for 230 the provision of services to homeless persons. 231 (c) Preference must be given to lead agencies in catchment 232 areas with the greatest need for the provision of housing and 233 services to the homeless, relative to the population of the 234 catchment area. 235 (d) The grant may be used to fund any of the housing, 236 program, or service needs included in the local homeless 237 assistance continuum of care plan. The lead agency may allocate 238 the grant to programs, services, or housing providers that 239 implement the local homeless assistance continuum care plan. The 240 lead agency may provide subgrants to a local agency to implement 241 programs or services or provide housing identified for funding 242 in the lead agency’s application to the department. A lead 243 agency may spend a maximum of 8 percent of its funding on 244 administrative costs. 245 (e) The lead agency shall submit a final report to the 246 department documenting the outcomes achieved by the grant in 247 enabling persons who are homeless to return to permanent housing 248 thereby ending such person’s episode of homelessness. 249 (5) The State Office on Homelessness, with the concurrence 250 of the Council on Homelessness, may administer moneys 251 appropriated to it to provide homeless housing assistance grants 252 annually to lead agencies for local homeless assistance 253 continuum of care, as recognized by the State Office on 254 Homelessness, to acquire, construct, or rehabilitate 255 transitional or permanent housing units for homeless persons. 256 These moneys shall consist of any sums that the state may 257 appropriate, as well as money received from donations, gifts, 258 bequests, or otherwise from any public or private source, which 259 are intended to acquire, construct, or rehabilitate transitional 260 or permanent housing units for homeless persons. 261 (a) Grant applicants shall be ranked competitively. 262 Preference must be given to applicants who leverage additional 263 private funds and public funds, particularly federal funds 264 designated for the acquisition, construction, or rehabilitation 265 of transitional or permanent housing for homeless persons; who 266 acquire, build, or rehabilitate the greatest number of units; or 267andwho acquire, build, or rehabilitate in catchment areas 268 having the greatest need for housing for the homeless relative 269 to the population of the catchment area. 270 (b) Funding for any particular project may not exceed 271 $750,000. 272 (c) Projects must reserve, for a minimum of 10 years, the 273 number of units acquired, constructed, or rehabilitated through 274 homeless housing assistance grant funding to serve persons who 275 are homeless at the time they assume tenancy. 276 (d) No more than two grants may be awarded annually in any 277 given local homeless assistance continuum of care catchment 278 area. 279 (e) A project may not be funded which is not included in 280 the local homeless assistance continuum of care plan, as 281 recognized by the State Office on Homelessness, for the 282 catchment area in which the project is located. 283 (f) The maximum percentage of funds that the State Office 284 on Homelessness and each applicant may spend on administrative 285 costs is 5 percent. 286 (6) The State Office on Homelessness, in conjunction with 287 the Council on Homelessness, shall establish performance 288 measures and specific objectives by which it maytoevaluate the 289effectiveperformance and outcomes of lead agencies that receive 290 grant funds. Any funding through the State Office on 291 Homelessness shall be distributed to lead agencies based on 292 their overall performance and their achievement of specified 293 objectives. Each lead agency for which grants are made under 294 this section shall provide the State Office on Homelessness a 295 thorough evaluation of the effectiveness of the program in 296 achieving its stated purpose. In evaluating the performance of 297 the lead agencies, the State Office on Homelessness shall base 298 its criteria upon the program objectives, goals, and priorities 299 that were set forth by the lead agencies in their proposals for 300 funding. Such criteria may include, but not be limited to, the 301 number of persons or households that are no longer homeless, the 302 rate of recidivism to homelessness, and the number of persons 303 who obtain gainful employmenthomeless individuals provided304shelter, food, counseling, and job training. 305 Section 3. Subsections (3), (7), and (8) of section 306 420.624, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 307 420.624 Local homeless assistance continuum of care.— 308 (3) Communities or regions seeking to implement a local 309 homeless assistance continuum of care are encouraged to develop 310 and annually update a written plan that includes a vision for 311 the continuum of care, an assessment of the supply of and demand 312 for housing and services for the homeless population, and 313 specific strategies and processes for providing the components 314 of the continuum of care. The State Office on Homelessness, in 315 conjunction with the Council on Homelessness, shall include in 316 the plan a methodology for assessing performance and outcomes. 317 The State Office on Homelessness shall supply a standardized 318 format for written plans, including the reporting of data. 319 (7) The components of a continuum of care plan should 320 include: 321 (a) Outreach, intake, and assessment procedures in order to 322 identify the service and housing needs of an individual or 323 family and to link them with appropriate housing, services, 324 resources, and opportunities; 325 (b) Emergency shelter, in order to provide a safe, decent 326 alternative to living in the streets; 327 (c) Transitional housing; 328 (d) Supportive services, designed to assist with the 329 development of the skills necessary to secure and retain 330 permanent housing; 331 (e) Permanent supportive housing; 332 (f) Rapid ReHousing, as specified in s. 420.6265; 333 (g)(f)Permanent housing; 334 (h)(g)Linkages and referral mechanisms among all 335 components to facilitate the movement of individuals and 336 families toward permanent housing and self-sufficiency; 337 (i)(h)Services and resources to prevent housed persons 338 from becoming or returning to homelessness; and 339 (j)(i)An ongoing planning mechanism to address the needs 340 of all subgroups of the homeless population, including but not 341 limited to: 342 1. Single adult males; 343 2. Single adult females; 344 3. Families with children; 345 4. Families with no children; 346 5. Unaccompanied children and youth; 347 6. Elderly persons; 348 7. Persons with drug or alcohol addictions; 349 8. Persons with mental illness; 350 9. Persons with dual or multiple physical or mental 351 disorders; 352 10. Victims of domestic violence; and 353 11. Persons living with HIV/AIDS. 354 (8) Continuum of care plans must promote participation by 355 all interested individuals and organizations and may not exclude 356 individuals and organizations on the basis of race, color, 357 national origin, sex, handicap, familial status, or religion. 358 Faith-based organizations must be encouraged to participate. To 359 the extent possible, these components shallshouldbe 360 coordinated and integrated with other mainstream health, social 361 services, and employment programs for which homeless populations 362 may be eligible, including Medicaid, State Children’s Health 363 Insurance Program, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, Food 364 Assistance Program, and services funded through the Mental 365 Health and Substance Abuse Block Grant, the Workforce Investment 366 Act, and the welfare-to-work grant program. 367 Section 4. Section 420.6265, Florida Statutes, is created 368 to read: 369 420.6265 Rapid ReHousing.— 370 (1) LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS AND INTENT.— 371 (a) The Legislature finds that Rapid ReHousing is a 372 strategy of using temporary financial assistance and case 373 management to quickly move an individual or family out of 374 homelessness and into permanent housing. 375 (b) The Legislature also finds that, for most of the past 376 two decades, public and private solutions to homelessness have 377 focused on providing individuals and families who are 378 experiencing homelessness with emergency shelter, transitional 379 housing, or a combination of both. While emergency shelter and 380 transitional housing programs may provide critical access to 381 services for individuals and families in crisis, they often fail 382 to address their long-term needs. 383 (c) The Legislature further finds that most households 384 become homeless as a result of a financial crisis that prevents 385 individuals and families from paying rent or a domestic conflict 386 that results in one member being ejected or leaving without 387 resources or a plan for housing. 388 (d) The Legislature further finds that Rapid ReHousing is 389 an alternative approach to the current system of emergency 390 shelter or transitional housing which tends to reduce the length 391 of time of homelessness and has proven to be cost effective. 392 (e) It is therefore the intent of the Legislature to 393 encourage homeless continuums of care to adopt the Rapid 394 ReHousing approach to preventing homelessness for individuals 395 and families who do not require the intense level of supports 396 provided in the Permanent Supportive Housing model. 397 (2) RAPID REHOUSING METHODOLOGY.— 398 (a) The Rapid ReHousing approach to homelessness differs 399 from traditional approaches to addressing homelessness by 400 focusing on each individual’s or family’s barriers to returning 401 to housing. By using this approach, communities can 402 significantly reduce the amount of time that individuals and 403 families are homeless and prevent further episodes of 404 homelessness. 405 (b) In Rapid ReHousing, an individual or family is 406 identified as being homeless, temporary assistance is provided 407 to allow the individual or family to obtain permanent housing as 408 quickly as possible, and, if needed, assistance is provided to 409 allow the individual or family to retain housing. 410 (c) The objective of Rapid ReHousing is to provide 411 assistance for as short a term as possible so that the 412 individual or family receiving assistance does not develop a 413 dependency on the assistance. 414 Section 5. Subsections (25) and (26) of section 420.9071, 415 Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 416 420.9071 Definitions.—As used in ss. 420.907-420.9079, the 417 term: 418 (25) “Recaptured funds” means funds that are recouped by a 419 county or eligible municipality in accordance with the recapture 420 provisions of its local housing assistance plan pursuant to s. 421 420.9075(5)(g)s. 420.9075(5)(h)from eligible persons or 422 eligible sponsors, which funds were not used for assistance to 423 an eligible household for an eligible activity, when there is a 424 default on the terms of a grant award or loan award. 425 (26) “Rent subsidies” means ongoing monthly rental 426 assistance.The term does not include initial assistance to427tenants, such as grants or loans for security and utility428deposits.429 Section 6. Subsection (7) of section 420.9072, Florida 430 Statutes, is amended, present subsections (8) and (9) of that 431 section are redesignated as subsections (9) and (10), 432 respectively, and a new subsection (8) is added to that section, 433 to read: 434 420.9072 State Housing Initiatives Partnership Program.—The 435 State Housing Initiatives Partnership Program is created for the 436 purpose of providing funds to counties and eligible 437 municipalities as an incentive for the creation of local housing 438 partnerships, to expand production of and preserve affordable 439 housing, to further the housing element of the local government 440 comprehensive plan specific to affordable housing, and to 441 increase housing-related employment. 442 (7) A county or an eligible municipality must expend its 443 portion of the local housing distribution only to implement a 444 local housing assistance plan or as provided in this subsection. 445A county or an eligible municipality may not expend its portion446of the local housing distribution to provide rent subsidies;447however, this does not prohibit the use of funds for security448and utility deposit assistance.449 (8) A county or an eligible municipality may not expend its 450 portion of the local housing distribution to provide ongoing 451 rent subsidies, except for: 452 (a) Security and utility deposit assistance. 453 (b) Eviction prevention not to exceed 6 months’ rent. 454 (c) A rent subsidy program for very-low-income households 455 with at least one adult who is a person with special needs as 456 defined in s. 420.0004 or homeless as defined in s. 420.621. The 457 period of rental assistance may not exceed 24 months for any 458 eligible household. 459 Section 7. Present subsections (5) through (7) of section 460 420.9073, Florida Statutes, are redesignated as subsections (6) 461 through (8), and a new subsection (5) is added to that section, 462 to read: 463 420.9073 Local housing distributions.— 464 (5) Notwithstanding subsections (1) through (4), the 465 corporation shall first distribute 4 percent of the total amount 466 to be distributed in a given fiscal year from the Local 467 Government Housing Trust Fund to the Department of Children and 468 Families and the Department of Economic Opportunity as follows: 469 (a) The Department of Children and Families shall receive 470 95 percent of such amount to provide operating funds and other 471 support to the designated lead agency in each continuum of care 472 for the benefit of the designated catchment area as described in 473 s. 420.624. 474 (b) The Department of Economic Opportunity shall receive 5 475 percent of such amount to provide training and technical 476 assistance to lead agencies receiving operating funds and other 477 support under paragraph (a) in accordance with s. 420.606(3). 478 Training and technical assistance funded by this distribution 479 shall be provided by a nonprofit entity that meets the 480 requirements of s. 420.531. 481 Section 8. Paragraph (a) of subsection (2) of section 482 420.9075, Florida Statutes, is amended, paragraph (f) is added 483 to subsection (3), subsection (5) of that section is amended, 484 and paragraph (i) is added to subsection (10) of that section, 485 to read: 486 420.9075 Local housing assistance plans; partnerships.— 487 (2)(a) Each county and each eligible municipality 488 participating in the State Housing Initiatives Partnership 489 Program shall encourage the involvement of appropriate public 490 sector and private sector entities as partners in order to 491 combine resources to reduce housing costs for the targeted 492 population. This partnership process should involve: 493 1. Lending institutions. 494 2. Housing builders and developers. 495 3. Nonprofit and other community-based housing and service 496 organizations. 497 4. Providers of professional services relating to 498 affordable housing. 499 5. Advocates for low-income persons, including, but not 500 limited to, homeless people, the elderly, and migrant 501 farmworkers. 502 6. Real estate professionals. 503 7. Other persons or entities who can assist in providing 504 housing or related support services. 505 8. Lead agencies of local homeless assistance continuums of 506 care. 507 (3) 508 (f) Each county and each eligible municipality is 509 encouraged to develop a strategy within its local housing 510 assistance plan which provides program funds for reducing 511 homelessness. 512 (5) The following criteria apply to awards made to eligible 513 sponsors or eligible persons for the purpose of providing 514 eligible housing: 515(a) At least 65 percent of the funds made available in each516county and eligible municipality from the local housing517distribution must be reserved for home ownership for eligible518persons.519 (a)(b)At least 75 percent of the funds made available in 520 each county and eligible municipality from the local housing 521 distribution must be reserved for construction, rehabilitation, 522 or emergency repair of affordable, eligible housing. 523 (b)(c)Not more than 20 percent of the funds made available 524 in each county and eligible municipality from the local housing 525 distribution may be used for manufactured housing. 526 (c)(d)The sales price or value of new or existing eligible 527 housing may not exceed 90 percent of the average area purchase 528 price in the statistical area in which the eligible housing is 529 located. Such average area purchase price may be that calculated 530 for any 12-month period beginning not earlier than the fourth 531 calendar year prior to the year in which the award occurs or as 532 otherwise established by the United States Department of the 533 Treasury. 534 (d)(e)1. All units constructed, rehabilitated, or otherwise 535 assisted with the funds provided from the local housing 536 assistance trust fund must be occupied by very-low-income 537 persons, low-income persons, and moderate-income persons except 538 as otherwise provided in this section. 539 2. At least 30 percent of the funds deposited into the 540 local housing assistance trust fund must be reserved for awards 541 to very-low-income persons or eligible sponsors who will serve 542 very-low-income persons and at least an additional 30 percent of 543 the funds deposited into the local housing assistance trust fund 544 must be reserved for awards to low-income persons or eligible 545 sponsors who will serve low-income persons. This subparagraph 546 does not apply to a county or an eligible municipality that 547 includes, or has included within the previous 5 years, an area 548 of critical state concern designated or ratified by the 549 Legislature for which the Legislature has declared its intent to 550 provide affordable housing. The exemption created by this act 551 expires on July 1, 2013, and shall apply retroactively. 552 (e)(f)Loans shall be provided for periods not exceeding 30 553 years, except for deferred payment loans or loans that extend 554 beyond 30 years which continue to serve eligible persons. 555 (f)(g)Loans or grants for eligible rental housing 556 constructed, rehabilitated, or otherwise assisted from the local 557 housing assistance trust fund must be subject to recapture 558 requirements as provided by the county or eligible municipality 559 in its local housing assistance plan unless reserved for 560 eligible persons for 15 years or the term of the assistance, 561 whichever period is longer. Eligible sponsors that offer rental 562 housing for sale before 15 years or that have remaining 563 mortgages funded under this program must give a first right of 564 refusal to eligible nonprofit organizations for purchase at the 565 current market value for continued occupancy by eligible 566 persons. 567 (g)(h)Loans or grants for eligible owner-occupied housing 568 constructed, rehabilitated, or otherwise assisted from proceeds 569 provided from the local housing assistance trust fund shall be 570 subject to recapture requirements as provided by the county or 571 eligible municipality in its local housing assistance plan. 572 (h)(i)The total amount of monthly mortgage payments or the 573 amount of monthly rent charged by the eligible sponsor or her or 574 his designee must be made affordable. 575 (i)(j)The maximum sales price or value per unit and the 576 maximum award per unit for eligible housing benefiting from 577 awards made pursuant to this section must be established in the 578 local housing assistance plan. 579 (j)(k)The benefit of assistance provided through the State 580 Housing Initiatives Partnership Program must accrue to eligible 581 persons occupying eligible housing. This provision shall not be 582 construed to prohibit use of the local housing distribution 583 funds for a mixed income rental development. 584 (k)(l)Funds from the local housing distribution not used 585 to meet the criteria established in paragraph (a)or paragraph586(b)or not used for the administration of a local housing 587 assistance plan must be used for housing production and finance 588 activities, including, but not limited to, financing 589 preconstruction activities or the purchase of existing units, 590 providing rental housing, and providing home ownership training 591 to prospective home buyers and owners of homes assisted through 592 the local housing assistance plan. 593 1. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraphparagraphs594 (a)and (b), program income as defined in s. 420.9071(24) may 595 also be used to fund activities described in this paragraph. 596 2. When preconstruction due-diligence activities conducted 597 as part of a preservation strategy show that preservation of the 598 units is not feasible and will not result in the production of 599 an eligible unit, such costs shall be deemed a program expense 600 rather than an administrative expense if such program expenses 601 do not exceed 3 percent of the annual local housing 602 distribution. 603 3. If both an award under the local housing assistance plan 604 and federal low-income housing tax credits are used to assist a 605 project and there is a conflict between the criteria prescribed 606 in this subsection and the requirements of s. 42 of the Internal 607 Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, the county or eligible 608 municipality may resolve the conflict by giving precedence to 609 the requirements of s. 42 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, 610 as amended, in lieu of following the criteria prescribed in this 611 subsection with the exception of paragraph (d)paragraphs (a)612and (e)of this subsection. 613 4. Each county and each eligible municipality may award 614 funds as a grant for construction, rehabilitation, or repair as 615 part of disaster recovery or emergency repairs or to remedy 616 accessibility or health and safety deficiencies. Any other 617 grants must be approved as part of the local housing assistance 618 plan. 619 (10) Each county or eligible municipality shall submit to 620 the corporation by September 15 of each year a report of its 621 affordable housing programs and accomplishments through June 30 622 immediately preceding submittal of the report. The report shall 623 be certified as accurate and complete by the local government’s 624 chief elected official or his or her designee. Transmittal of 625 the annual report by a county’s or eligible municipality’s chief 626 elected official, or his or her designee, certifies that the 627 local housing incentive strategies, or, if applicable, the local 628 housing incentive plan, have been implemented or are in the 629 process of being implemented pursuant to the adopted schedule 630 for implementation. The report must include, but is not limited 631 to: 632 (i) A description of efforts to reduce homelessness. 633 Section 9. Section 420.9089, Florida Statutes, is created 634 to read: 635 420.9089 National Housing Trust Fund.—The Legislature finds 636 that more funding for housing to assist the homeless is needed 637 and encourages the state entity designated to administer funds 638 made available to the state from the National Housing Trust Fund 639 to propose an allocation plan that includes strategies to reduce 640 homelessness in this state. These strategies to address 641 homelessness shall be in addition to strategies under s. 642 420.5087. 643 Section 10. This act shall take effect July 1, 2015. 644