BILL NUMBER: SB 442 CHAPTERED 10/07/01 CHAPTER 577 FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE OCTOBER 7,2001 PASSED THE SENATE SEPTEMBER 13, 2001 PASSED THE ASSEMBLY SEPTEMBER 12, 2001 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY SEPTEMBER 5, 2001 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JULY 23, 2001 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 30, 2001 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 20, 2001 AMENDED IN SENATE MAY 3, 2001 AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 16, 2001 AMENDED IN SENATE MARCH 27, 2001 INTRODUCED BY Senator Vasconcellos (Coauthors: Assembly Members Cohn, Correa, and Diaz) FEBRUARY 21, 2001 An act to add Section 12019 to the Government Code, and to amend Section 50451 of, and to add Section 50455.6 to, the Health and Safety Code, relating to housing, and making an appropriation therefor. (Approved by Governor October 5, 2001. Filed with Secretary of State October 7, 2001.) I am signing SB 442 which specifies that the strategy for coordinating the housing activities of state and local agencies include housing assistance for various special populations such as the elderly and the disabled communities. Further, in light of the rapid decline of our economy and a budget shortfall of $1.1 billion through the first three months of this fiscal year alone, I have no choice but to oppose additional General Fund spending. Therefore, I am deleting Section 4 of the bill that would make a $150,000 General Fund appropriation to the Director of e-Government. The Director is authorized to do as much as he can within existing resources. GRAY DAVIS, Governor LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST SB 442, Vasconcellos. Housing: special needs population. Existing law requires the California Statewide Housing Plan to include a housing strategy that coordinates housing assistance and activities of state and local agencies. Existing law also authorizes the State Department of Developmental Services to study and prepare a plan in cooperation with the State Council on Developmental Disabilities to consider, among other things, maximizing existing state and federal resources available to assist persons with developmental special needs to live in the least restrictive environment possible, including federal housing subsidy and assistance. This bill would require the housing strategy in the California Statewide Housing Plan to include the provision of housing assistance for various specific population groups. For that purpose, the bill would require the Department of Housing and Community Development to consider certain information and to consult with various state departments that have information relevant to the housing needs of those population groups. This bill would require the Director of e-Government in the office of the Governor to direct the development of, and to make operational, an interactive Internet-based information site and inventory of publicly assisted or publicly financed multiunit low-income rental housing, to be referred to as the California Affordable Housing Connection. It would require the director to designate or request a specified technology center to maintain and update the information at least biannually. It would require the director to report to the Legislature, as specified, on the development of the site. This bill would appropriate $150,000 from the General Fund to the Director of e-Government for the purposes of the bill, as specified. Appropriation: yes. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. Section 12019 is added to the Government Code, to read: 12019. (a) The Director of e-Government in the office of the Governor shall direct the development of, and shall make operational by July 1, 2003, an interactive Internet-based information site and inventory of all publicly assisted or publicly financed multiunit low-income rental housing in the state, where data are available. This site and inventory shall be referred to as the California Affordable Housing Connection. It is the intent of the Legislature that a technology center within a California institution of higher education develop a site and that state agencies allow access to relevant digital data for the development of the site. It is further the intent of the Legislature that the Internet site be a resource to individuals and agencies interested in locating affordable housing for low-income persons and families. (b) The interactive site shall contain specified information on publicly assisted or financed housing, including, but not limited to, housing assisted through the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, the United States Department of Agriculture's Rural Housing Service, the California Housing Finance Agency, the California Tax Credit Allocation Committee, the California Department of Housing and Community Development, and local housing and redevelopment agencies as data are available. The site shall be designed with the capacity to be updated by state and local housing entities as new data are available. It is the intent of the Legislature that those entities, to the extent feasible, enter new data as often as it becomes available. (c) (1) The inventory information shall include, but not be limited to, (A) the name, address, number of units, and contact information of housing properties, and (B) subsidy program information, including program description, eligibility requirements, estimated rent levels, and application information. (2) The information shall be organized to facilitate consumer inquiries based on geographic location and other individual or household factors. Consumer data gathered through the Internet interaction or interview process shall include, but not be limited to, the number of persons in the household, household income, heads of household and household members 62 years of age or older or with a disability, number of dependents and child care payments, family caretaking and medical expenses, the size of a desired apartment, such as efficiency or one or two bedrooms, and the city or ZIP Code for desired housing, including the opportunity to specify both urban and rural geographic preferences. (d) The interactive site shall have the capacity to list housing options according to the degree that known program attributes match the consumer characteristics submitted to the site. (e) To the extent that data are available, the site shall provide information on the accessibility of the housing included in the inventory. The site shall also utilize technology that facilitates access to the site for persons with disabilities. (f) Information on the site shall be made available in English and Spanish. (g) The site shall have disclaimers that include, but are not limited to, all of the following: (1) That the listing of housing programs or properties is a factual representation, and not an approval of the quality or physical characteristics of specific housing properties. (2) That there is the potential of waiting lists for the properties and programs listed and that consumers or agencies should contact housing providers directly to inquire about availability of units. (3) That all consumer information entered into the California Affordable Housing Connection by users shall remain confidential and shall not be used for any other purpose. (h) The Director of e-Government shall also designate or request the technology center within a California institution of higher education chosen to develop the site to maintain and update the information contained in the inventory at least on a biannual basis, as new data become available, such as when affordable housing properties are added to California's housing stock or previous properties no longer participate in affordable housing programs. It is the intent of the Legislature that the relevant state departments cooperate with the California institution of higher education by providing existing housing data pertinent to the Internet site. (i) After data is compiled pursuant to this section for purposes of creating and maintaining an inventory, this data shall be available to the state at no cost. (j) Two years following commencement of the development of the site pursuant to this section, the Director of e-Government shall provide a report to the Legislature detailing the participation of agencies in the California Affordable Housing Connection and a summary of the development of the site. SEC. 2. Section 50451 of the Health and Safety Code is amended to read: 50451. The California Statewide Housing Plan shall incorporate a statement of housing goals, policies, and objectives, as well as all of the following segments: (a) An evaluation and summary of housing conditions throughout the state, with particular emphasis upon the availability of housing for all economic segments of the state. The evaluation shall include summary statistics for all counties, all multicounty metropolitan areas, and rural areas, as defined and designated by the Bureau of the Census of the United States Department of Commerce, rather than as defined in Section 50101. The evaluation shall include the existing distribution of housing by type, size, gross rent, value, and, to the extent data is available, condition, and the existing distribution of households by gross income, size, and ethnic character for each of those areas. (b) Housing development goals for the fiscal year the plan is revised and projected four additional fiscal years ahead. The goals shall be established as the minimum number of units necessary to be built or rehabilitated by the fourth subsequent fiscal year, in order to provide sufficient housing to house all residents of the state in standard, uncrowded units in suitable locations. (c) Goals for the provision of housing assistance for the fiscal year the plan is revised and projected four additional fiscal years ahead. The goals shall be established as the minimum number of households to be assisted which will result in achieving, by the fourth subsequent fiscal year, a substantial reduction in the number of very low income households and other persons and families of low or moderate income constrained to pay more than 25 percent of their gross income for housing. Income groups to be considered in establishing the goals shall be designated by the department and shall include households a significant number of which are required to pay more than 25 percent of their gross income for housing in the fiscal year the plan is revised, as determined by the department. (d) An identification of governmental and nongovernmental constraints and obstacles and specific recommendations for their removal. (e) An analysis of state and local housing and building codes and their enforcement. The analysis shall include consideration of whether those codes contain sufficient flexibility to respond to new methods of construction and new materials. (f) Recommendations for actions by federal, state, and local governments and the private sector that will contribute to the attainment of the housing goals established for California. (g) A housing strategy that coordinates the housing assistance and activities of state and local agencies, including the provision of housing assistance for various population groups such as elderly persons, persons with disabilities, large families, families where a female is the head of the household, farmworker households, and other specific population groups as deemed appropriate by the department. To inform the strategy, the department shall, to the extent possible, do the following: (1) Consider information compiled by the University of California pursuant to Section 9101.5 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, and from provider and consumer organizations as available. (2) Consult with various state departments, including the California Department of Aging, the State Department of Social Services, the State Department of Health Services, the State Department of Mental Health, the Employment Development Department, the State Department of Developmental Services, and other state departments or agencies to obtain information deemed relevant to the housing needs of populations addressed in the housing strategy. This paragraph shall not be construed to require activity beyond the customary scope of the department's planning process. SEC. 3. Section 50455.6 is added to the Health and Safety Code, to read: 50455.6. The Legislature finds and declares that a severe shortage of affordable housing exists for low- and moderate-income households, including the elderly, disabled persons, and other special needs populations. It is the intent of the Legislature that housing designed especially for low- and moderate-income elderly, disabled persons, and other special needs populations be given due consideration in the administration of the development, preservation, and rehabilitation of housing, and other housing programs, including encouraging the inclusion of supportive services to meet the unique housing needs of these populations. SEC. 4. The sum of one hundred fifty thousand dollars ($150,000) is hereby appropriated from the General Fund to the Director of e-Government for the purpose of meeting the requirements of Section 1 of this act. The entity that develops, operates, and maintains the Internet site pursuant to this section shall demonstrate at least a one-to-one match in the first year raised through non-State of California resources, and shall apply additional resources as needed for the completion of the project's development. This entity shall also produce a resource development plan for sustaining the site and securing resources for making information on the site available in additional languages, including, but not limited to, Chinese. The funds appropriated by this section shall only be used for direct staffing, hardware, and other direct project costs, but not for administrative overhead.