BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 532
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Date of Hearing: April 17, 2012
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Mike Gatto, Chair
AB 532 (Gordon) - As Amended: April 4, 2013
Policy Committee: Housing and
Community Development Vote: 7-0
Urgency: Yes State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable:
SUMMARY
This bill eliminates the requirement that funds in the Local
Housing Trust Fund Matching Grant program for newly formed local
housing trust funds revert to the Self-Help Housing Fund and
continuously appropriates the funds to the Local Housing Trust
Fund Matching Grant program for new and existing local housing
trust funds. Specifically, this bill:
1)Deletes the requirement that any funds not encumbered in the
Local Housing Trust Fund Matching Grant program for newly
formed local housing trust funds reverts to the Self-Help
Housing Fund 30 months after the first Notice of Funding
Availability (NOFA).
2)Requires that a city or county that receives funding under the
Local Housing Trust Fund Matching Grant program maintain a
current and substantially compliant housing element to remain
eligible for funding.
3)Deletes the requirement that HCD set aside 50% of the funding
for the Local Housing Trust Fund Matching Grant program for
newly formed local housing trust funds.
FISCAL EFFECT
This bill would result in over $8 million being diverted from
the Self-Help Housing Fund to the Local Housing Trust Fund
Matching Grant program. These are funds are from a general
obligation bond issue approved by the voters in 2006.
COMMENTS
AB 532
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1)Purpose . The author states AB 532 would remove the
requirement that the remaining funding for the Local Housing
Trust Fund Matching Grant Program revert to the Self-Help
Housing Program at the end of the year. The author notes the
bill would make the remaining funding available to both newly
formed and existing housing trust funds and reduce the maximum
amount a trust fund could receive in matching state dollars to
$1,000,000 from $2,000,000. To ensure the funds are spent
expeditiously the bill directs HCD to issue a new NOFA for the
program no later than June 30, 2014.
The bill contains an urgency clause so that it will take
effect before November of this year when the funds in the
Local Housing Trust Fund Matching Grant Program are scheduled
to revert to the Self-Help Housing Program.
2)Support . Supporters, including the California Building
Industry Association, state the demise of redevelopment
coupled with shrinking federal dollars for housing makes local
housing trust funds more valuable. Additionally, existing
housing trust funds provided examples of leveraging local
funds with state dollars to finance affordable housing. The
San Luis Obispo Housing Trust Fund (SLOHTF), received $1.5
million from the Local Housing Trust Fund Matching Program
which allowed them to construct 168 units of affordable
housing. According to SLOHTF, in 2010 30% of all housing
starts in the county received assistance from the Local
Housing Trust Fund Matching Grant Program.
3)Background . In 2006, the voters approved Proposition 1C: the
Housing and Emergency Shelter Trust Fund Act, which authorized
$2.85 billion for affordable housing programs for very low-,
low- and moderate-income individuals and families. The bond
included $100 million for the Affordable Housing Innovation
Fund for competitive grants or loans for programs that
demonstrate innovative, cost-saving approaches to creating or
preserving affordable housing. The bond required the
Legislature to design programs to the measure, subject to a
two-thirds vote. Any funds not encumbered for a program
funded through the Affordable Housing Innovation Fund within
30 months of being made available, revert to the Self-Help
Housing Fund.
In 2007, SB 586 (Dutton), Chapter 652, authorized several
AB 532
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programs funded by the Affordable Housing Innovation Fund,
including $35 million for the Local Housing Trust Fund
Matching Grant Program. Originally established by Proposition
46 in 2002, the Local Housing Trust Fund Matching Grant
Program provides dollar-for-dollar matching grants to cities,
counties, or non-profit organizations that form a housing
trust fund using local dollars. The program requires that
those communities that have existing housing trust funds to
provide a minimum match of $1,000,000 and those that form new
local housing trust funds to provide a minimum match of
$500,000. Half of the funding for the program, $17.5 million,
was set aside for newly formed housing trust funds. At this
point, the funding for existing housing trust funds has been
exhausted, however approximately $9 million remains for newly
formed housing trust funds.
4)This bill has no registered opposition.
Analysis Prepared by : Roger Dunstan / APPR. / (916) 319-2081