Amended in Senate September 6, 2013

Amended in Senate July 3, 2013

California Legislature—2013–14 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 639

Introduced by Assembly Member John A. Pérez

(Principal coauthors: Assembly Members Atkins and Muratsuchi)

(Coauthors: Assembly Members Achadjian, begin insert Ammiano, end insert Bocanegra, Bonilla, Buchanan, Brown, Ian Calderon, Chesbro, Daly, Eggman, Fox, begin insert Frazier, Gordon, Gray, Hall, end insert Maienschein, Perea, Quirk-Silva, Rendon, begin insert Salas, Skinner, end insert Wieckowski, and Williams)

(Coauthors: Senators begin insert Block, Correa, end insert DeSaulnier, Hueso, Gaines, begin insert Knight, Lara, Lieu, Nielsen, end insert Roth, and Wyland)

February 20, 2013

An act to amend Sections 50408, 50501, 50505, 50510, and 50512 of the Health and Safety Code, and to amend Section 998.403 of, and to add Article 3.2 (commencing with Section 987.001), and Article 5y (commencing with Section 998.540), to Chapter 6 of Division 4 of, the Military and Veterans Code, relating to the financing of a program to provide housing begin delete and services end delete to veterans through the issuance and sale of bonds of the State of California and by providing for the handling and disposition of those funds, and declaring the urgency thereof, to take effect immediately.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 639, as amended, John A. Pérez. Veterans Housing and Homeless Prevention Bond Act of 2014: Veterans Housing and Homeless Prevention Act of 2014.

Existing law, the Veterans’ Bond Act of 2008, as approved by the voters, authorizes the issuance of bonds in the amount of $900,000,000, pursuant to the State General Obligation Bond Law, for purposes of financing the Cal-Vet program for farm, home, and mobilehome purchase assistance for veterans.

This bill would amend the Veterans’ Bond Act of 2008 to reduce the amount of bonds that are authorized to be issued under the act from $900,000,000 to $300,000,000. The bill would enact the Veterans Housing and Homeless Prevention Bond Act of 2014 (the bond act) to authorize the issuance of bonds in the amount of $600,000,000, as specified, for expenditure by the California Housing Finance Agency, the Department of Housing and Community Development, and the Department of Veterans Affairs to provide multifamily housing begin delete and services end delete to veterans pursuant to the Veterans Housing and Homeless Prevention Act of 2014 (VHHPA), also enacted by the bill. The bill would authorize the Legislature to amend the provisions of the bond act, by majority vote, for specified purposes. The bill would impose a specified reporting requirement on the Department of Housing and Community Development to evaluate, in collaboration with the Department of Veterans Affairs, any program established by the former pursuant to the VHHPA. The bill would authorize the Department of Housing and Community Development to provide specified assistance to veterans.

The bill would provide for submission of a specified section to the voters at the begin delete November 4, end delete begin insert June 3, end insert 2014, begin delete general end delete begin insert statewide primary end insert election, as specified.

This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

Vote: ²⁄₃. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.

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

SECTION 1.  

Article 5y (commencing with Section 998.540)
is added to Chapter 6 of Division 4 of the Military and Veterans
Code, to read:

 

Article 5y.  The Veterans Housing and Homeless Prevention
begin delete BondAct end delete begin insert Bond Act end insert of 2014

 

998.540.  

This article shall be known and may be cited as the
Veterans Housing and Homeless Prevention Bond Act of 2014.

998.541.  

(a) California is home to almost two million veterans,
more than any other state in the nation, and with the winding down
of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, an unprecedented number of
California veterans will return to our communities, many in need
of housing, employment, mental health and drug treatment, and
physical rehabilitation.

(b) Unfortunately, California also leads the nation in the number
of homeless veterans, roughly 25 percent of the nation’s homeless
veterans live in California, approximately 19,000 veterans.
According to the California Research Bureau, Los Angeles is
number one in terms of the number of homeless veterans followed
by the San Diego region at number three, and the San Francisco
Bay Area at number nine.

(c) Moreover, the face of the nation’s homeless veterans’
population is changing as more OIF/OEF veterans find themselves
in a downward spiral towards homelessness and, increasingly,
female veterans and their children comprise more and more of the
homeless veteran demographic.

(d) With their higher rates of begin delete posttraumatic end delete begin insert post-traumatic end insert stress
disorder, substance abuse, and unemployment, as well as the higher
incidence of sexual trauma experienced by our female veterans,
the current homeless veteran, all too often, cycles in and out of
our jails, hospitals, and treatment programs, disproportionately
drawing down services without receiving the proper services to
stabilize their lives.

(e) The Legislature must advance a comprehensive, coordinated,
and cost-effective approach to respond to the housing begin delete and services end delete
needs of our veterans. Such an approach should leverage public
and private resources as well as align housing and services.

(f) Five years ago, Californians overwhelmingly affirmed their
gratitude to our veterans by approving Proposition 12, a begin delete $900
million end delete begin insert nine hundred million dollars ($900,000,000) end insert general
obligation bond intended to help veterans specifically purchase
single family homes, farms, and mobilehomes through the CalVet
Home Loan Program.

(g) As a result of the nation’s economic crisis and state’s housing
downturn coupled with the changing demographics of our veterans,
the Farm and Home Loan Program, as approved by Proposition
12, has been significantly undersubscribed. Five years since its
passage, the full begin delete $900 end delete begin insert nine hundred end insert million begin insert dollars ($900,000,000) end insert
remains unspent as does a portion of the begin delete $500 end delete begin insert five hundred end insert million
begin insert dollars ($500,000,000) end insert from Proposition 32, which was approved
by the voters in 2000.

(h) Meanwhile, veterans in need of multifamily housing that is
affordable, supportive, and transitional remains unmet and public
and private resources available for these purposes remain
underutilized.

(i) California voters should be granted the opportunity to
restructure the Proposition 12 veterans’ bond program to better
respond to the housing begin delete and services end delete needs as well as the changing
demographics of the current veteran begin insert population end insert .

(j) The Veterans Housing and Homeless Prevention Bond Act
of 2014 will restructure begin delete $600 end delete begin insert six hundred end insert million begin insert dollars
($600,000,000) end insert of the existing Proposition 12 bond moneys to
allow for the construction and rehabilitation of multifamily housing
for veterans and prioritize projects that align housing with services.
Even with this restructuring of bond moneys, the act still preserves
over half a billion dollars for the existing CalVet Farm and Home
Loan Program.

(k) The Veterans Housing and Homeless Prevention Bond Act
of 2014 will expand housing and service options for veterans,
cost-effectively leverage public dollars, reduce the number of
homeless veterans and its attendant public costs, and place
California at the forefront of our nation’s efforts to end begin delete veterans end delete
begin insert veterans’ end insert homelessness by 2015.

998.542.  

(a) The State General Obligation Bond Law (Chapter
4 (commencing with Section 16720) of Part 3 of Division 4 of
Title 2 of the Government Code), as amended from time to time,
except as otherwise provided herein, is adopted for the purpose of
the issuance, sale, and repayment of, and otherwise providing with
respect to, the bonds authorized to be issued by this article, and
the provisions of that law are included in this article as though set
out in full in this article. All references in this article to “herein”
refer both to this article and that law.

(b) For purposes of the State General Obligation Bond Law, begin delete the
California Housing Finance Agency, the Department of Housing
and Community Development, and end delete the Department of Veterans
Affairs is designated the board. begin insert The Department of Veterans Affairs
shall carry out the board duties in consultation with the California
Housing Finance Agency and the Department of Housing and
Community Development. end insert

998.543.  

As used herein, the following terms have the following
meanings:

(a) “Board” means begin delete the California Housing Finance Agency, the
Department of Housing and Community Development, and end delete the
Department of Veterans Affairs.

(b) “Bond” means a veterans’ bond, a state general obligation
bond, issued pursuant to this article adopting the provisions of the
State General Obligation Bond Law.

(c) “Bond act” means this article authorizing the issuance of
state general obligation bonds and adopting the State General
Obligation Bond Law by reference.

(d) “Committee” means the Housing for Veterans Finance
Committee, established pursuant to Section 998.547.

(e) “Fund” means the Housing for Veterans Fund, established
pursuant to Section 998.544.

998.544.  

(a) Bonds in the total amount of six hundred million
dollars ($600,000,000), or so much thereof as is necessary, not
including the amount of any refunding bonds, or so much thereof
as is necessary, may be issued and sold to provide a fund to be
used for carrying out the purposes expressed in subdivision (b)
and to reimburse the General Obligation Bond Expense Revolving
Fund pursuant to Section 16724.5 of the Government Code. The
bonds, when sold, shall be and constitute a valid and binding
obligation of the State of California, and the full faith and credit
of the State of California is hereby pledged for the punctual
payment of both principal of, and interest on, the bonds as the
principal and interest become due and payable.

(b) The proceeds of bonds issued and sold pursuant to this
section shall be made available to the board for the purposes of
creating a fund to provide multifamily housing begin delete and services end delete to
veterans and their families pursuant to the Veterans Housing and
Homeless Prevention Act of 2014 (Article 3.2 (commencing with
Section begin delete 987.001) end delete begin insert 987.001)) end insert , and any subsequent statutory
enactment that amends that act or enacts or amends any successor
act begin insert for the purpose of providing housing end insert begin insert to veterans and their
families end insert .

(c) The Legislature may, from time to time, by majority vote,
amend the provisions of this act for the purpose of improving
program efficiency, effectiveness, and accountability, or for the
purpose of furthering overall program goals.

(d) The proceeds of bonds issued and sold pursuant to this article
shall be deposited in the Housing for Veterans Fund, which is
hereby created.

begin delete

(e) The proceeds of the bonds deposited in the Housing for
Veterans Fund shall be subject to annual appropriation, as
determined by the Legislature.

end delete

998.546.  

The bonds authorized by this article shall be prepared,
executed, issued, sold, paid, and redeemed as provided in the State
General Obligation Bond Law (Chapter 4 (commencing with
Section 16720) of Part 3 of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government
Code), and all of the provisions of that law, except subdivisions
(a) and (b) of Section 16727 of the Government Code, shall apply
to the bonds and to this article and are hereby incorporated in this
article as though set forth in full in this article.

998.547.  

Solely for the purpose of authorizing the issuance
and sale pursuant to the State General Obligation Bond Law of
the bonds authorized by this article, the Housing for Veterans
Finance Committee is hereby created. For purposes of this article,
the Housing for Veterans Finance Committee is “the committee”
as that term is used in the State General Obligation Bond Law.
The committee consists of the Controller, Treasurer, Director of
Finance, Secretary of Business, Consumer Services, and Housing,
and Secretary of Veterans Affairs, or their designated
representatives. The Treasurer shall serve as chairperson of the
committee. A majority of the committee may act for the committee.

998.548.  

The committee shall determine whether or not it is
necessary or desirable to issue bonds authorized pursuant to this
article in order to carry out the actions specified in Section 998.544
and, if so, the amount of bonds to be issued and sold. Successive
issues of bonds may be authorized and sold to carry out those
actions progressively, and it is not necessary that all of the bonds
authorized to be issued be sold at any one time.

998.549.  

There shall be collected each year and in the same
manner and at the same time as other state revenue is collected,
in addition to the ordinary revenues of the state, a sum in an amount
required to pay the principal of, and interest on, the bonds each
year. It is the duty of all officers charged by law with any duty in
regard to the collection of the revenue to do and perform each and
every act that is necessary to collect that additional sum.

998.550.  

Notwithstanding Section 13340 of the Government
Code, there is hereby appropriated from the General Fund in the
State Treasury, for the purposes of this article, an amount that will
equal the total of the following:

(a) The sum annually necessary to pay the principal of, and
interest on, bonds issued and sold pursuant to this article, as the
principal and interest become due and payable.

(b) The sum necessary to carry out Section 998.551,
appropriated without regard to fiscal years.

998.551.  

For the purposes of carrying out this article, the
Director of Finance may authorize the withdrawal from the General
Fund of an amount not to exceed the amount of the unsold bonds
that have been authorized by the committee to be sold for the
purpose of carrying out this article. Any amounts withdrawn shall
be deposited in the fund. Any money made available under this
section shall be returned to the General Fund from proceeds
received from the sale of bonds for the purpose of carrying out
this article.

998.552.  

All money deposited in the fund that is derived from
premium and accrued interest on bonds sold, in excess of any
amount of premium used to pay costs of issuing the bonds, shall
be reserved in the fund and shall be available for transfer to the
General Fund as a credit to expenditures for bond interest.

998.553.  

Pursuant to Chapter 4 (commencing with Section
16720) of Part 3 of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code,
all or a portion of the cost of bond issuance may be paid out of the
bond proceeds, including any premium derived from the sale of
the bonds. These costs shall be shared proportionally by each
program funded through this bond act.

998.554.  

The board may request the Pooled Money Investment
Board to make a loan from the Pooled Money Investment Account,
including other authorized forms of interim financing that include,
but are not limited to, commercial paper, in accordance with
Section 16312 of the Government Code, for purposes of carrying
out this article. The amount of the request shall not exceed the
amount of the unsold bonds that the committee, by resolution, has
authorized to be sold for the purpose of carrying out this article.
The board shall execute any documents required by the Pooled
Money Investment Board to obtain and repay the loan. Any
amounts loaned shall be deposited in the fund to be allocated by
the board in accordance with this article.

998.555.  

The bonds may be refunded in accordance with Article
6 (commencing with Section 16780) of Chapter 4 of Part 3 of
Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code, which is a part of
the State General Obligation Bond Law. Approval by the voters
of the state for the issuance of the bonds described in this article
includes the approval of the issuance of any bonds issued to refund
any bonds originally issued under this article or any previously
issued refunding bonds.

998.556.  

Notwithstanding any other provision of this article,
or of the State General Obligation Bond Law, the Treasurer may
maintain separate accounts for the investment of bond proceeds
and for the investment of earnings on those proceeds. The Treasurer
may use or direct the use of those proceeds or earnings to pay any
rebate, penalty, or other payment required under federal law or
take any other action with respect to the investment and use of
those bond proceeds required or desirable under federal tax law
or to obtain any other advantage under federal law on behalf of
the funds of this state.

998.557.  

The Legislature hereby finds and declares that,
inasmuch as the proceeds from the sale of bonds authorized by
this article are not “proceeds of taxes” as that term is used in Article
XIII B of the California Constitution, the disbursement of these
proceeds is not subject to the limitations imposed by that article.

SEC. 2.  

Section 998.403 of the Military and Veterans Code is
amended to read:

998.403.  

For the purpose of creating a fund to provide farm
and home aid for veterans in accordance with the Veterans’ Farm
and Home Purchase Act of 1974 (Article 3.1 (commencing with
Section 987.50)), and of all acts amendatory thereof and
supplemental thereto, the committee may create a debt or debts,
liability or liabilities, of the State of California, in the aggregate
amount of not more than three hundred million dollars
($300,000,000), exclusive of refunding bonds, in the manner
provided herein.

SEC. 3.  

Article 3.2 (commencing with Section 987.001) is
added to Chapter 6 of Division 4 of the Military and Veterans
Code, to read:

 

Article 3.2.  The Veterans Housing and Homeless Prevention
Act of 2014

 

987.001.  

This article may be cited as the Veterans Housing
and Homeless Prevention Act of 2014.

987.002.  

(a) The purpose of this article is to provide the
acquisition, construction, rehabilitation, and preservation of
affordable multifamily supportive housing, affordable begin delete multifamily end delete
transitional housing, begin insert affordable rental housing, end insert or related facilities
begin delete and services end delete for veterans and their families begin insert to allow veterans to
access and maintain housing stability end insert .

(b) A program established under this article shall be restricted
to veterans and their families.

begin insert

(c) The California Housing Finance Agency, the Department
of Housing and Community Development, and the Department of
Veterans Affairs, herein after “departments,” shall work
collaboratively pursuant to the memorandum of understanding,
as specified in Section 987.006, to carry out the duties and
functions of this article.

end insert

987.003.  

As used in this article:

begin delete

(a) “Board” means the California Housing Finance Agency, the
Department of Housing and Community Development, and the
Department of Veterans Affairs.

end delete begin delete

(b)

end delete

begin insert (a) end insert  “Supportive housing” has the same meaning as defined in
paragraph (2) of subdivision begin delete (c) end delete begin insert (b) end insert of Section begin delete 1504.5 end delete begin insert 50675.14 end insert
of the Health and Safety Code begin insert , but is not restrictive to only projects
with five or more units end insert .

begin delete

(c)

end delete

begin insert (b) end insert  “Transitional housing” has the same meaning as defined in
subdivision (h) of Section 50675.2 of the Health and Safety Code begin insert ,
but is not restrictive to only projects with five or more units end insert .

begin insert

(c) “Affordable rental housing” shall mean a rental housing
development, as defined in subdivision (d) of Section 50675.2 of
the Health and Safety Code, with affordable rents, as defined in
subdivision (a) of Section 50675.2 of the Health and Safety Code,
but neither definition is restrictive to only projects with five or
more units.

end insert begin insert

(d) “Veteran” means any person who served in the active
military, naval, or air service of the United States, or as a member
of the National Guard who was called to and released from active
duty or active service, for a period of not less than 90 consecutive
days or was discharged from the service due to a service-connected
disability within that 90-day period.

end insert

987.004.  

The administration of this article is vested solely in
the begin delete board. end delete begin insert departments. Total costs of administering this article
shall not exceed 5 percent of the bond funds issued. end insert

987.005.  

(a) The begin delete board end delete begin insert departments end insert shall begin delete do all of the
following: end delete

begin delete (1) end delete begin delete   end delete begin delete Establish end delete begin insert establish end insert and implement programs pursuant to the
purposes of this article that focus on veterans at risk for
homelessness or experiencing temporary or chronic homelessness.
To the extent feasible, the begin delete board end delete begin insert departments end insert shall establish and
implement programs that, among other things, do the following:

begin delete

(A)

end delete

begin insert (1) end insert  Leverage public (federal, state, and local), private, and
nonprofit program and fiscal resources.

begin delete

(B)

end delete

begin insert (2) end insert  Prioritize projects that combine housing and supportive
services, begin delete such as end delete begin insert including, but not limited to, end insert job training, mental
health and drug treatment, begin insert case management, care coordination, end insert
or physical rehabilitation.

begin delete

(C)

end delete

begin insert (3) end insert  Promote public and private partnerships.

begin delete

(D)

end delete

begin insert (4) end insert  Foster innovative financing opportunities.

begin delete

(2) Approve issuance of Notices of Funding Availability.

end delete begin delete

(3) Review and score responses from the Notices of Funding
Availability.

end delete begin delete

(4) Score project applications.

end delete begin insert

(5) Ensure program guidelines and terms provide threshold
requirements or scoring criteria, or both, to advance applicants
with experience in combining permanent or transitional housing,
or both, with supportive services for veterans, or for partnering
with housing developers or service providers with experience
offering housing or services to veterans.

end insert begin insert

(b) The departments shall ensure at least 50 percent of funds
awarded for capital development under this article provide housing
to veteran households with extremely low incomes, as defined in
Section 50106 of the Health and Safety Code.

end insert begin insert

(1) In determining whether a potential tenant is eligible for
supportive, affordable, or transitional housing targeted to
extremely low income households under this provision, eligibility
shall take into consideration all of a household’s income sources
upon initial tenancy.

end insert begin insert

(2) At least 60 percent of units funded targeting extremely
low-income households shall be supportive housing.

end insert begin insert

(3) This section shall not deter the departments from funding
projects serving mixed-income populations.

end insert begin delete

(b)

end delete

begin insert (c) end insert  The begin delete board end delete begin insert departments end insert may begin delete review and adopt end delete begin insert review, adopt,
amend, and repeal end insert guidelines or begin delete regulations, end delete begin insert terms, end insert or both, to
implement this article. begin insert Any guidelines or terms adopted to
implement this article shall not be subject to Chapter 3.5
(commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title
2 of the Government Code. end insert

begin insert

(d) Nothing in this article permits the departments or the board
to purchase, operate, or manage properties except in the event of
a foreclosure on a borrower or grantee.

end insert

987.006.  

(a) No later than begin delete March 4, 2015, end delete begin insert August 15, 2014, end insert
the begin delete Department of Veterans Affairs end delete begin insert departments end insert shall enter into
a memorandum of understanding begin delete with the Department of Housing
and Community Development and the California Housing Finance
Agency end delete to address their respective and shared responsibilities in
implementing, overseeing, and evaluating this article.

(b) No later than begin delete March 4, 2015, end delete begin insert August 15, 2014, end insert the begin delete board end delete
begin insert departments end insert shall submit the memorandum of understanding to
the Senate and Assembly Budget Committees.

987.007.  

The begin delete board end delete begin insert departments end insert shall convene a stakeholder
process to inform the development of guidelines for the
implementation of any program pursuant to this article.
Stakeholders represented shall include, but not be limited to,
organizations that have experience providing housing or homeless
services, or both, to veterans, housing developers, and public and
private agencies that serve the veteran population.

987.008.  

(a) Pursuant to guidelines or begin delete regulations end delete begin insert terms end insert
developed pursuant to this article, begin delete nothing in this article shall
preclude end delete a housing provider begin delete from redesignating end delete begin insert or sponsor may
redesignate end insert units within a project, so long as the same number of
units financed under this act remain restricted to veterans and their
families.

(b) Pursuant to guidelines or begin delete regulations end delete begin insert terms end insert pursuant to this
article, any units financed as supportive or transitional housing
units begin insert for veterans end insert may be redesignated as affordable begin insert rental end insert or
supportive begin insert housing end insert to allow a veteran resident to remain housed
in the project.

begin insert

begin insert 987.009. end insert   

Notwithstanding Section 13340 of the Government
Code, the proceeds of bonds deposited in the Housing for Veterans
Fund pursuant to Section 998.544 shall be subject to annual
appropriation, as determined by the Legislature.

end insert

SEC. 4.  

Section 50408 of the Health and Safety Code is
amended to read:

50408.  

(a)  On or before December 31 of each year, the
department shall submit an annual report to the Governor and both
houses of the Legislature on the operations and accomplishments
during the previous fiscal year of the housing programs
administered by the department, including, but not limited to, the
Emergency Housing and Assistance Program and Community
Development Block Grant activity.

(b)  The report shall include all of the following information:

(1)  The number of units assisted by those programs.

(2)  The number of individuals and households served and their
income levels.

(3)  The distribution of units among various areas of the state.

(4)  The amount of other public and private funds leveraged by
the assistance provided by those programs.

(5)  Information detailing the assistance provided to various
groups of persons by programs that are targeted to assist those
groups.

(6)  The information required to be reported pursuant to Section
17031.8.

(7) An evaluation, in collaboration with the Department of
Veterans Affairs, of any program established by the department
pursuant to Article 3.2 (commencing with Section 987.001) of
Chapter 6 of Division 4 of the Military and Veterans Code.

SEC. 5.  

Section 50501 of the Health and Safety Code is
amended to read:

50501.  

The department may furnish counseling and guidance
services to aid any governmental agency or any private or nonprofit
organization or persons in securing the financial aid or cooperation
of government agencies in the undertaking, construction,
maintenance, operation, or financing of housing for Indians, farm
laborers and their families, persons and families displaced by action
of any state or local public entity, workers engaged in cutting,
processing, milling, handling, or shipping lumber or lumber
products, the families of such workers, veterans, the elderly and
handicapped, and persons and families of low or moderate income.
The department may contract for or sponsor, subject to the
availability of federal funds, experimental or demonstration projects
for permanently fixed or mobile housing designed to meet the
special needs of agricultural workers, persons displaced by action
of any local public entity, the handicapped, the elderly, veterans,
Indians, and persons and families of low or moderate income. Such
contracts or sponsorship agreements may be between the
department and local public entities, private enterprise, or nonprofit
organizations.

SEC. 6.  

Section 50505 of the Health and Safety Code is
amended to read:

50505.  

The department may enter into agreements to provide
staffing to assist government agencies in the conduct of federal
loan and grant programs for the provision of housing for veterans
and persons and families of low or moderate income in this state.

SEC. 7.  

Section 50510 of the Health and Safety Code is
amended to read:

50510.  

The department shall develop and, subject to specific
authorization and appropriation by the Legislature or the
availability of federal subsidies, implement demonstration subsidy
programs to test the effectiveness of one or more housing subsidy
programs for veterans, very low income households, or other
persons and families of low or moderate income. Such programs
may include housing allowance payments, homeownership
downpayment assistance, homeownership interest subsidy, leased
housing subleased to very low income households, rent supplement
payments on behalf of very low income households, or other types
of subsidy programs.

SEC. 8.  

Section 50512 of the Health and Safety Code is
amended to read:

50512.  

The department may provide technical assistance and
aid to governmental agencies, nonprofit corporations, and housing
sponsors for the purpose of providing the benefits of assisted
housing to veterans, very low income households, and persons and
families of low or moderate income which are handicapped or in
which the head of household has been previously confined to
institutional care. Subject to the availability of staff resources, the
department shall coordinate its technical assistance activities and
loan and grant programs in order to increase participation and
understanding of those activities and programs by public and
private groups and individuals seeking to expand or improve
housing opportunities for veterans, the elderly, or the handicapped.

SEC. 9.  

Section 1 of this act shall take effect upon the approval
by the voters of the Veterans Housing and Homeless Prevention
Bond Act of 2014, as set forth in that section.

SEC. 10.  

(a) Notwithstanding Sections 9040, 9043, 9044,
9061, 9094, and 13115 of the Elections Code or any other law, a
ballot measure that sets forth Section 1 of this act shall be submitted
to the voters at the begin delete November 4, end delete begin insert June 3, end insert 2014, begin delete general end delete begin insert statewide
primary end insert election.

(b) The Secretary of State shall ensure the placement of the
ballot measure as set forth in Section 1 of this act on the begin delete November
4, end delete begin insert June 3, end insert 2014, begin delete general end delete begin insert statewide primary end insert election ballot, in
substantial compliance with any statutory time requirements
applicable to the submission of statewide measures to the voters
at a statewide election.

(c) The Secretary of State shall include, in the ballot pamphlet
mailed pursuant to Section 9094 of the Elections Code, the
information specified in Section 9084 of the Elections Code
regarding the provisions contained in Section 1 of this act.

SEC. 11.  

This act is an urgency statute necessary for the
immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within
the meaning of Article IV of the Constitution and shall go into
immediate effect. The facts constituting the necessity are:

In order that Section 1 of this act be included on the begin delete November
4, end delete begin insert June 3, end insert 2014, begin delete general end delete begin insert statewide primary end insert election ballot for
purposes of assisting veterans at the earliest possible time, it is
necessary that this act take effect immediately.