Amended in Assembly May 13, 2015

Amended in Assembly April 16, 2015

California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 325

Introduced by Assembly Member Wood

February 13, 2015

An act to begin insert amend Section 50860 of, and to end insert add Section 50832.2 begin delete to end delete begin insert to, end insert the Health and Safety Code, relating to economic begin delete development. end delete begin insert development, and making an appropriation therefor, to take effect immediately, bill related to the budget. end insert

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 325, as amended, Wood. Community Development Block Grant Program: begin insert Begin Equity and Growth in Neighborhoods Fund: end insert funds.

Existing law requires the Department of Housing and Community Development to allocate funds under the federal Community Development Block Grant Program to cities and counties. Existing law requires the department to determine, and announce in the applicable Notice of Funding Availability, the maximum amount of grant funds that may be used for economic development projects and programs, housing for persons and families of low or moderate income or for purposes directly related to the provision or improvement of housing opportunities for these persons and families, and for cities and counties that apply on behalf of certain Indian tribes. Existing law requires the department to develop and use certain eligibility criteria and requirements for certain economic development fund applications.

This bill would require the department, no later than 60 days after the department notifies an applicant that the department has approved the applicant’s application for those grant funds, to enter into a grant agreement with the applicant. The bill would require the department, when the department enters into a grant agreement with an applicant, to provide the applicant with a complete and final list of activities the applicant must complete in order to receive a disbursement of funds pursuant to the agreement. The bill would also require the department, no later than 30 days after receiving a grantee’s request for disbursement of funds, to notify the grantee that the department has approved disbursement or to provide the grantee with a complete and final list of all of the remaining activities the grantee must complete, as specified.

begin insert

Existing law creates the Building Equity and Growth in Neighborhoods (BEGIN) Program and the BEGIN Fund. Moneys in the fund are made available, upon appropriation, to the department for grants to cities, counties, and cities and counties for assistance for downpayment purposes to qualifying new home buyers in those cities, counties, and cities and counties that have taken prescribed actions to remove barriers to affordable housing. Existing law appropriates moneys to the department from the BEGIN fund and specifies the periods to liquidate the encumbrances.

end insert begin insert

This bill would, notwithstanding any other law, extend the period to liquidate the encumbrances of certain appropriations from the BEGIN fund to the department until June 30, 2017, or June 30, 2018.

end insert begin insert

This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as a bill providing for appropriations related to the Budget Bill.

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Vote: majority. Appropriation:  begin delete no end delete begin insert yes end insert . Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.

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

begin insert

begin insert SECTION 1. end insert   

end insert

begin insert It is the intent of the Legislature to assist cities
including, but not limited to, the City of Santa Rosa by extending
the period to liquidate certain encumbrances associated with the
Building Equity and Growth in Neighborhoods (BEGIN) Fund. end insert

begin delete SECTION 1. end delete
begin insert SEC. 2. end insert   

Section 50832.2 is added to the Health and Safety
Code, to read:

50832.2.  

(a) (1) No later than 60 days after the department
notifies an applicant that the department has approved the
applicant’s application for funds pursuant to this chapter, the
department shall enter into a grant agreement with the applicant.

(2) When the department enters into a grant agreement with an
applicant, the department shall provide the applicant with a
complete and final list of all of the activities the applicant must
complete in order to receive a disbursement of funds pursuant to
the agreement.

(b) No later than 30 days after the department receives a request
for the disbursement of funds from a grantee, the department shall
take either of the following actions:

(1) Notify the grantee that the department has approved
disbursement of the funds.

(2) Provide the applicant with a complete and final list of all of
the remaining activities the applicant must complete in order for
the department to approve disbursement of the funds.

begin insert

begin insert SEC. 3. end insert   

end insert

begin insert Section 50860 of the end insert begin insert Health and Safety Code end insert begin insert is
amended to read: end insert

50860.  

(a) The Building Equity and Growth in Neighborhoods
(BEGIN) Program and the Building Equity and Growth in
Neighborhoods (BEGIN) Fund are hereby created.

(b) Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, moneys in the
BEGIN Fund shall be made available upon appropriation by the
Legislature to the department and administered by the department
pursuant to the CalHome Program (Chapter 6 (commencing with
Section 50650), to make grants to qualifying cities, counties, or
cities and counties that provide incentives or reduce or remove
regulatory barriers as set forth in this chapter. These grants shall,
except as otherwise provided by this chapter, be used for
downpayment assistance to qualifying first-time home buyers of
low- and moderate-incomes purchasing newly constructed homes
in a BEGIN project.

(c) Any loan repayments shall be retained by the qualifying
city, county, or city and county and reused for first-time home
buyer downpayment assistance, home rehabilitation, home buyer
counseling, home acquisition and rehabilitation, or self-help
mortgage assistance for persons and families of low- or
moderate-income, as defined in Section 50093.

begin insert

(d) Notwithstanding any other law, the period to liquidate the
encumbrances set forth in Items 2240-491 and 2240-102-6038 of
the Budget Act of 2010 is hereby extended to June 30, 2017.

end insert begin insert

(e)  Notwithstanding any other law, the periods to liquidate the
encumbrances set forth in Item 2240-490 of the Budget Act of 2011
are hereby extended until June 30, 2018.

end insert

begin insert

begin insert SEC. 4. end insert   

end insert begin insert

This act is a bill providing for appropriations related
to the Budget Bill within the meaning of subdivision (e) of Section
12 of Article IV of the California Constitution, has been identified
as related to the budget in the Budget Bill, and shall take effect
immediately.

end insert