BILL NUMBER: AB 1429 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 20, 2015
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 26, 2015
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Chiu
(Coauthor: Assembly Member Nazarian)
FEBRUARY 27, 2015
An act to add Section 10089.397 to the Insurance Code, relating to
earthquake loss mitigation.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1429, as amended, Chiu. Earthquake loss mitigation: grant
programs.
Existing law, the California Earthquake Authority Act, establishes
the California Earthquake Authority , administered by the
Insurance Commissioner, and authorizes the authority to
transact insurance in this state as necessary to, among other things,
create and maintain, in collaboration or jointly with subdivisions
and programs of local, state, and federal governments and with other
national programs, programs and activities that mitigate
against seismic risks, for the benefit of homeowners and
other property owners. Existing law establishes the Earthquake Loss
Mitigation Fund, a subaccount of the California Earthquake Authority
Fund, a continuously appropriated fund. Existing law authorizes the
authority to apply money in the Earthquake Loss Mitigation Fund to
supply grants and loans or loan guarantees to dwelling owners who
wish to retrofit their homes to protect against earthquake damage, as
specified.
This bill would require the authority to establish a
grant program, administered by a joint powers authority of the
authority and the Office of Emergency Services, that would give a
grant to a qualifying applicant who owns recognize the
existence of the California Residential Mitigation Program (CRMP), a
joint powers authority created in 2012 by agreement between the
California Earthquake Authority and the Office of Emergency Services.
The bill would require the CRMP to implement a grant program and, on
or after July 1, 2017, authorize it to give a grant to a qualifying
owner of a residential structure that contains between 5 and 10
dwelling units for the purpose of paying a portion of the
to defray the owner's cost of seismic retrofit
work to the structure, as specified.
specified, if the Legislature appropriates funds for that purpose.
This bill would require the authority and the office
to jointly adopt regulations the governing board of
the CRMP, after providing notice and opportunity for public review
and comment, to adopt policies and procedures necessary to
implement the grant program, to establish eligibility criteria for
participation in the grant program, and to establish criteria for
determining the amount of a grant awarded under the grant program.
This bill would provide that money in the Earthquake Loss
Mitigation Fund may be expended to implement the grant program and
make grants under the program upon appropriation by the Legislature.
This bill would make related findings and declarations.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. (a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
(1) The earthquakes of 2014 that affected the Cities of La Habra
and Napa have generated increased interest in mitigating the
damage to single-family homes against earthquake
damage. from earthquakes.
(2) The California Earthquake Authority and the Office of
Emergency Services plan to expand the Earthquake Brace + Bolt program
to 650 homes in 2015.
(3) The California Earthquake Authority is working with the
Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Applied Technology
Council, a nonprofit research organization, to develop the "ATC-110.
Development of a Prestandard for the Evaluation and Retrofit of One
and Two Family Light Frame Residential Buildings" for retrofitting
additional types of single-family homes.
(4) A well-funded program to encourage homeowners to mitigate
risks to their homes would mean more homes would survive an
earthquake and homeowners who retrofit their homes would receive
actuarially justified lower rates for earthquake insurance.
(5) Only 12 percent of California homeowners currently purchase
earthquake insurance, leaving the vast majority of homeowners
unprotected in the event of a major earthquake.
(6) There are many paths to funding a retrofit program, including
income tax credits, sales tax rebates, attaching the financing to
property taxes, and grants.
(b) Therefore, it is the intent of the Legislature to enact
legislation that would create and fund a program to assist California
homeowners with earthquake mitigation repairs to their homes.
SEC. 2. Section 10089.397 is added to the Insurance Code,
immediately following Section 10089.39, to read:
10089.397. (a) On or before July 1, 2016, the authority shall
establish a grant program that is administered by a joint powers
authority of the authority and the Office of Emergency Services for
the purpose of providing monetary grants that assist a qualified
owner of a multi-unit residential structure, whose tenants cannot
afford a rent increase to finance seismic retrofit expenses passed on
by the owner, by defraying the owner's cost of seismic retrofitting
of the structure.
10089.397. (a) The Legislature finds and declares
that there exists the California Residential Mitigation Program,
also known as the "CRMP," a joint powers authority created in 2012 by
agreement between the California Earthquake Authority and the Office
of Emergency Services.
(b) If the Legislature appropriates funds for the purpose of
funding the CRMP's implementation of the grant program described in
this section, the CRMP shall, pursuant to the requirements of this
section, implement the grant program and, on and after July 1, 2017,
make grants that assist a qualifying owner of a multiunit residential
structure by defraying the owner's cost of seismic retrofitting of
the structure.
(b) An
(c) The CRMP may make a grant to an
applicant who satisfies all of the following may seek
a grant from the program established by this section:
following:
(1) The applicant is an owner of record of the structure to be
retrofitted. retrofitted and has secured the
written consent of all other owners of the structure to make a grant
application.
(2) The structure is a residential building of not less
fewer than five, but not more than 10
10, dwelling units.
(3) The dwelling units in the structure are occupied by tenants
who are members of "lower income households," as defined in
subdivision (a) of Section 50079.5 of the Health and Safety Code.
(4) The structure meets structural requirements established
pursuant to subdivision (c). (d).
(5) The structure is located in a high-risk earthquake area, based
on criteria established pursuant to subdivision (c).
(d).
(6) The retrofit work qualifies as work for which the applicant
may receive a grant, based on criteria established pursuant to
subdivision (c). (d).
(c) The authority shall, jointly with the Office of Emergency
Services, adopt regulations
(d) The governing board of the CRMP
shall adopt policies and procedures necessary to implement this
section, including, but not limited to, establishing the means
by which the applicant may satisfy the tenant-related economic
eligibility criteria for the program, establishing structural
eligibility requirements for a structure that will receive seismic
retrofit work, defining criteria for determining whether a structure
is located in a high-risk earthquake area, defining criteria for
seismic retrofit work that qualifies as work eligible for receipt of
a grant, and defining criteria for the determination of the amount of
a grant awarded pursuant to the program created by this section.
In adopting those policies and procedures, the governing board
shall provide notice and opportunity for public review and comment,
publish the policies and procedures on the CRMP's Internet Web site,
and otherwise make the policies and procedures available to the
public.
(d) The authority may expend money in the Earthquake Loss
Mitigation Fund, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to implement
and make grants pursuant to the program established by this section.