AB 1920, as introduced, Chau. California Tax Credit Allocation Committee: low-income housing credit: fines.
Under existing law, the California Tax Credit Allocation Committee administers the federal and state low-income housing tax credit programs. Existing law requires the committee to allocate the housing credit on a specified regular basis and requires the committee to only allocate credits to a project if the housing sponsor enters into a specified regulatory agreement. Existing law authorizes the committee to make any allocation or reservation of the state’s housing credit ceiling to a housing credit applicant subject to specified terms and conditions.
Existing law establishes the Housing Rehabilitation Loan Fund, which is continuously appropriated to the Department of Housing and Community Development, to fund various housing-related purposes.
This bill would authorize the committee to establish a specified schedule of fines for violations of the terms and conditions, the regulatory agreement, covenants, or program regulations. The bill would require these fines to be deposited in the Housing Rehabilitation Loan Fund and would authorize the committee to record a property lien if the fine has not been paid within a specified period of time. By depositing these fines into the Housing Rehabilitation Loan Fund, a continuously appropriated fund, the bill would make an appropriation.
Vote: 2⁄3. Appropriation: yes. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
Section 50199.10 of the Health and Safety Code
2 is amended to read:
(a) For purposes of allocating low-income housing
4credits, the committee is hereby designated as this state’s only
5housing credit agency for purposes of Section 42(h) of the federal
6Internal Revenue Code (26 U.S.C. Sec. 42(h)). The committee
7shall annually determine and shall allocate the state ceiling in
8accordance with this chapter and in conformity with federal law.
9The committee shall determine the housing credit ceiling as soon
10as possible following the effective date of this chapter and
11thereafter following the commencement of each calendar year.
12The committee shall undertake any and all responsibilities of
13housing credit agencies under Section 42 of Title 26 of the United
14States Code, including entering into regulatory agreements relating
15to projects that are granted awards.
16(b) The committee shall develop and provide application forms
17for use by housing credit applicants. The committee shall adopt
18uniform procedures for submission and review of applications of
19housing credit applicants, including fees to defray the committee’s
20costs in administering this chapter. In the committee’s discretion,
21the fees shall be charged to a housing credit applicant as a condition
22of submitting an application or as a condition of receiving an
23allocation or reservation of the state’s current or anticipated
24housing credit ceiling, or both.
25(c) In addition to allocating the current housing credit ceiling,
26the committee may reserve a portion of the state’s anticipated
27housing credit ceiling for a subsequent year for a housing credit
28applicant.
29(d) As a condition to making an allocation of the housing credit
30
ceiling or a reservation of the anticipated housing credit ceiling
31for a subsequent year, the committee may require the housing
32credit applicant receiving the allocation or reservation to deposit
33with the committee an amount of money as a good-faith
34undertaking. The committee shall adopt policies for determining
35when deposits will be required, prescribing procedures for return
P3 1of deposits, and specifying the circumstances under which the
2deposits will be forfeited in whole or in part for failure to timely
3utilize the allocation or reservation provided to the housing credit
4applicant.
5(e) (1) The committee may make any allocation or reservation
6of the state’s housing credit ceiling to a housing credit applicant
7subject to terms and conditions in furtherance of the purposes of
8this part. The committee may condition an allocation or reservation
9on the execution of a contract between the housing credit applicant
10and the
committee requiring the housing credit applicant to comply
11with all the terms of Section 42 of the federal Internal Revenue
12Code, any applicable state laws, and any additional requirements
13the committee deems necessary or appropriate to serve the purposes
14of this chapter, and providing for legal action to obtain specific
15performance or monetary damages for breach of contract.
16(2) No allocations or reservations shall be made pursuant to
17this subdivision with respect to projects that do not meet the
18requirements of the qualified allocation plan, and no allocations
19or reservations shall be made in amounts that do not meet the
20requirements of paragraph (2) of subsection (m) of Section 42 of
21Title 26 of the United States Code.
22(3) (A) With respect to an allocation or reservation,
the
23committee may establish a schedule of fines for violations of the
24terms and conditions, the regulatory agreement, covenants, or
25program regulations. In developing the schedule of fines, the
26committee shall establish the fines for violations in an amount of
27five hundred dollars ($500) per violation or double the amount of
28the financial gain to the housing credit applicant because of the
29violation, whichever is greater. These fines may be a recurring
30amount if the violation is not corrected within a reasonable period
31of time, as determined by the committee.
32 (B) By resolution at a public general committee meeting, the
33committee shall adopt and may revise the schedule of fines, which
34shall include specific violations of the terms and conditions, the
35regulatory agreement, covenants, or program regulations and fine
36amounts subject to the
criteria in subparagraph (A).
37(C) All fines shall be deposited in the Housing Rehabilitation
38Loan Fund established in Section 50661.
39(D) If a fine is not paid within six months from the date when
40the fine was initially assessed by the committee and after
P4 1reasonable notice has been provided to the housing credit
2applicant, the committee may record a lien against the property.
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