AB 2441, as amended, Thurmond. Housing: Workforce Housing Pilot Program.
Existing law, among several affordable housing programs, establishes the Local Housing Trust Fund Matching Grant Program, administered by the Department of Housing and Community Development, for the purpose of supporting local housing trust funds dedicated to the creation or preservation of affordable housing. Existing law authorizes the department to make matching grants available to cities and counties, or a city and county, and existing charitable nonprofit organizations that have created, funded, and operated housing trust funds.
This bill would create the Workforce Housing Pilot Program, pursuant to which the department, subject to the appropriation of funds for that purpose, would award grant funding to eligible recipients, as defined, for the predevelopment costs, acquisition, construction, or rehabilitation of rental housing projects
or units within rental housing projects that serve, and for providing downpayment assistance to, persons and families of low or moderate income. The bill would require all grant funds to be matched on a dollar-for-dollar basis, unless the eligible recipient is suffering a hardship and is unable to generate the matching funds.begin insert The bill would require the Department of Finance to determine whether an eligible recipient is suffering a hardship.end insert The bill would require thebegin delete department,end deletebegin insert Department of Housing and Community Development,end insert on or before December 31 of each year in which grant funds are awarded, to provide a report to the Legislature regarding the number of grants awarded, a description of the projects funded,
the number of units funded, and the amount of matching funds received. The bill would require the pilot program to operate until all appropriated funds have been awarded. The bill, upon the depletion of appropriated funds, would require the department to submit a report to the Assembly and Senate committees on appropriations evaluating the need for housing of persons and families of low or moderate income in areas that received grant funds and a recommendation on whether the pilot program should continue.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
Chapter 17 (commencing with Section 50897)
2is added to Part 2 of Division 31 of the Health and Safety Code,
3to read:
4
It is the intent of the Legislature in enacting this chapter
9to ensure that funds allocated to eligible recipients and administered
10by the Department of Housing and Community Development be
11of maximum benefit in meeting the needs of persons and families
12of low or moderate income. It is the intent of the Legislature to
13support Californians residing in areas where housing prices have
14risen to levels that are unaffordable. The Legislature intends that
15these funds be provided to eligible recipients in areas that are
P3 1experiencing a rise in home prices and rental prices so that they
2may assist individuals who are not able to live where they work.
As used in this chapter:
4(a) “Eligible recipient” means any of the following:
5
(1) A city that resides within a county that is defined by the
6United States Department of Housing and Urban Development as
7a “high-cost” county.
8(2) A city that does not reside within a county that is defined
9by the United States Department of Housing and Urban
10Development as a “high-cost” county but has been determined by
11the department to be experiencing a rise in home prices and rental
12prices such that persons and families of low or moderate income
13are unable to live where they work.
14(3) A charitable nonprofit organization organized under Section
15501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code that has created and is
16operating or will operate a housing trust fund and that applies
17jointly with a city described in this subdivision.
18(b) “Notice of funding availability” or “NOFA” means a public
19announcement that an estimated amount of funding will be awarded
20by a department program according to specified criteria and
21schedules.
22(c) “Persons and families of low or moderate income” means
23persons and families whose incomes do not exceed 120 percent
24of the area median income, adjusted for family size.
25(d) “Department” means the Department of Housing and
26Community Development.
(a) There is hereby established the Workforce
28Housing Pilot Program.
29(b) Subject to the appropriation of funds for purposes of this
30chapter, the department shall award grant funding pursuant to the
31issuance of a notice of funding availability (NOFA) to eligible
32recipients that apply for financing. The department shall determine
33the appropriate amount of the grant for the purposes of
34accomplishing the intent of the Legislature.
35(c) An eligible recipient shall do all of the following:
36(1) Use the grant funds awarded to it for the
predevelopment
37costs, acquisition, construction, or rehabilitation of rental housing
38projects or units within rental housing projects that serve persons
39and families of low or moderate income. The affordability of all
40units assisted shall be restricted for a period of at least 55 years.
P4 1(2) Hold a public hearing to discuss and describe the project
2that will be financed pursuant to this chapter. The meeting shall
3be held pursuant to the Ralph M. Brown Act (Chapter 9
4(commencing with Section 54950) of Part 1 of Division 2 of Title
55 of the Government Code). If a charitable nonprofit organization
6described in paragraph (3) of subdivision (a) is awarded grant
7funds pursuant to this chapter, the city that applied jointly with the
8charitable nonprofit organization shall hold the public hearing.
9(3) File periodic reports with the department regarding the use
10of grant funds provided pursuant to this chapter.
11(d) (1) An eligible recipient may use the grant funds to provide
12downpayment assistance to persons and families of low or
13moderate income.
14(2) The department shall set limits on the amount of
15downpayment assistance that may be provided pursuant to
16paragraph (1) in order to maximize the use of the grant funds.
17(e) (1) All grant funds awarded pursuant to this chapter shall
18be matched on a dollar-for-dollar basis.
19(2) begin insert(A)end insertbegin insert end insert Paragraph (1) shall not apply to an eligible recipient
20that is suffering a hardship and is unable to
generate the matching
21funds.
22
(B) An eligible recipient shall demonstrate the hardship to the
23Department of Finance, and the Department of Finance shall
24determine whether the eligible recipient is suffering a hardship.
25The eligible recipient shall submit any information requested by
26the Department of Finance for purposes of determining whether
27a hardship exists.
28(f) On or before December 31 of each year in which funds are
29awarded pursuant to this chapter, the department shall provide a
30report to the Legislature regarding the number of grants awarded,
31a description of the projects funded, the number of units funded,
32and the amount of matching funds received.
33(g) The program shall operate until all appropriated funds have
34been awarded.
35
(h) (1) Upon the depletion of appropriated funds and the
36termination of the pilot program pursuant to subdivision (g), the
37department shall submit a report to the Assembly and Senate
38committees on appropriations. The report shall evaluate the need
39for housing of persons and families of low or moderate income in
40areas that received grant funds pursuant to this chapter. The report
P5 1shall also include, but not be limited to, a recommendation on
2whether the pilot program should continue.
3(2) The requirement for submitting a report imposed under this
4subdivision is inoperative four years after the report becomes due.
5(i) The reports to be submitted pursuant to subdivisions (f) and
6(h) shall be submitted in compliance with Section
9795 of the
7Government Code.
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