Amended in Assembly April 25, 2016

Amended in Assembly March 28, 2016

California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 2783

Introduced by Assembly Members Eduardo Garcia, Eggman, Cristina Garcia, begin delete and end delete Gomez begin insert , and Steinorth end insert

February 19, 2016

An act to amend Section 75215 of the Public Resources Code, relating to greenhouse gases.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 2783, as amended, Eduardo Garcia. Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities Program.

Existing law requires all moneys, except for fines and penalties, collected by the State Air Resources Board from the auction or sale of allowances as part of a market-based compliance mechanism to be deposited in the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund and to be available upon appropriation by the Legislature. Existing law continuously appropriates 20% of the annual proceeds of the fund to the Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities Program, administered by the Strategic Growth Council, to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through projects that implement land use, housing, transportation, and agricultural land preservation practices to support infill and compact development and that support other related and coordinated public policy objectives. Existing law requires the council to develop guidelines and selection criteria for the program.

This bill would require the Strategic Growth Council to begin delete revise end delete begin insert consider revisions to end insert the guidelines and selection criteria with respect to affordable housing projects that qualify under the program’s rural innovation project area, as begin delete specified. end delete begin insert specified, and to provide a written explanation to the Assembly Committee on Housing and Community Development by March 1, 2017, if the council determines that it will not make the revisions. end insert

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.  

Section 75215 of the Public Resources Code is
amended to read:

75215.  

(a) Prior to awarding funds under the program, the
council, in coordination with the member agencies and departments
of the council, the State Air Resources Board, and other state
entities, as needed, shall develop guidelines and selection criteria
for the implementation of the program.

(b) Prior to adoption of the guidelines and the selection criteria,
the council shall conduct at least two public workshops to receive
and consider public comments. One workshop shall be held at a
location in northern California and one workshop shall be held at
a location in southern California.

(c) The council shall publish the draft guidelines and selection
criteria on its Internet Web site at least 30 days prior to the public
meetings.

(d) In adopting the guidelines and selection criteria, the council
shall consider the comments from local governments, regional
agencies, and other stakeholders. The council shall conduct
outreach to disadvantaged communities to encourage comments
on the draft guidelines from those communities.

(e) (1) Program guidelines may be revised by the council to
reflect changes in program focus or need. Outreach to stakeholders
shall be conducted, pursuant to subdivisions (a), (b), (c), and (d),
before the council adopts changes to guidelines.

(2) The council shall begin delete revise the guidelines and selection criteria
initially adopted to include all of the following end delete begin insert consider all of the
following changes to the guidelines and selection criteria end insert with
respect to affordable housing projects that qualify under the
program’s rural innovation project area:

(A) Projects shall be allowed to build at nonmetropolitan density
requirements based on net density. The definition of “net density”
shall be revised to mean the total number of dwelling units per
acre of land to be developed for residential or mixed use, excluding
permanent streets, required drainage facilities, sidewalks, parks,
public rights-of-way, easements, encroachments, and dedicated
open space.

begin delete

(C)

end delete

begin insert (B) end insert  For projects that receive 4 percent low-income housing tax
credits, one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) per restricted
unit shall be added to the base amount for loan limit calculation
purposes.

begin delete

(D)

end delete

begin insert (C) end insert  Scoring shall be awarded based on the extent to which an
application demonstrates walkable corridors and incorporates
features that encourage bicycling, which will exist upon completion
of the project.

begin insert

(3) If the council determines that it will not revise the guidelines
and selection criteria consistent with paragraph (2), the council
shall provide a written explanation on or before March 1, 2017,
to the Assembly Committee on Housing and Community
Development as to why the revisions will not be adopted.

end insert

(f) Upon the adoption of the guidelines and selection criteria,
the council shall, pursuant to Section 9795 of the Government
Code, submit copies of the guidelines to the fiscal and appropriate
policy committees of the Legislature.

(g) Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of
Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code does not apply to
the development and adoption of the guidelines and selection
criteria pursuant to this section.