BILL ANALYSIS Ó SB 837 Page 1 SENATE THIRD READING SB 837 (Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review) As Amended June 12, 2016 Majority vote. Budget Bill Appropriation Takes Effect Immediately SENATE VOTE: Vote not relevant SUMMARY: Makes necessary statutory and technical changes to implement changes to the Budget Act of 2016 related to the General Government and provisions. Specifically, this bill: 1)Establishes tax credits under the Personal Income Tax Law and the Corporation Tax Law for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2017, and before January 1, 2022, for a qualified taxpayer who donates fresh fruits or fresh vegetables to a food bank in California. 2)Establishes a credit against the net tax, defined by Revenue and Taxation Code Section 17039, an amount equal to 15% of the qualified value of those fresh fruits and fresh vegetables. 3)Creates the California Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG) Program, to be administered by the California Department of Housing and Community Development. 4)Provides that funded activities may include without limitation activities eligible under the Federal ESG Program including: SB 837 Page 2 a) Engaging homeless individuals and families living on the street b) Operating homeless shelters and providing essential services to shelter residents c) Rapidly rehousing homeless individuals and families; and d) Preventing families and individuals from becoming homeless. e) Facilitate technical assistance activities to improve the capacity of sub recipients and the continuum of care to end homelessness. 5)Provides that the California ESG program generally will be administered by the Department in a manner consistent with the Federal ESG. However, provides the department flexibility to address the purposes of the chapter or to improve the effectiveness or efficiency of the California ESG program. 6)Allows a taxpayer, beginning on or after January 1, 2009, and before January 1, 2020, that is allowed a low-income housing tax credit to elect to sell all or a portion of that credit to one or more unrelated parties, for each taxable year in which the credit is allowed for not less than 80% of the amount of the credit to be sold, and provides for the one-time resale of that credit. 7)Requires that California Tax Credit Allocation Committee to enter into an agreement with the Franchise Tax Board to pay any costs incurred by the Franchise Tax Board in administering these provisions. SB 837 Page 3 8)Establishes the new Public Safety Communications (PSC) Fund; specifies what monies may be included in the fund; and requires any balance, which exceeds 25% of the current fiscal year's budget for PSC, to be used to reduce billing service rates during the following fiscal year. 9)Establishes the California Seismic Safety Capital Access Loan Program to cover losses on qualified loans by participating lenders to qualified residential property owners or qualified small businesses for eligible projects. 10)Requires the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) to disburse money to the Habitat for Humanity of California. 11)Requires Habitat for Humanity to submit a plan to HCD within 60 calendar days of receiving a disbursement, for the use and competitive project-specific distribution of money that are in active status, and that are exempt from federal income taxation as a 501(c)(3) organization, and requires an annual audit of the program to be submitted to HCD. 12)Establishes the Director of Enterprise Risk Management and Compliance within the California Housing Finance Agency (CalHFA), and would require the Director to assist in the implementation of processes, tools, and systems to identify, assess, measure, manage, monitor and mitigate risks related to the development of new programs or changes to existing law or regulations that may result in new or increased risk to the agency. 13)Establishes the Community Based Transitional Housing Program to be administered by the Department of Finance, to provide SB 837 Page 4 grants to cities and counties to increase the supply of transitional housing available to persons previously incarcerated for felony and misdemeanor convictions. 14)Requires cities and counties to submit an application between October 1, 2016, and October 1, 2018, that includes specified information and to approve the issuance of a conditional use permit or other local entitlement for a transitional housing facility that meets specified criteria including that the facility provide transitional housing for a period of not less than 10 years and that it provides additional services to residents. 15)Modifies the Roberti-Greene Home Purchase Assistance Program within the California Housing Finance Agency to provide home purchase assistance to low- and moderate income homebuyers to qualify for the purchase of owner-occupied homes. Provides that assistance to first-time homebuyers is a priority use of funds. 16)Changes the name of the Medical Marijuana Regulation and Safety Act, the Bureau of Medical Marijuana Regulation, and the Medical Marijuana Regulation and Safety Act Fund to the Medical Cannabis Regulation and Safety Act, the Bureau of Medical Cannabis Regulation, and the Medical Cannabis Regulation and Safety Act Fund. Provides additional guidelines, which, among other things: a) Set forth definitions and guidelines for administration, enforcement, licensing, and reporting of medical cannabis. b) Require the State Water Resources Control Board, in consultation with the Department of Fish and Wildlife, to adopt principles and guidelines for diversion and use of water for cannabis cultivation, as specified. SB 837 Page 5 c) Require an applicant for a license for indoor or outdoor cultivation to identify the source of water supply, as specified. d) Authorize the Department of Food and Agriculture to establish appellations of origin for cannabis grown in the state instead of the Bureau of Medical Cannabis Regulation. e) Authorize the State Department of Public Health to develop standards for the manufacturing and labeling of all manufactured medical cannabis products. 17)Requires a county elections official who receives an affidavit of registration that does not include a political party preference to designate the person's political party preference as "Unknown" on a voter registration index and would require the person to otherwise be treated as a "No Party Preference" voter. 18)Prohibits counting a person in the total number of voters registered before the election for purposes of determining whether a political party qualified to participate in a primary election if that person is registered by a county elections official through an affidavit of registration, or by the Secretary of State through motor vehicle records, and his or her party preference is designated as "Unknown" because he or she did not include a party preference on his or her affidavit. FISCAL EFFECT: Includes a continuous appropriation for the California Seismic Safety Capital Access Loan Program. COMMENTS: This bill contains necessary statutory and technical SB 837 Page 6 changes to implement the Budget Act of 2016 related to General Government. Analysis Prepared by: Jazmin Hicks and Genevieve Morelos/ BUDGET / (916) 319-2099 FN: 0003428