BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION AND HOUSING
Senator Jim Beall, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular
Bill No: SB 1413 Hearing Date: 4/26/2016
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|Author: |Leno |
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|Version: |4/19/2016 |
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|Urgency: |No |Fiscal: |No |
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|Consultant|Alison Dinmore |
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SUBJECT: Teacher housing
DIGEST: This bill establishes the Teacher Housing Act of 2016
and provides that a school district may establish and implement
programs that address the housing needs of teachers and school
district employees who face challenges in securing affordable
housing.
ANALYSIS:
Existing federal law:
1)Requires low-income housing tax credits (LIHTCs) to be
utilized for residential units that are for use by the
"general public." If a residential unit is provided only for
a member of a social organization or provided by an employer
for its employees, the unit is not for use by the general
public and not eligible for federal LIHTCs, and by extension,
state LIHTCs. A qualified low-income project does not fail to
meet the general-public use requirement solely because of
occupancy restrictions or preferences that favor, among other
things: members of a specified group under a federal program
or state program or policy that supports housing for a
specified group.
Existing state law:
1) Establishes various housing programs, such as the
Multifamily Housing Program and Joe Serna Jr. Farmworker
SB 1413 (Leno) Page 2 of ?
Housing Grant Program administered by the Department of
Housing and Community Development (HCD) and the Low-Income
Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) Program administered by the Tax
Credit Allocation Committee (TCAC) within the State
Treasurer's Office, to help low-income families and other
specified groups.
2) Defines "rental housing development" as a structure or set
of structures with common financing, ownership, and
management, and which collectively contain five or more
dwelling units, including efficiency units. No more than one
of the dwelling units may be occupied as a primary residence
by a person or household who is the owner of the structure or
structures.
This bill:
1) Establishes the Teacher Housing Act of 2016 to facilitate
the acquisition, construction, rehabilitation, and
preservation of affordable rental housing for teachers, school
district employees, and their families to allow teachers or
school district employees to access and maintain housing
stability.
2) Defines "affordable rental housing" as a rental housing
development with rents restricted to levels that are
affordable to persons and families of low or moderate income,
but neither definition is restrictive to only projects with
five or more units as required under existing law.
3) Defines "teacher or school district employee" as any person
employed by:
a) A unified school district maintaining pre-kindergarten,
transitional kindergarten, and grades 1 to 12;
b) A elementary school district maintaining
pre-kindergarten, transitional kindergarten, and grades 1
to 8; or
c) A high school district maintaining grades 9 to 12,
inclusive, but not limited to, certificated and classified
staff.
4) Provides that a school district may establish and implement
programs that address the housing needs of teachers and school
district employees who face challenges in securing affordable
housing. To the extent feasible, the school district may
SB 1413 (Leno) Page 3 of ?
establish and implement programs that, among other things, do
the following:
a) Leverage federal, state, and local public, private, and
nonprofit programs and fiscal resources
b) Promote public and private partnerships
c) Foster innovative financing opportunities
d) Dedicate school district-owned land to the development
of affordable rental housing and restrict occupancy to
teachers and school district employees
5) Specifically creates a state policy supporting housing for
teachers and school district employees, pursuant to the IRS
code, andpermits school districts and developers in receipt of
local or state funds designated for affordable rental housing
to restrict occupancy to teachers and school district
employees on land owned by school districts, so long as that
housing does not violate any other applicable laws.
COMMENTS:
1) Purpose. According to the author, California places a high
value on its public education system, and the stability of
housing for school employees is critical to the overall
success and stability of each school in California. Students
and the community at large are benefitted by teachers living
in the community in which they practice their profession. It
ensures stability, community involvement, and stronger ties
between teachers, and their students and families. Lack of
affordable housing creates barriers to effective teaching and
teacher retention and the combination of teacher and housing
shortages demands innovative solutions. Twenty-five percent
of teachers nationwide point to housing incentives as an
important factor in their decision to return to teaching.
While there are programs in many communities to help people
find and attain affordable housing, middle-class earners like
teachers do not always qualify for them. This bill
underscores the critical role that teachers and other
education professionals play in the long-term success of our
state by allowing for the development of specific housing to
keep these hard-working professionals in our communities and
our schools. This bill provides clear authorization to school
districts to develop housing on district-owned property, which
will enable the districts facing the most acute teacher
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shortages to directly address the lack of affordable housing
that is forcing teachers out of our communities and out of a
vital profession. Investors require clear state law before
getting on board with new and innovative projects, especially
in an area as expensive as San Francisco. Unlike the higher
education code, which covers faculty housing in detail, K-12's
silence on this issue is a cause for great concern for
financial markets when facing a decision of whether to embark
upon multi-billion dollar housing projects.
2) Necessary state authority. According to the sponsor, Mayor
Ed Lee of the City and County of San Francisco, express state
statutory authority is necessary to permit school districts to
construct teacher-only housing on their property. Developers
are not permitted to use federal LIHTCs for these projects
because these projects are not available to the general
public. Because state credits can only be awarded to projects
that receive federal credits, state LIHTCs also cannot be used
to fund teacher-only housing.
By declaring a state policy supporting housing for
teachers/school district employees, these housing projects
could qualify under federal law as general public housing and
therefore be eligible for both federal and state LIHTCs.
Related Legislation:
AB 2200 (Thurmond) - Requires California Housing Finance Agency
to administer a grant program to provide development financing
assistance to qualified school districts for the creation of
affordable rental housing for school district employees,
including teachers. This bill passed out of the Assembly
Housing and Community Development Committee with a 5-1 vote and
is currently pending in the Assembly Education Committee.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No Local:
No
POSITIONS: (Communicated to the committee before noon on
Wednesday,
April 20, 2016.)
SUPPORT:
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Ed Lee, Mayor, City and County of San Francisco (sponsor)
California Apartment Association
California Federation of Teachers
California Teachers Association
Non-Profit Housing Association of Northern California
OPPOSITION:
None received.
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