BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 1593|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 1593
Author: Alarcon (D)
Amended: 3/22/00
Vote: 21
SENATE HOUSING & COMM. DEV. COMMITTEE : 7-0, 4/3/00
AYES: Alarcon, Bowen, Costa, Escutia, Johannessen,
Monteith, Vasconcellos
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 7-5, 5/25/00
AYES: Johnston, Alpert, Bowen, Burton, Escutia, Karnette,
Vasconcellos
NOES: Johnson, Kelley, Leslie, McPherson, Mountjoy
NOT VOTING: Perata
SUBJECT : CalHome Program
SOURCE : Enterprise Foundation
DIGEST : This bill establishes the CalHome Program to
provide loans and grants to eligible local public agencies
or nonprofit corporations for specified activities to
facilitate home ownership by low- and very low-income
households.
ANALYSIS : The State Department of Housing and Community
Development (HCD) administers a number of programs that
promote or assist homeownership opportunities. The
Self-Help Housing Program provides grants to organizations
that provide technical assistance to low and moderate
income families to build or rehabilitate their own homes
CONTINUED
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with their own labor. The Senior citizens' Shared Housing
program provides grants to organizations that assist senior
homeowners in finding other seniors and non-seniors with
whom to share existing housing.
Housing advocates want to create an omnibus program that
would consolidate the existing HCD homeownership programs
and further support local public and private efforts to
provide homeownership opportunities targeted at low and
very low income households.
This bill establishes the CalHome Program at HCD to provide
grants and loans to local governments or non-profits to
enable low and very low-income households to become or
remain homeowners. Eligible uses for grant funds would
include:
1.Technical assistance to families to build or rehabilitate
their own homes with their own labor.
2.Technical assistance to seniors to help them remain as
homeowners by finding other seniors and non-seniors with
whom to share their homes.
3.The provisions of deferred payment loans to first-time
homebuyers to assist with down payment expenses. Loans
repaid to the grantee organization would be loaned again
to additional homebuyers.
4.The provision of deferred payment loans for the
rehabilitation or acquisition and rehabilitation of
existing homes. Loans repaid to the grantee organization
would be loaned again.
HCD would also directly make loans to non-profits or local
governments for the purposes of:
1.Land purchase, site development, predevelopment, and
construction period expenses related to homeownership
development projects. Upon completion of construction,
HCD would be able to convert the loans into grants to be
used for down payment assistance or other home purchase
assistance for individual households.
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2.Permanent financing for mutual housing or cooperative
developments.
Project applicants would be required to demonstrate
sufficient organizational stability and capacity in order
to receive grants or loans under this program. In making
awards, HCD would be required to use a competitive
application process with weighted criteria such as the
extent to which the project utilizes volunteer or self-help
labor, trains youth in construction skills, or involves
community participants.
This bill requires that at least 20 percent of any funds
appropriated be used in rural areas. The bill further
allows HCD to use five percent of any funds for
administrative costs and exempt the program guidelines from
the Administrative Procedure Act, if less than $15 million
is appropriated.
Comments
According to the author's office, California's 55 percent
homeownership rate is ten percent below the national
average and third lowest in the nation. Fourteen of the
nation's 25 least affordable metropolitan areas are in the
state. Homeownership helps build stronger communities and
is one of the primary ways for working families to
accumulate wealth. This program will streamline and expand
the role of HCD in making homeownership possible for lower
income Californians.
This bill combines a number of programs at HCD into one
broad program that can support a wide array of local
homeownership strategies. By providing a "one-stop shop"
for homeownership assistance projects, this approach seeks
to make it more user-friendly for applicants, reduce the
administrative burden for HCD, and increase HCDs
flexibility to meet varying needs.
This bill limits the use of funds to programs that benefit
low and very low income households and broadly delineates
eligible projects that may be funded, but otherwise gives
HCD great leeway in structuring the program.
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FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
HCD administrative costs -- unknown
Grants and loans -- multi-million dollar cost
It is the intent of the author that the funding for the
CalHome Program come from a proposed $50 million
augmentation in the Budget.
SUPPORT : (Verified 5/23/00)
Enterprise Foundation (source)
Affordable Homes, Avila Beach
Affordable Housing Foundation, San Francisco
Agora Group, Goleta
Archdiocese of Los Angeles Peace and Justice Commission
Asian Law Alliance, San Jose
Bakersfield Homeless Center
Berkeley Gray Panthers
Burbank Housing Development Corporation, Santa Rosa
California Affordable Housing Law Project, Oakland
California Community Reinvestment Committee, Glendale
California Housing Partnership Corporation, San Francisco
California Legislative Council for Older Americans
California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation
Chicano Federation of San Diego County
City of Concord Housing Department
City of Modesto Housing Department
City of Salinas Planing Department
Coachella Valley Housing Coalition, Indio
Common Ground Communities, Nevada City
Community Economics, Oakland
Community Housing Opportunities Corporation, Davis
Community Resource Associates, Clayton
Conference of Social Justice Coordinators of S California,
Los Angeles
Congress of California Seniors
Corporation for Supportive Housing, Oakland
Council of Community Housing Organizations, San Francisco
East LA Community Corporation
East Palo Alto Council of Tenants
Eden Housing, Inc., Hayward
Emergency Housing Consortium, San Jose
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Enterprise Foundation, Los Angeles
Fair Housing Council of Riverside County
Fair Housing of Marin
Family Assistance Program, Los Angeles
Foundation for Quality Housing Opportunities, North
Hollywood
Friends Committee on Legislation
Gubb & Barshay LLP, San Francisco
H&L Properties, Long Beach
Habitat for Humanity - Northern Santa Barbara County
Herman and Coliver Architecture, San Francisco
Homes for Life Foundation, Los Angeles
Housing Authority of the City of Santa Barbara
Inquilinos Unidos, Los Angeles
Interpersonal Developmental Facilitators, Inc., Pasadena
Kings County Housing Authority
Lake County Alliance for the Mentally Ill
LINC Housing, Long Beach
Local Initiatives Support Corporation, San Francisco
Long Beach Housing Development Corporation
Los Angeles Community Design Center
Los Angeles Council of Society of St Vincent de Paul
Los Angeles County Mental Health Association
Los Angeles Housing Partnership, Inc.
Low-Income Housing Fund, Los Angeles
Marin City Community Development Corporation
Marin Continuum of Housing and Services, San Rafael
Mercy Charities Housing California, Orange
Metropolitan Area Advisory Committee, National City
Mid-Peninsula Housing Coalition, Redwood City
Mission Housing Development Corporation, San Francisco
Mt. Diablo Habitat for Humanity
Nancy Lewis and Associates, Los Angeles
Napa Valley Community Housing, Napa
Neighborhood Housing Services of Orange County
Nevada County Housing and Community Services, Grass Valley
New Directions, Inc., Los Angeles
Orange County Community Housing Corporation, Santa Ana
Penny Lane, North Hills
People's Self-Help Housing Corporation, San Luis Obispo
Planning for Elders in the Central City, San Francisco
Public Law Center, Santa Ana
Related Companies of California, Irvine
Renee Franken and Associates
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Resources for Community Development, Berkeley
Rural Communities Housing Corporation, Ukiah
Rural Community Assistance Corporation, Sacramento
Saben Investments, Inc., North Hills
Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency
Sacramento Loaves and Fishes
Sacramento Mutual Housing Association
Sacramento Neighborhood Housing Services
Saint Joseph Health System, Orange
SAMCO, San Jose
San Joaquin County Housing Authority
San Leandro Shelter for Women and Children
Santa Barbara County Legal Aid Foundation
Santa Monica Commission on Older Americans
Santa Monica Rent Control Board
Sentinel Fair Housing, Oakland
Shelter for the Homeless, Midway City
Shelter Partnership, Inc., Los Angeles
Shelter, Inc., Concord
Sisters of the Holy Names California Province, Los Gatos
Skid Row Housing Trust, Los Angeles
Sober Living Network, Santa Monica
Sonoma County Mobilehome Owners Association
Southern California Association of Non-Profit Housing
Thai Community Development Center, Los Angeles
Thomas Lauderbach Development Consultants, El Cerrito
Thomas Safron and Associates, Los Angeles
Venice Community Housing Corporation, Venice
West Contra Costa Conservation League, El Cerrito
West Hollywood Community Housing Corporation
Western Center on Law and Poverty
WNC, Inc., Costa Mesa
NC:cm 5/26/00 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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