AB 781: Low-income housing tax credits.

(a)(1)There shall be allowed as a credit against the tax (as described by Section 12201) a state low-income housing tax credit in an amount equal to the amount determined in subdivision (c), computed in accordance conformity with Section 42 of the Internal Revenue Code, except as otherwise provided in this section.

(2)Taxpayer, for purposes of this section, means the sole owner in the case of a C corporation, the partners in the case of a partnership, and the shareholders in the case of an S corporation.

(3)Housing sponsor, for purposes of this section, means the sole owner in the case of a C corporation, the partnership in the case of a partnership, and the S corporation in the case of an S corporation.

(b)(1)The amount of the credit allocated to any housing sponsor shall be authorized by the California Tax Credit Allocation Committee, or any successor thereof, based on a projects need for the credit for economic feasibility in accordance with the requirements of this section.

(A)Except for projects to provide farmworker housing, as defined in subdivision (h) of Section 50199.7 of the Health and Safety Code, that are allocated credits solely under the set-aside described in subdivision (c) of Section 50199.20 of the Health and Safety Code, the low-income housing project shall be located in California and shall meet either of the following requirements:

(i)The projects housing sponsor shall have been allocated by the California Tax Credit Allocation Committee a credit for federal income tax purposes under Section 42 of the Internal Revenue Code.

(ii)It shall qualify for a credit under Section 42(h)(4)(B) of the Internal Revenue Code.

(B)The California Tax Credit Allocation Committee shall not require fees for the credit under this section in addition to those fees required for applications for the tax credit pursuant to Section 42 of the Internal Revenue Code. The committee may require a fee if the application for the credit under this section is submitted in a calendar year after the year the application is submitted for the federal tax credit.

(C)(i)For a project that receives a preliminary reservation of the state low-income housing tax credit, allowed pursuant to subdivision (a), on or after January 1, 2009, and before January 1, 2016, the credit shall be allocated to the partners of a partnership owning the project in accordance with the partnership agreement, regardless of how the federal low-income housing tax credit with respect to the project is allocated to the partners, or whether the allocation of the credit under the terms of the agreement has substantial economic effect, within the meaning of Section 704(b) of the Internal Revenue Code.

(ii)This subparagraph shall not apply to a project that receives a preliminary reservation of state low-income housing tax credits under the set-aside described in subdivision (c) of Section 50199.20 of the Health and Safety Code unless the project also receives a preliminary reservation of federal low-income housing tax credits.

(iii)This subparagraph shall cease to be operative with respect to any project that receives a preliminary reservation of a credit on or after January 1, 2016.

(2)(A)The California Tax Credit Allocation Committee shall certify to the housing sponsor the amount of tax credit under this section allocated to the housing sponsor for each credit period.

(B)In the case of a partnership or an S corporation, the housing sponsor shall provide a copy of the California Tax Credit Allocation Committee certification to the taxpayer.

(C)The taxpayer shall attach a copy of the certification to any return upon which a tax credit is claimed under this section.

(D)In the case of a failure to attach a copy of the certification for the year to the return in which a tax credit is claimed under this section, no credit under this section shall be allowed for that year until a copy of that certification is provided.

(E)All elections made by the taxpayer pursuant to Section 42 of the Internal Revenue Code shall apply to this section.

(F)(i)Except as described in clause (ii), for buildings located in designated difficult development areas (DDAs) or qualified census tracts (QCTs), as defined in Section 42(d)(5)(B) of the Internal Revenue Code, credits may be allocated under this section in the amounts prescribed in subdivision (c), provided that the amount of credit allocated under Section 42 of the Internal Revenue Code is computed on 100 percent of the qualified basis of the building.

(ii)Notwithstanding clause (i), the California Tax Credit Allocation Committee may allocate the credit for buildings located in DDAs or QCTs that are restricted to having 50 percent of its occupants be special needs households, as defined in the California Code of Regulations by the California Tax Credit Allocation Committee, even if the taxpayer receives federal credits pursuant to Section 42(d)(5)(B) of the Internal Revenue Code, provided that the credit allowed under this section shall not exceed 30 percent of the eligible basis of the building.

(G)(i)The California Tax Credit Allocation Committee may allocate a credit under this section in exchange for a credit allocated pursuant to Section 42(d)(5)(B) of the Internal Revenue Code in amounts up to 30 percent of the eligible basis of a building if the credits allowed under Section 42 of the Internal Revenue Code are reduced by an equivalent amount.

(ii)An equivalent amount shall be determined by the California Tax Credit Allocation Committee based upon the relative amount required to produce an equivalent state tax credit to the taxpayer.

(c)Section 42(b) of the Internal Revenue Code shall be modified as follows:

(1)In the case of any qualified low-income building that receives an allocation after 1989 and is a new building not federally subsidized, the term applicable percentage means the following:

(A)For each of the first three years, the percentage prescribed by the Secretary of the Treasury for new buildings that are not federally subsidized for the taxable year, determined in accordance with the requirements of Section 42(b)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code, in lieu of the percentage prescribed in Section 42(b)(1)(A) of the Internal Revenue Code.

(B)For the fourth year, the difference between 30 percent and the sum of the applicable percentages for the first three years.

(2)In the case of any qualified low-income building that receives an allocation after 1989 and that is a new building that is federally subsidized or that is an existing building that is at risk of conversion, the term applicable percentage means the following:

(A)For each of the first three years, the percentage prescribed by the Secretary of the Treasury for new buildings that are federally subsidized for the taxable year.

(B)For the fourth year, the difference between 13 percent and the sum of the applicable percentages for the first three years.

(3)For purposes of this section, the term at risk of conversion, with respect to an existing property means a property that satisfies all of the following criteria:

(A)The property is a multifamily rental housing development in which at least 50 percent of the units receive governmental assistance pursuant to any of the following:

(i)New construction, substantial rehabilitation, moderate rehabilitation, property disposition, and loan management set-aside programs, or any other program providing project-based assistance pursuant to Section 8 of the United States Housing Act of 1937, Section 1437f of Title 42 of the United States Code, as amended.

(ii)The Below-Market-Interest-Rate Program pursuant to Section 221(d)(3) of the National Housing Act, Sections 1715l(d)(3) and (5) of Title 12 of the United States Code.

(iii)Section 236 of the National Housing Act, Section 1715z-1 of Title 12 of the United States Code.

(iv)Programs for rent supplement assistance pursuant to Section 101 of the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1965, Section 1701s of Title 12 of the United States Code, as amended.

(v)Programs pursuant to Section 515 of the Housing Act of 1949, Section 1485 of Title 42 of the United States Code, as amended.

(vi)The low-income housing credit program set forth in Section 42 of the Internal Revenue Code.

(B)The restrictions on rent and income levels will terminate or the federal insured mortgage on the property is eligible for prepayment any time within five years before or after the date of application to the California Tax Credit Allocation Committee.

(C)The entity acquiring the property enters into a regulatory agreement that requires the property to be operated in accordance with the requirements of this section for a period equal to the greater of 55 years or the life of the property.

(D)The property satisfies the requirements of Section 42(e) of the Internal Revenue Code regarding rehabilitation expenditures, except that the provisions of Section 42(e)(3)(A)(ii)(I) shall not apply.

(d)The term qualified low-income housing project as defined in Section 42(c)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code is modified by adding the following requirements:

(1)The taxpayer shall be entitled to receive a cash distribution from the operations of the project, after funding required reserves, which, at the election of the taxpayer, is equal to:

(A)An amount not to exceed 8 percent of the lesser of:

(i)The owner equity which shall include the amount of the capital contributions actually paid to the housing sponsor and shall not include any amounts until they are paid on an investor note.

(ii)Twenty percent of the adjusted basis of the building as of the close of the first taxable year of the credit period.

(B)The amount of the cashflow from those units in the building that are not low-income units. For purposes of computing cashflow under this subparagraph, operating costs shall be allocated to the low-income units using the floor space fraction, as defined in Section 42 of the Internal Revenue Code.

(C)Any amount allowed to be distributed under subparagraph (A) that is not available for distribution during the first five years of the compliance period may accumulate and be distributed any time during the first 15 years of the compliance period but not thereafter.

(2)The limitation on return shall apply in the aggregate to the partners if the housing sponsor is a partnership and in the aggregate to the shareholders if the housing sponsor is an S corporation.

(3)The housing sponsor shall apply any cash available for distribution in excess of the amount eligible to be distributed under paragraph (1) to reduce the rent on rent-restricted units or to increase the number of rent-restricted units subject to the tests of Section 42(g)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code.

(e)The provisions of Section 42(f) of the Internal Revenue Code shall be modified as follows:

(1)The term credit period as defined in Section 42(f)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code is modified by substituting four taxable years for 10 taxable years.

(2)The special rule for the first taxable year of the credit period under Section 42(f)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code shall not apply to the tax credit under this section.

(3)Section 42(f)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code is modified to read:

If, as of the close of any taxable year in the compliance period, after the first year of the credit period, the qualified basis of any building exceeds the qualified basis of that building as of the close of the first year of the credit period, the housing sponsor, to the extent of its tax credit allocation, shall be eligible for a credit on the excess in an amount equal to the applicable percentage determined pursuant to subdivision (c) for the four-year period beginning with the later of the taxable years in which the increase in qualified basis occurs.

(f)The provisions of Section 42(h) of the Internal Revenue Code shall be modified as follows:

(1)Section 42(h)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code shall not be applicable and instead the following provisions shall be applicable:

The total amount for the four-year credit period of the housing credit dollars allocated in a calendar year to any building shall reduce the aggregate housing credit dollar amount of the California Tax Credit Allocation Committee for the calendar year in which the allocation is made.

(2)Paragraphs (3), (4), (5), (6)(E)(i)(II), (6)(F), (6)(G), (6)(I), (7), and (8) of Section 42(h) of the Internal Revenue Code shall not be applicable.

(g)The aggregate housing credit dollar amount that may be allocated annually by the California Tax Credit Allocation Committee pursuant to this section, Section 17058, and Section 23610.5 shall be an amount equal to the sum of all the following:

(1)Seventy million dollars ($70,000,000) for the 2001 calendar year, and, for the 2002 calendar year and each calendar year thereafter, seventy million dollars ($70,000,000) increased by the percentage, if any, by which the Consumer Price Index for the preceding calendar year exceeds the Consumer Price Index for the 2001 calendar year. For the purposes of this paragraph, the term Consumer Price Index means the last Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers published by the federal Department of Labor.

(2)The unused housing credit ceiling, if any, for the preceding calendar years.

(3)The amount of housing credit ceiling returned in the calendar year. For purposes of this paragraph, the amount of housing credit dollar amount returned in the calendar year equals the housing credit dollar amount previously allocated to any project that does not become a qualified low-income housing project within the period required by this section or to any project with respect to which an allocation is canceled by mutual consent of the California Tax Credit Allocation Committee and the allocation recipient.

(4)Five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000) per calendar year for projects to provide farmworker housing, as defined in subdivision (h) of Section 50199.7 of the Health and Safety Code.

(5)The amount of any unallocated or returned credits under former Sections 17053.14, 23608.2, and 23608.3, as those sections read prior to January 1, 2009, until fully exhausted for projects to provide farmworker housing, as defined in subdivision (h) of Section 50199.7 of the Health and Safety Code.

(h)The term compliance period as defined in Section 42(i)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code is modified to mean, with respect to any building, the period of 30 consecutive taxable years beginning with the first taxable year of the credit period with respect thereto.

(i)(1)Section 42(j) of the Internal Revenue Code shall not be applicable and the provisions in paragraph (2) shall be substituted in its place.

(2)The requirements of this section shall be set forth in a regulatory agreement between the California Tax Credit Allocation Committee and the housing sponsor, which agreement shall be subordinated, when required, to any lien or encumbrance of any banks or other institutional lenders to the project. The regulatory agreement entered into pursuant to subdivision (f) of Section 50199.14 of the Health and Safety Code, shall apply, providing the agreement includes all of the following provisions:

(A)A term not less than the compliance period.

(B)A requirement that the agreement be recorded in the official records of the county in which the qualified low-income housing project is located.

(C)A provision stating which state and local agencies can enforce the regulatory agreement in the event the housing sponsor fails to satisfy any of the requirements of this section.

(D)A provision that the regulatory agreement shall be deemed a contract enforceable by tenants as third-party beneficiaries thereto and which allows individuals, whether prospective, present, or former occupants of the building, who meet the income limitation applicable to the building, the right to enforce the regulatory agreement in any state court.

(E)A provision incorporating the requirements of Section 42 of the Internal Revenue Code as modified by this section.

(F)A requirement that the housing sponsor notify the California Tax Credit Allocation Committee or its designee and the local agency that can enforce the regulatory agreement if there is a determination by the Internal Revenue Service that the project is not in compliance with Section 42(g) of the Internal Revenue Code.

(G)A requirement that the housing sponsor, as security for the performance of the housing sponsors obligations under the regulatory agreement, assign the housing sponsors interest in rents that it receives from the project, provided that until there is a default under the regulatory agreement, the housing sponsor is entitled to collect and retain the rents.

(H)The remedies available in the event of a default under the regulatory agreement that is not cured within a reasonable cure period, include, but are not limited to, allowing any of the parties designated to enforce the regulatory agreement to collect all rents with respect to the project; taking possession of the project and operating the project in accordance with the regulatory agreement until the enforcer determines the housing sponsor is in a position to operate the project in accordance with the regulatory agreement; applying to any court for specific performance; securing the appointment of a receiver to operate the project; or any other relief as may be appropriate.

(j)(1)The committee shall allocate the housing credit on a regular basis consisting of two or more periods in each calendar year during which applications may be filed and considered. The committee shall establish application filing deadlines, the maximum percentage of federal and state low-income housing tax credit ceiling that may be allocated by the committee in that period, and the approximate date on which allocations shall be made. If the enactment of federal or state law, the adoption of rules or regulations, or other similar events prevent the use of two allocation periods, the committee may reduce the number of periods and adjust the filing deadlines, maximum percentage of credit allocated, and the allocation dates.

(2)The committee shall adopt a qualified allocation plan, as provided in Section 42(m)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code. In adopting this plan, the committee shall comply with the provisions of Sections 42(m)(1)(B) and 42(m)(1)(C) of the Internal Revenue Code.

(3)Notwithstanding Section 42(m) of the Internal Revenue Code, the California Tax Credit Allocation Committee shall allocate housing credits in accordance with the qualified allocation plan and regulations, which shall include the following provisions:

(A)All housing sponsors, as defined by paragraph (3) of subdivision (a), shall demonstrate at the time the application is filed with the committee that the project meets the following threshold requirements:

(i)The housing sponsor shall demonstrate there is a need and demand for low-income housing in the community or region for which it is proposed.

(ii)The projects proposed financing, including tax credit proceeds, shall be sufficient to complete the project and that the proposed operating income shall be adequate to operate the project for the extended use period.

(iii)The project shall have enforceable financing commitments, either construction or permanent financing, for at least 50 percent of the total estimated financing of the project.

(iv)The housing sponsor shall have and maintain control of the site for the project.

(v)The housing sponsor shall demonstrate that the project complies with all applicable local land use and zoning ordinances.

(vi)The housing sponsor shall demonstrate that the project development team has the experience and the financial capacity to ensure project completion and operation for the extended use period.

(vii)The housing sponsor shall demonstrate the amount of tax credit that is necessary for the financial feasibility of the project and its viability as a qualified low-income housing project throughout the extended use period, taking into account operating expenses, a supportable debt service, reserves, funds set aside for rental subsidies, and required equity, and a development fee that does not exceed a specified percentage of the eligible basis of the project prior to inclusion of the development fee in the eligible basis, as determined by the committee.

(B)The committee shall give a preference to those projects satisfying all of the threshold requirements of subparagraph (A) if both of the following apply:

(i)The project serves the lowest income tenants at rents affordable to those tenants.

(ii)The project is obligated to serve qualified tenants for the longest period.

(C)In addition to the provisions of subparagraphs (A) and (B), the committee shall use the following criteria in allocating housing credits:

(i)Projects serving large families in which a substantial number, as defined by the committee, of all residential units is comprised of low-income units with three and more bedrooms.

(ii)Projects providing single-room occupancy units serving very low income tenants.

(iii)Existing projects that are at risk of conversion, as defined by paragraph (3) of subdivision (c).

(iv)Projects for which a public agency provides direct or indirect long-term financial support for at least 15 percent of the total project development costs or projects for which the owners equity constitutes at least 30 percent of the total project development costs.

(v)Projects that provide tenant amenities not generally available to residents of low-income housing projects.

(4)For purposes of allocating credits pursuant to this section, the committee shall not give preference to any project by virtue of the date of submission of its application except to break a tie when two or more of the projects have an equal rating.

(k)Section 42(l) of the Internal Revenue Code shall be modified as follows:

The term secretary shall be replaced by the term California Franchise Tax Board.

(l)In the case where the state credit allowed under this section exceeds the tax, the excess may be carried over to reduce the tax in the following year, and succeeding years if necessary, until the credit has been exhausted.

(m)The provisions of Section 11407(a) of Public Law 101-508, relating to the effective date of the extension of the low-income housing credit, shall apply to calendar years after 1993.

(n)The provisions of Section 11407(c) of Public Law 101-508, relating to election to accelerate credit, shall not apply.

(o)This section shall remain in effect for as long as Section 42 of the Internal Revenue Code, relating to low-income housing credits, remains in effect.