AB 90: Federal Housing Trust Fund.

Existing law establishes the Department of Housing and Community Development in the Business, Consumer Services, and Housing Agency. The department is responsible for administering various housing and home loan programs throughout the state. Existing law also establishes the California Housing Finance Agency within the department, and provides that the primary purpose of the agency is to meet the housing needs of persons and families of low to moderate income.

Existing federal law requires the Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development to establish a Housing Trust Fund to provide grants to states to increase the supply of rental housing for extremely low- and very low income families, including homeless families, and home ownership for extremely low- and very low income families.

This bill would designate the Department of Housing and Community Development as the state agency responsible for administering funds received by the state from the federal Housing Trust Fund. This bill would require the department to administer the funds through existing or newly created programs that produce, preserve, rehabilitate, or support the operation of rental housing for extremely low income and very low income households, except that up to 10% of funding may be used to support home ownership for extremely low income and very low income households. The bill would require any rental project funded from the federal Housing Trust Fund to restrict affordability for 55 years, as specified, and require any home ownership program funded from the federal Housing Trust Fund to restrict affordability for 30 years, as specified.

This bill would require the department to collaborate with the California Housing Finance Agency to develop an allocation plan to demonstrate how the funds will be distributed, based on the priority housing needs identified in the states consolidated plan, and to convene a stakeholder process to inform the development of the plan. The bill would require the allocation plan and guidelines to give priority to projects based on specified factors. The bill would require the department to submit the plan to the Assembly Committee on Housing and Community Development and the Senate Transportation and Housing Committee 30 days after receipt of the federal funds.

The bill would authorize the department to adopt, amend, or repeal guidelines to implement these provisions. The bill would exempt these guidelines from the Administrative Procedure Act.

Existing law requires, on or before December 31 of each year, the department to submit an annual report, containing specified information, to the Governor and both houses of the Legislature on the operations and accomplishments during the previous fiscal year of the housing programs administered by the department.

This bill would require that annual report to also include an evaluation of any program established by the department to meet the legal requirements of the Federal Housing Trust Fund program guidelines.

This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 50408 of the Healthy and Safety Code proposed by AB 388 that would become operative if this bill and AB 388 are enacted and this bill is enacted last.