AB 371: Housing programs: tribal housing program.

Existing law sets forth the general responsibilities and roles of the Business, Consumer Services, and Housing Agency, the Department of Housing and Community Development (department), and the California Housing Finance Agency in carrying out state housing policies and programs. Existing law, the G. David Singleton California Indian Assistance Program, requires the department to provide comprehensive technical assistance to tribal housing authorities, housing sponsors, and governmental agencies on reservations, rancherias, and on public domain to facilitate the planning and orderly development of suitable, decent, safe, and sanitary housing for American Indians residing in these areas. Upon request of the governing body of a reservation or rancheria, existing law authorizes the department to act on behalf of the tribal housing authority and perform the functions thereof.

This bill would remove the authority for the department to act on behalf of the tribal housing authority. The bill would also require the department to provide comprehensive technical assistance to tribes, designated tribal housing entities, and tribal housing departments on reservations, rancherias, and on public domain, and tribes that want to participate in tribal housing grant programs on fee simple land. The bill would additionally require the department to provide comprehensive technical assistance to facilitate the planning and orderly development of suitable, decent, safe, and sanity housing for American Indians residing within a tribes designated service area, as defined by the tribe. The bill would require the department to provide outreach, education, and comprehensive technical assistance to tribes, tribal housing authorities, tribally designated housing entity, housing departments of a tribe, housing sponsors, and governmental agencies on reservations, rancherias, and on public domain in the development of tribal housing grant programs, and before, during, and after the grant application process. The bill would require data collected pursuant to these provisions to be kept confidential and not subject to public disclosure.

Existing law authorizes the department to modify or waive various requirements of any state financing being provided to a housing development by the department in specified situations, if tribal law, tribal governance, tribal charter, or difference in tribal entity or agency legal structure would cause a violation or not satisfy the requirements for the financing. Existing law authorizes the department to waive, among other things, target population percentage requirements, not to exceed a change of more than 5% of any amount expressly set forth in statute and affordability levels and unit mix requirements, not to exceed a change of more than 5% of any amount expressly set forth in statute.

This bill would instead authorize the department to waive the target population percentage requirements and affordability levels and unit mix requirements, without limitation. The bill would additionally authorize the department to waive, among other things, timeline requirements, service area requirements, fund matching requirements, shovel ready project requirements, and requirements related to housing elements and housing plans, and income limits. To provide assistance with these waivers, the bill would require the department to, among other things, assign each waiver submitted a waiver reference number and post on its internet website a waiver submitted to the department, including the nature of the waiver and the waiver reference number.

This bill would require the department to include its designated tribal liaison or their designee in all discussions with tribes that are eligible recipients, unless those eligible recipients give permission for the tribal liaison or their designee to be absent. If the department requires a tribe that is an eligible recipient of state funding to waive tribal sovereignty in order to access funds, the bill would require the department to draft the waiver narrowly to serve both the individual needs of the tribe and make the funding agreement enforceable.

Existing constitutional provisions require that a statute that limits the right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies be adopted with findings demonstrating the interest protected by the limitation and the need for protecting that interest.

This bill would make legislative findings to that effect.