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AB-2788 California School Employee Housing Assistance Grant Program.(2017-2018)

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Date Published: 04/13/2018 04:00 AM
AB2788:v96#DOCUMENT

Amended  IN  Assembly  April 12, 2018
Amended  IN  Assembly  April 03, 2018
Amended  IN  Assembly  March 22, 2018

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2017–2018 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill
No. 2788


Introduced by Assembly Member Thurmond

February 16, 2018


An act to add Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 50570) to Part 2 of Division 31 of the Health and Safety Code, relating to housing.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


AB 2788, as amended, Thurmond. California School Employee Housing Assistance Grant Program.
Existing law establishes the Department of Housing and Community Development and requires it to administer various housing programs.
This bill would require the department to administer a program to provide financing assistance for the creation of affordable rental housing and downpayment assistance for employees of a qualified school district, as defined. The bill would require financing of rental housing assistance be in the form of specified types of loans. The bill would require downpayment assistance to only be provided to school district employees purchasing a single-family, one-unit residence of a specified value, and would require the department comply with specified requirements in providing that assistance. The bill would require the department department, when making loans to qualified developers under these provisions provisions, to use a project selection process that meets specified requirements. The bill would create in the State Treasury the California School Employee Housing Assistance Fund for these purposes, and would make implementation of these provisions subject to appropriation by the Legislature for that purpose. Legislature.
Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: NO  

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:


SECTION 1.

 Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 50570) is added to Part 2 of Division 31 of the Health and Safety Code, to read:
CHAPTER  4. California School Employee Housing Assistance Program

50570.
 For purposes of this chapter:
(a) “Affordable rental housing” means housing that serves persons and families of low or moderate income as defined by Section 50093.
(b) “Qualified developer” means a developer that has partnered with a qualified school district to create affordable rental housing for school district employees.
(c) “Qualified school district” means a school district that satisfies all of the following:
(1) Has acquired land that may be used to engage in a lease and development agreement, including, but not limited to, a joint occupancy agreement, for the purposes of design, construction, financing, and long-term operation of a housing development and amenities, from any of the following:
(A) A school district.
(B) A special district.
(C) A city.
(2) Demonstrates to the department that any project funded through a predevelopment loan pursuant to this chapter meets both of the following requirements:
(A) The project is subject to a project labor agreement, as defined in paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) of Section 2500 of the Public Contract Code.
(B) The project either is a public work for purposes of Article 2 (commencing with Section 1770) of Chapter 1 of Part 7 of Division 2 of the Labor Code or is otherwise subject to a legally binding requirement that prevailing wages be paid to all workers employed on the project.
(d) “School district employees” means any employees of the school district, including teachers, and any employees of an entity described in Section 421 of the Education Code that is located within the jurisdictional boundaries of the school district.

50571.
 (a) The department shall administer a program to provide financing assistance for the creation of affordable rental housing for school district employees and for downpayment assistance to school district employees, subject to the requirements in subdivision (e). employees. The financing of rental housing assistance shall be in the following forms:
(1) Loans for the payment of a feasibility study and an owner’s representative until the project is finished or until the project is rendered no longer feasible.
(2) Predevelopment loans to developers partnered with qualified school districts. A developer may partner with a qualified school district by entering into a memorandum of understanding with the qualified school district to create affordable rental housing for school district employees.
(3) Loans to qualified developers.
(b) The department shall do all of the following:
(1) Be responsible for overseeing the program.
(2) Award predevelopment loans as follows:
(A) Loans shall be awarded to qualified school districts and qualified developers in partnership.
(B) Loans shall be based on the accomplishment of predevelopment milestones, as determined by the department, including, but not limited to, engineering studies, architectural plans, application fees, legal services, permits, bonding, and site preparation.
(3) Make loans to qualified developers.
(4) Publish deadlines and written procedures for qualified school districts and qualified developers to apply for financing assistance.
(5) Require the affordability of units built with financing assistance pursuant to this chapter to be restricted for at least 55 years.
(c) A qualified school district seeking a grant shall apply for a predevelopment loan, in partnership with a qualified developer, in the form and manner prescribed by the department.
(d) A qualified developer seeking a loan shall apply for a loan in the form and manner prescribed by the department.

(e)The department shall provide funds to school district employees seeking downpayment assistance in purchasing a single-family, one-unit residence that is no higher than one million dollars ($1,000,000) in sale value. The school employee applicant shall occupy the property as a primary residence, and nonoccupant coborrowers are prohibited from occupying the residence that the downpayment assistance was provided for. The program shall comply with both of the following:

(1)The downpayment assistance will be in the form of deferred-payment loans payable on sale or transfer of the homes, or when they cease to be owner occupied, or at maturity.

(2)In developing the program, the department shall consult with the California Housing Finance Agency in order to accomplish both of the following:

(A)Establish the administrative rules needed to implement this section.

(B)Seek ways how both departments can maximize the opportunities for homeownership by school employees, including how existing programs can be bolstered and work in concert with one another.

50572.
 (a) There is hereby created in the State Treasury the California School Employee Housing Assistance Fund. Moneys in the fund shall only be available for purposes of this chapter upon appropriation by the Legislature.
(b) For purposes of making the computations required by Section 8 of Article XVI of the California Constitution, an appropriation of funds from the California School Employee Housing Assistance Fund for purposes of this chapter shall not be deemed to be “General Fund revenues appropriated for school districts,” as defined in subdivision (c) of Section 41202 of the Education Code, for the 2017–18 fiscal year and annually thereafter, and shall not be included within the “total allocations to school districts and community college districts from General Fund proceeds of taxes appropriated pursuant to Article XIII B,” as defined in subdivision (e) of Section 41202 of the Education Code, for the 2016–17 fiscal year and annually thereafter.

50573.
 (a) The department shall make loans to qualified developers using a project selection process established by the department that meets all of the following requirements:
(1) To the extent feasible, ensures a reasonable geographic distribution of funds.
(2) Requires applications for projects to meet minimum threshold requirements, including, but not limited to, all of the following:
(A) The proposed project is located within reasonable proximity to public transportation and services.
(B) Development costs for the proposed project are reasonable compared to costs of comparable projects in the area.
(C) The proposed project is feasible.
(3) The proposed project leverages other funds where they are available.
(b) (1) Loans made pursuant to this section shall be for a term of not less than 55 years.
(2) Principal and accumulated interest is due and payable upon completion of the term of the loan. The loan shall bear simple interest at the rate of 3 percent per annum on the unpaid principal balance. The department shall require annual loan payments in a minimum amount necessary to cover the costs of project monitoring. For the first 30 years of the loan term, the amount of the required loan payments shall not exceed 0.42 percent per annum.
(3) Any moneys that the department receives in repayment of the loans, including interest, shall be deposited in the California School Employee Housing Assistance Fund. These moneys shall be used for the purposes of this chapter.

50574.
 Implementation of this chapter shall be subject to appropriation by the Legislature for the purposes of this chapter in the Budget Act or another statute.