Today's Law As Amended


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AB-2396 State Partnership for Affordable Housing Registries in California Grant Program.(2023-2024)



As Amends the Law Today


SECTION 1.

 Chapter 2.6 (commencing with Section 50480) is added to Part 2 of Division 31 of the Health and Safety Code, immediately following Chapter 2.5 (commencing with Section 50470), to read:

CHAPTER  2.6. State Partnership for Affordable Housing Registries in California Grant Program
50480.
 For purposes of this chapter, the following terms have the following meanings:
(a) “Affordable housing” means any units developed pursuant to either of the following:
(1) A multifamily deed-restricted rental housing accommodation that is constructed with financing from one or more of the following sources:
(A) State or federal low-income housing tax credits awarded pursuant to Sections 12206, 17058, 23610.5, or 50199.14 of the Revenue and Taxation Code, or Section 42 of the Internal Revenue Code.
(B) Project-based housing choice vouchers.
(C) Funding awarded by a state housing agency.
(D) Funding awarded by a local government.
(2) A locally adopted inclusionary housing program.
(b) “Department” means the Department of Housing and Community Development.
(c) “Eligible entity” means a city, county, city and county, regional housing finance agency, public housing authority, or council of government that has a population of not less than 60,000, according to data from the most recent United States census.
(d) “Functioning platform” means any platform in operation that meets minimum state platform standards pursuant to this chapter.
(e) “Phase 1” means the stage of platform implementation that establishes the capability for prospective tenants to view affordable housing listings and information as described in subdivision (a) of Section 50484.
(f) “Phase 2” means the stage of platform implementation that establishes the capability for prospective tenants to apply for affordable housing units as described in subdivision (b) of Section 50484.
(g) “Platform” means any online portal of affordable housing listings, information, and applications created pursuant to this chapter.
(h) “Program” means the State Partnership for Affordable Housing Registries in California Grant Program established pursuant to this chapter.
(i) “Program administrator” means any eligible entity selected for grant funding pursuant to this chapter.
(j) “State affordable housing funding program” means any program administered by a state housing agency.
50481.
 The department shall, upon appropriation by the Legislature, do all of the following:
(a) On or before January 1, 2026, solicit participation in the program among eligible entities through a notice of funding availability. The first round of funds may be used only for Phase 1 activities, as defined in subdivision (a) of Section 50484. The department shall adopt guidelines to administer this chapter. The guidelines shall be adopted pursuant to Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Title 2 of the Government Code.
(b) On or before January 1, 2027, disburse funds to awarded eligible entities.
(c) On or before January 1, 2028, require program administrators to launch Phase 1 of the platforms.
(d) Require managers of housing units that receive funding from state affordable housing funding programs to share data and information requested by the operator of any functioning platform for purposes pursuant to this chapter.
50482.
 (a) The department shall allocate grants as follows:
(1) To the extent feasible, disburse funds to applicants in geographically diverse communities.
(2) Incentivize, but not require, applicants whose platform includes broad geographic coverage of affordable housing units, especially at the regional level.
(b) The department shall allocate the first round of grants as follows:
(1) According to the criteria in subdivision (a).
(2) Only for the purpose of implementing Phase 1 platform functions, as defined in subdivision (a) of Section 50484.
(3) Incentivize, but not require, applicants that demonstrate willingness to implement Phase 2 platform functions described in subdivision (b) of Section 50484 upon receiving future funding.
(c) Future rounds of grant funding may be allocated to applicants to carry out Phase 1 and Phase 2 activities, pursuant to subdivision (a).
50483.
 A program administrator may contract, pursuant to the requirements of Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 12100) of Part 2 of Division 2 of the Public Contract Code, with one or more vendors. A vendor selected to create and maintain the platform shall meet the requirements of this chapter.
50484.
 Except as provided in subdivisions (c) and (d), the platform shall be capable of doing all of the following:
(a) Phase 1 functions shall include the capability to view affordable housing listings and information, including the ability for prospective affordable housing applicants to do the following:
(1) View listings for all affordable housing units in the geography covered by the platform. To develop a complete registry of affordable housing units, the program administrator may, and is encouraged to, work with the California Tax Credit Allocation Committee.
(2) Readily view up-to-date affordable housing listing characteristics, including, but not limited to, unit availability, location, qualifying income range, rent, and occupancy limit.
(b) Phase 2 functions shall include the capability to apply to affordable housing units, including the following:
(1) The ability for prospective affordable housing applicants to do the following:
(A) Identify affordable housing listings for which they qualify, as indicated by their responses to a completed short housing preapplication within the platform. The preapplication shall be developed pursuant to Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Title 2 of the Government Code and shall request information from the prospective tenant typically required of all affordable housing applicants, including, but not limited to, income and household size. An affordable housing applicant shall not be assessed any fee to complete and submit a housing preapplication.
(B) Submit electronic applications for affordable housing listings.
(2) The ability for affordable housing operators to do all of the following:
(A) Access the database through a user account.
(B) Create and update current listings of affordable housing units.
(C) View applications submitted by household.
(D) Manage non-English text translations.
(c) A platform may, but is not required to, include the following additional capabilities in Phase 2 functions:
(1) Store information online for reuse in applying for other available listings.
(2) Request automatic notification by email of new affordable housing vacancy listings.
(3) Obtain an updated status of their place on eligibility lists for affordable housing units.
(d) If a functioning platform is operating within the geography of a program administrator at the time that grant funds are received, the program administrator shall do the following:
(1) Exclude from its platform all affordable housing units in the geography of the functioning platform.
(2) Include a link to the functioning platform on its internet website.
(e) A platform shall utilize open-source code, so platforms are replicable in other jurisdictions.
(f) A platform shall have the capacity to handle the volume of expected use without disruption.
(g) A platform shall be accessible in multiple languages, including, but not limited to, English and Spanish.
50485.
 A platform shall meet both of the following minimum requirements:
(a) Compliance with all state and federal fair housing laws and regulations.
(b) Compliance with all state protections related to the use of personally identifiable information, including providing any necessary disclosures and ensuring the secure storage of any personally identifiable information generated, as part of the application process.
50486.
 Any personally identifiable information collected by the platform or shared between eligible entities and the department in administering this chapter is confidential and exempt from disclosure under the California Public Records Act (Division 10 (commencing with Section 7920.000) of Title 1 of the Government Code) and may be used or disclosed only for purposes of administering the program.
50487.
 This chapter shall become operative upon appropriation by the Legislature of sufficient funds. The department and program administrators may augment funds appropriated by the Legislature for the purposes of this chapter with moneys from other government sources, private or philanthropic donations, and any recoveries or reversions resulting from activities pursuant to this chapter.
SEC. 2.
 The Legislature finds and declares that Section 1 of this act, which adds Chapter 2.6 (commencing with Section 50480) to Part 2 of Division 31 of the Health and Safety Code, imposes a limitation on the public’s right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies within the meaning of Section 3 of Article I of the California Constitution. Pursuant to that constitutional provision, the Legislature makes the following findings to demonstrate the interest protected by this limitation and the need for protecting that interest:
In order to protect the privacy of households seeking access to affordable housing, it is in the state’s interest to limit public access to information.