Article
8. California Affordable and Foster Youth Housing Finance Innovation Program
51260.
(a) This article shall be known, and may be cited, as “The California Affordable and Foster Youth Housing Finance Innovation Program.”(b) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, this article shall not apply to any other activities, powers, and duties of the agency under any other provision of this division.
51261.
(a) Unless the context otherwise requires, the definitions in this section shall govern the construction of this article. The definitions provided in this article shall only apply to this chapter and not to any other article of this chapter.(b) “Agency” means the California Housing Finance Agency.
(c) “Agency board” means the board of directors of the California Housing Finance Agency.
(d) “Credit instrument” means a secured loan guarantee, secured loan, or line of credit authorized to be made under this chapter with respect to a qualified
project.
(e) “Eligible costs” means the costs paid or incurred on or after January 1, 2025, for the construction, acquisition, and renovation of a qualified project.
(f) “Financial institution” means regulated banking organizations, including national banks and trust companies authorized to conduct business in California and state-chartered commercial banks, trust companies, credit unions, and savings and loan associations.
(g) “Financing program” means the California Foster Youth and Affordable Housing Finance Innovation Program.
(h) “Line of credit” means an agreement entered into by the agency with an obligor to provide a direct loan at a future date upon
the occurrence of certain events.
(i) “Loan guarantee” means any guarantee or other pledge by the agency to pay for all or a part of the principal and interest on a loan or other debt obligation issued by a financial company or financial institution to a qualified housing sponsor for eligible costs to construct, acquire, and renovate a qualified project.
(j) “Qualified housing sponsor” means any individual, joint venture, partnership, limited partnership, trust, corporation, limited equity housing cooperative, cooperative, local public entity, duly constituted governing body of an Indian reservation or rancheria, tribally designated housing entity, nonprofit organization, or other legal entity, or any combination thereof, qualified to either own, construct, acquire, or rehabilitate a
housing development, or a residential structure other than an owner-occupied single unit whether for profit, nonprofit, or organized for limited profit, that is authorized to conduct business in the state, and has its primary business location within the boundaries of this state.
(k) “Qualified loan” means a loan or a portion of a loan made by a financial company or financial institution to a qualified housing sponsor for eligible costs to construct, acquire, or renovate a qualified project.
(l) “Secured loan” means a direct loan or other debt obligation issued by an obligor and funded by the agency to a qualified housing sponsor for eligible costs to construct, acquire, or renovate a qualified project.
(m) “Qualified project” means new construction of dwelling units, the conversion of units from nonresidential to residential, or the acquisition and rehabilitation of motels, hotels, hostels, or other sites and assets, including apartments or homes, and other buildings with existing uses that could be converted to permanent or interim housing. A qualified project results in dwelling units that meet the following conditions:
(1) A minimum of 25 percent of the total number of dwelling units, except for developments authorized pursuant to Section 51.3.5 of the Civil Code, are reserved for tenants who are current or former foster youth youth, regardless of age, in California whose dependency
was established or continued by a court of competent jurisdiction, including a tribal court, on or after the youth’s 13th birthday. Priority shall be given to current and former foster youth who are 18 to 25 years of age, inclusive, and qualify for one of the following programs: inclusive.
(A)The Independent Living Program, established
pursuant to the federal Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 (Public Law 99-272).
(B)The Transitional Housing Placement Program for Non-Minor Dependent, as described in subdivision (c) of Section 16522.1 of the Welfare and Institutions Code.
(C)The Transitional Housing Program-Plus, pursuant to subdivision (s) of Section 11400 of the Welfare and Institutions Code and paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 11403.2 of the Welfare and Institutions Code.
(D)Assistance available to eligible youth pursuant to the Family Unification Program, authorized under Section 8(x) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (Public Law
75-896).
(E)The federal Foster Youth to Independence Initiative, administered by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development.
(2) A minimum of 25 percent of the total number of dwelling units are reserved for tenants who are lower income households in accordance with Section 50079.5.
51262.
(a) The agency shall establish the financing program to issue credit instruments to qualified housing sponsors for the construction, acquisition, and renovation of qualified projects in accordance with this article.(b) For all dwelling units within the qualified project that are reserved for certain tenants in accordance with paragraphs (1) and (2) of subdivision (l) of Section 51261, the qualified housing sponsor shall do all both of the following:
(1) Verify, upon request of the agency, that each tenant pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (l) of Section 51261 is either a current or former foster youth or a low-income household.
(2) Shall not charge a rent to a tenant pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (l) of Section 51261 that exceeds the fair market rent established by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development pursuant to Parts 888 and 982 of Title 24 of the Code of Federal Regulations.
(c) In the event the agency board determines that a qualified project is not in compliance with any provision in this article, the agency may cease to continue providing the credit instrument.
(d) No later than 60 days after the date of receipt of
an application under this section, the agency shall provide to the applicant a written notice informing the applicant whether the agency has approved or disapproved the application, and if disapproved, the reason for the disapproval.
(e) Upon substantial completion of a qualified project pursuant to this article and each year thereafter for either the final maturity date of the credit instrument or 30 years, whichever is greater, the agency board shall require the qualified housing sponsor to submit the following to the agency board:
(1) A letter of affirmation stating the qualified project is in compliance with all provisions in this article.
(2) Financial, business, and other records for the purpose of verifying
compliance.
(f) The agency may charge fees, including, but not limited to, application fees, origination fees, credit enhancement fees, and annual monitoring fees, to support the reasonable costs for administering the program.
(g) When issuing credit instruments, the agency shall provide amounts that are equivalent to the percentage of the units in the qualified project that are reserved either for tenants who are current or former foster youth or for lower income households.
(h) By December 31, 2028, and every three years thereafter, the agency shall submit a report to the Legislature on the operations, financial performance, and accomplishments of the financing program during the previous fiscal years that shall include,
but not be limited to, all of the following:
(1) The amount of funds expended or encumbered for the uses described in this section.
(2) A list of all applications received from qualified housing sponsors and whether the project was approved or disapproved, and if the project was not approved, the reason for the disapproval.
(3) The location, anticipated project cost, type of credit instrument sought, project status, expected project completion date, and the anticipated fiscal year and quarter for closing of the credit instrument of any properties for which the financing program provided financial assistance.
(4) The number of usable housing units produced, or
planned to be produced, of all properties for which the financing program provided financial assistance. The report shall disaggregate the number of usable housing units by eligibility type pursuant to paragraphs (1) and (2) of subdivision (l) of Section 51261.
(5) The number of individuals housed, or likely to be housed, by all properties for which the financing program provided financial assistance.
(6) The number of units, and the location of those units, for which operating subsidies have been, or are planned to be, capitalized for all properties for which the financing program provided financial assistance.
(7) An explanation of how funding decisions were made for acquisition, conversion, or rehabilitation
projects, or for capitalized operating subsidies, including what metrics were considered in making those decisions.
(8) An assessment of the effectiveness of the financing program.
(9) Recommendations for changes and improvements to the financing program.
(i) A report to be submitted pursuant to subdivision (h) shall be submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code.
(j) The agency may adopt regulations to implement this article in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code).
51263.
(a) The agency shall issue loan guarantees for qualified loans made by financial institutions to qualified housing sponsors for the construction, acquisition, and renovation of qualified projects in accordance with this article.(b) Any financial institution that issues a loan that is guaranteed by the agency pursuant to this article shall be fully reimbursed for up to 49 percent of the guaranteed portion of principal and interest that result from a loan or loans that are in default.
51264.
(a) The agency shall offer secured loans to obligors, the proceeds of which shall be used by qualified housing sponsors for the construction, acquisition, and renovation of qualified projects in accordance with this chapter.(b) A secured loan under this section with respect to an eligible project shall be on such terms and conditions as the agency determines to be appropriate, insofar as the terms and conditions are in accordance with the following:
(1) The total amount of a secured loan under this section shall not exceed the lesser of 20 percent of the reasonably anticipated eligible project costs, or
the amount of the senior project obligations.
(2) The interest rate on a secured loan under this section shall be not less than the yield on United States treasury securities of a similar maturity to the maturity of the secured loan of the date of execution of the loan agreement.
(3) The maturity period of the secured loan shall be no greater than 35 years from origination.
(c) The agency may determine means to finance a secured loan, including balance sheet collateralization, bond issuance, and other mechanisms to fund the secured loan.
51265.
(a) The agency shall, upon appropriation, enter into agreements to make lines of credit available to obligors in the form of direct loans to be made by the agency for a qualified project.(b) The proceeds of a line of credit made available under this section shall be available for qualified projects to pay for rehabilitation, capital expenditures, and maintenance and repair costs for eligible projects.
(c) A line of credit under this section with respect to an eligible project shall be on such terms and conditions as the agency determines to be appropriate, insofar as the terms and conditions are in
accordance with the following:
(1) The total amount of a line of credit under this section shall not exceed 33 percent of the reasonable anticipated eligible project costs.
(2) The interest rate resulting from a draw on the line of credit shall be not less than the yield on the 30-year United States Treasury securities, as of the date of execution of the line of credit agreement.
(3) The line of credit may have a lien on revenues generated by net operating income from an eligible project.
(4) The full amount of a line of credit shall be available for no less than 10 years beginning on the date of execution of the line of credit agreement.
(5) Repayments of principal and interest on a line of credit shall be scheduled to commence no later than five years after the end of the period of availability, and shall conclude, with full repayment of principal and interest, by the date that is no later than 25 years after the end period of availability.
51266.
A credit instrument issued under this article shall not obligate the General Fund and a secured loan guarantee, secured loan, or line of credit pursuant to this article shall be exclusively secured by moneys in the California Housing Finance Fund from the following revenue sources:(a) Fees and charges in connection with loans.
(b) Proceeds from the sale of revenue bonds and refunding bonds.
(c) Financial aid from the federal government for subsidized housing.
(d) Sale of mortgage obligations.
(e) Investment income.
(f) Any other source than an appropriation from the General Fund.