998.700.

 This article shall be known, and may be cited, as the Veterans Housing and Homeless Prevention Bond Act of 2022.

998.701.

 (a) The State General Obligation Bond Law (Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 16720) of Part 3 of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code), as amended from time to time, except as otherwise provided herein, is adopted for the purpose of the issuance, sale, and repayment of, and otherwise providing with respect to, the bonds authorized to be issued by this article, and the provisions of that law are included in this article as though set out in full in this article. All references in this article to “herein” refer both to this article and that law.

(b) For purposes of the State General Obligation Bond Law, the Department of Veterans Affairs is designated the board. The Department of Veterans Affairs shall carry out the board duties in consultation with the California Housing Finance Agency and the Department of Housing and Community Development.

998.702.

 As used herein, the following terms shall have the following meanings:

(a) “Board” means the Department of Veterans Affairs.

(b) “Bond” means a veterans’ bond, a state general obligation bond, issued pursuant to this article adopting the provisions of the State General Obligation Bond Law.

(c) “Bond act” means this article authorizing the issuance of state general obligation bonds and adopting the State General Obligation Bond Law, as amended from time to time, by reference.

(d) “Committee” means the Housing for Veterans Finance Committee, established pursuant to Section 998.547.

(e) “Fund” means the Housing for Veterans Fund, established pursuant to Section 998.544.

998.703.

 (a) Bonds in the total amount of six hundred million dollars ($600,000,000), not including the amount of any refunding bonds issued pursuant to Section 998.713, may be issued and sold to provide a fund to be used for carrying out the purposes expressed in subdivision (b) and to reimburse the General Obligation Bond Expense Revolving Fund pursuant to Section 16724.5 of the Government Code. The bonds, when sold, issued, and delivered, shall be and constitute a valid and binding obligation of the State of California, and the full faith and credit of the State of California is hereby pledged for the punctual payment of both principal of, and interest on, the bonds as the principal and interest become due and payable.

(b) The proceeds of bonds issued and sold pursuant to this section, exclusive of refunding bonds issued pursuant to Section 998.713, shall be made available to the board for the purposes of creating a fund to provide housing to veterans and their families pursuant to the Veterans Housing and Homeless Prevention Act of 2014 (Article 3.2 (commencing with Section 987.001)), and any subsequent statutory enactment that amends that act or enacts or amends any successor act for the purpose of providing housing to veterans and their families.

(c) The Legislature may, from time to time, by majority vote, amend the provisions of this act for the purpose of improving program efficiency, effectiveness, and accountability, or for the purpose of furthering overall program goals.

(d) The proceeds of bonds issued and sold pursuant to this article, not including the proceeds of any refunding bonds issued pursuant to Section 998.713, shall be deposited in the Housing for Veterans Fund, established by Section 998.544.

998.704.

 The bonds authorized by this article shall be prepared, executed, issued, sold, paid, and redeemed as provided in the State General Obligation Bond Law (Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 16720) of Part 3 of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code), as amended from time to time, and all of the provisions of that law, except subdivisions (a) and (b) of Section 16727 of the Government Code, shall apply to the bonds and to this article and are hereby incorporated in this article as though set forth in full in this article.

998.705.

 The Housing for Veterans Finance Committee, as established and authorized pursuant to Section 998.547, shall act for the purpose of authorizing the issuance and sale pursuant to the State General Obligation Bond Law of the bonds authorized by this article.

998.706.

 The committee shall determine whether or not it is necessary or desirable to issue bonds authorized pursuant to this article in order to carry out the actions specified in Section 998.703 and, if so, the amount of bonds to be issued and sold. Successive issues of bonds may be authorized and sold to carry out those actions progressively, and it is not necessary that all of the bonds authorized to be issued be sold at any one time.

998.707.

 There shall be collected each year and in the same manner and at the same time as other state revenue is collected, in addition to the ordinary revenues of the state, a sum in an amount required to pay the principal of, and interest on, the bonds each year. It is the duty of all officers charged by law with any duty in regard to the collection of the revenue to do and perform each and every act that is necessary to collect that additional sum.

998.708.

 Notwithstanding Section 13340 of the Government Code, there is hereby appropriated from the General Fund in the State Treasury, for the purposes of this article, an amount that will equal the total of the following:

(a) The sum annually necessary to pay the principal of, and interest on, bonds issued and sold pursuant to this article, as the principal and interest become due and payable.

(b) The sum necessary to carry out Section 998.709, appropriated without regard to fiscal years.

998.709.

 For the purposes of carrying out this article, the Director of Finance may authorize the withdrawal from the General Fund of an amount not to exceed the amount of the unsold bonds that have been authorized by the committee to be sold for the purpose of carrying out this article, excluding refunding bonds authorized pursuant to Section 998.713, less any amount borrowed pursuant to Section 998.712 and not yet repaid and any amount loaned from the General Fund pursuant to this section not yet returned to the General Fund. Any amounts withdrawn shall be deposited in the fund. Any money made available under this section shall be returned to the General Fund plus an amount equal to the interest that the money would have earned in the Pooled Money Investment Account from proceeds received from the sale of bonds for the purpose of carrying out this article.

998.710.

 All money deposited in the fund that is derived from premium and accrued interest on bonds sold, in excess of any amount of premium used to pay costs of issuing the bonds, shall be reserved in the fund and shall be available for transfer to the General Fund as a credit to expenditures for bond interest, except that amounts derived from premium may be reserved and used to pay costs of bond issuance before any transfer to the General Fund.

998.711.

 Pursuant to the State General Obligation Bond Law (Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 16720) of Part 3 of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code), all or a portion of the cost of bond issuance may be paid out of the bond proceeds, including any premium derived from the sale of the bonds. These costs shall be shared proportionally by each program funded through this bond act.

998.712.

 The board may request the Pooled Money Investment Board to make a loan from the Pooled Money Investment Account, in accordance with Section 16312 of the Government Code, for purposes of carrying out this article. The amount of the loan shall not exceed the amount of the unsold bonds that the committee, by resolution, has authorized to be sold for the purpose of carrying out this article, excluding refunding bonds authorized pursuant to Section 998.712, less any amount withdrawn pursuant to this section and Section 998.709 and not yet repaid. The board shall execute any documents required by the Pooled Money Investment Board to obtain and repay the loan. Any amounts loaned shall be deposited in the fund to be allocated by the board in accordance with this article.

998.713.

 Any bonds issued pursuant to this article may be refunded in accordance with Article 6 (commencing with Section 16780) of Chapter 4 of Part 3 of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code, which is a part of the State General Obligation Bond Law. Approval by the voters of the state for the issuance of the bonds described in this article includes the approval of the issuance and sale or exchange of any bonds issued to refund any bonds originally issued under this article or any previously issued refunding bonds. Any bond refunded with the proceeds of a refunding bond as authorized by this section may be legally defeased to the extent permitted by law in the manner and to the extent set forth in the resolution, as amended from time to time, authorizing that refunded bond.

998.714.

 Notwithstanding any other provision of this article, or of the State General Obligation Bond Law, if the Treasurer sells bonds pursuant to this part that include a bond counsel opinion to the effect that the interest on the bonds is excluded from gross income for federal tax purposes under designated conditions or is otherwise entitled to any federal tax advantage, the Treasurer may maintain separate accounts for the investment of bond proceeds and for the investment of earnings on those proceeds. The Treasurer may use or direct the use of those proceeds or earnings to pay any rebate, penalty, or other payment required under federal law or take any other action with respect to the investment and use of those bond proceeds required or desirable under federal tax law or to obtain any other advantage under federal law on behalf of the funds of this state.

998.715.

 The Legislature hereby finds and declares that, inasmuch as the proceeds from the sale of bonds authorized by this article are not “proceeds of taxes” as that term is used in Article XIII B of the California Constitution, the disbursement of these proceeds is not subject to the limitations imposed by that article.