AB 957 — Housing Omnibus.

Summary

(1) The Planning and Zoning Law requires each city, county, and city and county to prepare and adopt a general plan that contains certain mandatory elements, including a housing element. Existing law, until December 31, 2028, requires the housing element to contain, among other components, an inventory of land suitable for residential development, which includes, among other things, residentially zoned sites that are capable of being developed at a higher density, including the airspace above sites owned or leased by a city, county, or city and county, as specified. This bill would instead provide that the inventory of land suitable for residential development, until December 31, 2028, includes, among other things, residentially zoned sites that are capable of being developed at a higher density, including sites owned or leased by a city, county, or city and county, as specified. The bill would also make nonsubstantive changes to these provisions. (2) The State Housing Law requires the housing or building department or, if there is no building department, the health department, of every city or county or a specified environmental agency to enforce within its jurisdiction all of the State Housing Law, the building standards published in the California Building Standards Code, and other specified rules and regulations. If there is a violation of these provisions or any order or notice that gives a reasonable time to correct that violation, or if a nuisance exists, an enforcement agency is required, after 30 days' notice to abate the nuisance, to institute appropriate action or proceeding to prevent, restrain, correct, or abate the violation or nuisance. Existing law requires an enforcement agency to provide copies of specified notices of violations to tenants residing in a residential building, and requires an order or notice to repair or abate a violation that results in a substantial endangerment of the health and safety of residents or the public to include specified information and be posted in a conspicuous location on the property. Existing law authorizes the enforcement agency, a tenant, or a tenant association or organization to seek, and the court to order, the appointment of a receiver for the substandard building if the owner of a property with substandard conditions fails to comply within a reasonable time period with the terms of a specified order or notice to repair or abate a violation that results in a substantial endangerment of the health and safety of residents or the public. Existing law requires a petition to the court for the appointment of a receiver to include proof that notice of the petition was served not less than 3 days prior to filing the petition to all persons with a recorded interest in the real property upon which the substandard building exists. This bill would instead require the petition to include proof that notice of the petition was posted in a prominent place on the substandard building and mailed first-class mail to all persons with a recorded interest in the real property upon which the substandard building exists not less than 3 days prior to filing the petition, and would require the petition to be served on the owner, as specified. (3) Existing law establishes the Department of Housing and Community Development in the Business, Consumer Services, and Housing Agency. Existing law designates the department as the state agency responsible for administering funds received by the state from the federal Housing Trust Fund and requires the department to administer these funds through existing or newly created programs. Existing law requires the department to establish the Housing for a Healthy California Program to create supportive housing opportunities through grants to counties for capital and operating assistance, as specified, or operating reserve grants and capital loans to developers, or both. This bill would authorize the department to provide grants to counties for rental assistance in addition to capital and operating subsidies, and would make conforming changes. (4) Existing law, for purposes of the Housing for a Healthy California Program, authorizes a county to use grant funds for specified purposes, including on long-term rental assistance, and defines that term to mean a rental subsidy provided to a housing provider, including a developer leasing affordable housing to assist a tenant to pay the difference between 30% of the tenant's income and fair market rent as determined by the department. Existing law also authorizes a county to recover administrative costs of at least 5% of the total amount awarded. Existing law requires a county to award grants in compliance with federal Housing Trust Fund regulations. This bill would expand the definition of long-term rental assistance to include rental subsidies provided to supportive housing, private-market landlords, and sponsors master leasing private-market apartments, and would make conforming changes. The bill would also authorize a county to recover administrative costs of no more than 5% of the total grant awarded, unless the department approves a higher amount. The bill would limit the amount of long-term rental assistance a county may provide to no more than 2 times the fair market rent for the market area where the county is providing rental assistance. The bill would authorize a county to use program funds on incentives to landlords and would remove the requirement that a county award grants in compliance with federal Housing Trust Fund regulations. (5) Existing law, for purposes of the Housing for a Healthy California Program, requires the department to submit federal Housing Trust Fund allocation plans to the Department of Housing and Urban Development on August 31, 2018, and on or before August 31 for the subsequent 3 years. This bill would require the department to submit an allocation plan only in those years the department chooses to fund operating grants and loans to developers. (6) Existing law, for purposes of the Housing for a Healthy California Program, requires a county to agree to contribute funding for projects assisted through federal Housing Trust Fund grants in order to be eligible for a Housing for a Healthy California Program grant. This bill would remove that requirement in order to be eligible for a program grant. (7) Existing law, for purposes of the Housing for a Healthy California Program, requires the department to establish a ranking criteria to promote housing for persons meeting specified criteria, including those who are chronically homeless, are Medi-Cal beneficiaries, and those who are eligible for Supplemental Security Income. This bill would modify that ranking criteria by no longer requiring the criteria to include an individual that is eligible for Supplemental Security Income, and by requiring the criteria to include those who are eligible for Medi-Cal. (8) Existing law, the No Place Like Home Program (NPLH) , as ratified and amended by Proposition 2, as approved by the voters at the November 6, 2018, statewide general election, provides funding to provide permanent supportive housing, as defined, for the target population, which is defined to include individuals who have a serious mental disorder and who are homeless, chronically homeless, or at risk of chronic homelessness. Existing law makes the Department of Housing and Community Development the administrator of the NPLH and establishes the continuously appropriated No Place Like Home Fund for purposes of the NPLH. Existing law requires the department to develop a competitive application process for the purpose of awarding moneys pursuant to the NPLH, but also authorizes the department to establish an alternative process for allocating funds directly to counties with at least 5% of the state's homeless population and requires the department to adopt guidelines establishing the parameters of an alternative process, if it is established. Existing law authorizes the Legislature to amend Proposition 2 by a 23 vote, so long as the amendment is consistent with and furthers the intent of the act. Existing law authorizes the California Health Facilities Financing Authority and the department to, among other things, enter into contracts to provide services pursuant to the program related to permanent supportive housing. Existing law authorizes the authority to issue taxable or tax-exempt revenue bonds in an amount not to exceed $2,000,000,000 for these purposes and to make secured or unsecured loans to the department in connection with financing permanent supportive housing pursuant to the program. The Mental Health Services Act (MHSA) , an initiative measure enacted by the voters as Proposition 63 at the November 2, 2004, statewide general election, imposes a 1% tax on that portion of a taxpayer's taxable income that exceeds $1,000,000 and requires that the revenue from that tax be deposited in the Mental Health Services Fund to fund various county mental health programs. Existing law establishes the Supportive Housing Program Subaccount in the Mental Health Services Fund, which is continuously appropriated to the authority to provide funds to meet its financial obligations pursuant to any of the above-described service contracts. Under the NPLH, the state covenants, as specified, with the holders of any of the above-described bonds issued by the authority that it will not alter, amend, or restrict the above provisions relating to the subaccount, among other provisions, in any manner adverse to the interests of those bondholders so long as any of those bonds remain outstanding. This bill would additionally provide that the state covenants with the above-described bondholders that it will not alter, amend, or restrict provisions requiring the deposit of the revenues derived from the additional tax imposed under the MHSA into the Mental Health Services Fund in any manner adverse to the interests of those bondholders, as specified. (9) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

Bill Text

• Chaptered 10/08/19 - Chaptered Current pdf October 08, 2019
• Enrolled 09/11/19 - Enrolled pdf September 11, 2019
• Amended 07/09/19 - Amended Senate pdf July 09, 2019
• Amended 04/22/19 - Amended Assembly pdf April 22, 2019
• Introduced 02/21/19 - Introduced pdf February 21, 2019
• AB957 View text html

Action History

1. October 08, 2019

   Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 620, Statutes of 2019.

2. October 08, 2019

   Approved by the Governor.

3. September 13, 2019

   Enrolled and presented to the Governor at 3:30 p.m.

4. September 09, 2019

   Urgency clause adopted. Senate amendments concurred in. To Engrossing and Enrolling. (Ayes 79. Noes 0. Page 3090.).

5. August 27, 2019

   In Assembly. Concurrence in Senate amendments pending. May be considered on or after August 29 pursuant to Assembly Rule 77.

6. August 26, 2019

   Read third time. Urgency clause adopted. Passed. Ordered to the Assembly. (Ayes 39. Noes 0. Page 2286.).

7. August 15, 2019

   Ordered to third reading.

8. August 15, 2019

   From Consent Calendar.

9. August 13, 2019

   Read second time. Ordered to Consent Calendar.

10. August 12, 2019

    From committee: Be ordered to second reading file pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8 and ordered to Consent Calendar.

11. July 09, 2019

    Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on APPR.

12. July 08, 2019

    From committee: Amend, and do pass as amended and re-refer to Com. on APPR. with recommendation: To Consent Calendar. (Ayes 11. Noes 0.) (July 2).

13. May 29, 2019

    Referred to Com. on HOUSING.

14. May 16, 2019

    In Senate. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment.

15. May 16, 2019

    Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Senate. (Ayes 74. Noes 0. Page 1770.)

16. May 09, 2019

    Read second time. Ordered to Consent Calendar.

17. May 08, 2019

    From committee: Do pass. To Consent Calendar. (Ayes 18. Noes 0.) (May 8).

18. April 25, 2019

    From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. with recommendation: To Consent Calendar. (Ayes 8. Noes 0.) (April 24). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.

19. April 23, 2019

    Re-referred to Com. on H. & C.D.

20. April 22, 2019

    From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to Com. on H. & C.D. Read second time and amended.

21. March 04, 2019

    Referred to Com. on H. & C.D.

22. February 22, 2019

    From printer. May be heard in committee March 24.

23. February 21, 2019

    Read first time. To print.

Sponsors

• Committee on Housing and Community Development · Primary

Votes

Subjects