Bill Text: CA AB1386 | 2023-2024 | Regular Session | Introduced

California Assembly Bill 1386

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

Bill Title: Veterans housing: tenant referrals.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)

Status: (Passed) 2023-10-11 - Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 760, Statutes of 2023. [AB1386 Detail]

Download: California-2023-AB1386-Introduced.html

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2023–2024 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill

No. 1386

Introduced by Assembly Member Gabriel

February 17, 2023

An act to amend Section 987.005 of the Military and Veterans Code, relating to veterans.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

AB 1386, as introduced, Gabriel. Veterans housing.

Existing law, the Veterans Housing and Homeless Prevention Act of 2014, requires the California Housing Finance Agency, the Department of Housing and Community Development, and the Department of Veterans Affairs (referred to collectively as “the departments”) to establish and implement programs that focus on veterans at risk for homelessness or experiencing temporary or chronic homelessness, as specified. In this regard, existing law requires the departments to establish and implement programs that, among other things, ensure projects combine housing and supportive services. Existing law requires the departments to ensure at least 50% of funds awarded for capital development are used to provide housing to veterans with extremely low incomes, and requires that at least 60% of units funded targeting extremely low income households are supportive housing.

This bill would authorize an entity tasked with making referrals of units targeted to extremely low income households to match prospective tenants with incomes at 60% of the area median income, as defined, in the event that an eligible tenant is unable to be matched to and accept placement in an available unit. The bill would require an entity tasked with making referrals to these units to make a good faith effort to match a tenant with an extremely low income, document these good faith efforts, and make this documentation available to the departments upon request.

Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: NO

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

SECTION 1.

Section 987.005 of the Military and Veterans Code is amended to read:

987.005.

(a) The departments shall establish and implement programs pursuant to the purposes of this article that focus on veterans at risk for homelessness or experiencing temporary or chronic homelessness. To the extent feasible, the departments shall establish and implement programs that, among other things, do the following:

(1) Leverage public (federal, state, and local), private, and nonprofit program and fiscal resources.

(2) Ensure projects combine housing and supportive services, including, but not limited to, job training, mental health and drug treatment, case management, care coordination, or physical rehabilitation.

(3) Promote public and private partnerships.

(4) Foster innovative financing opportunities.

(5) Ensure program guidelines and terms provide threshold requirements to advance applicants with experience in combining permanent or transitional housing, or both, with supportive services for veterans, or for partnering with housing developers or service providers with experience offering housing or services to veterans.

(b) (1) The departments shall ensure at least 50 percent of funds awarded for capital development under this article provide housing to veteran households with extremely low incomes, as defined in Section 50106 of the Health and Safety Code.

~~(1)~~

(2) In determining whether a potential tenant is eligible for supportive, affordable, or transitional housing targeted to extremely low income households under this provision, eligibility shall take into consideration all of a household’s income sources upon initial tenancy.

~~(2)~~

(3) At least 60 percent of units funded targeting extremely low income households shall be supportive housing.

~~(3)~~

(4) This section shall not deter the departments from funding projects serving mixed-income populations.

(5) (A) An entity tasked with making referrals of units targeted to extremely low income households may match prospective tenants with incomes at 60 percent of the area median income, as defined in Section 50105 of the Health and Safety Code, if, after 14 days of a unit becoming available, an eligible tenant is unable to be matched to and accept placement in the available unit.
(B) This shall include circumstances in which housing tenants with incomes at 60 percent of the area median income would cause a supported development to have less than 50 percent of its units occupied by tenants with extremely low incomes.
(6) The entity tasked with making referrals to these units shall make a good faith effort to match a tenant with an extremely low income, shall document these good faith efforts, and shall make this documentation available to the departments upon request.

(c) The departments may review, adopt, amend, and repeal guidelines or terms, or both, to implement this article. Any guidelines or terms adopted to implement this article shall not be subject to Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code.

(d) Nothing in this article permits the departments or the board to purchase, operate, or manage properties except in the event of a foreclosure on a borrower or grantee.

(e) (1) Notwithstanding any other law, a housing developer or service provider that provides housing or services pursuant to this article may provide housing or services to female veterans and their children in women-only facilities in limited instances in which a female veteran (A) has suffered any form of sexual abuse, trauma, or intimidation or harassment while serving in the military and is seeking treatment for that sexual abuse, trauma, or intimidation or harassment, or (B) is seeking the housing or services as a result of being a victim of sexual abuse or domestic violence.

(2) A housing developer or service provider that provides housing or services to female veterans in women-only facilities pursuant to paragraph (1) shall ensure that the housing or services shall provide supportive housing or services with a focus on, among others, treating the effects of military sexual abuse, trauma, or intimidation in a gender-specific manner.

(3) For purposes of this subdivision, “women-only facilities” means the facilities may house and provide services to female veterans only and their children, and shall not house or provide services to any adult who is not a dependent of a female veteran.

(f) In administering the programs established under this article, the departments shall do all of the following:

(1) Make program funds available at the same time funds, if any, are made available under the Multifamily Housing Program (Chapter 6.7 (commencing with Section 50675) of Part 2 of Division 31 of the Health and Safety Code).

(2) Rate and rank applications in a manner consistent with the Multifamily Housing Program (Chapter 6.7 (commencing with Section 50675) of Part 2 of Division 31 of the Health and Safety Code), except that the department may establish additional point categories for the purposes of rating and ranking applications that seek funding pursuant to this article in addition to those used in the Multifamily Housing Program.

(3) Administer funds subject to this article in a manner consistent with the Multifamily Housing Program (Chapter 6.7 (commencing with Section 50675) of Part 2 of Division 31 of the Health and Safety Code).

(4) Only applications serving veterans and meeting any additional threshold requirements established by the departments, shall be eligible to receive funds pursuant to this article.

~~(g)This section shall become operative on January 1, 2022.~~