Emergency housing and assistance.

Existing law requires the Department of Housing and Community Development to administer the Emergency Housing and Assistance Program. Under the program, moneys from the continuously appropriated Emergency Housing and Assistance Fund are available for the purposes of providing shelter, as specified, to homeless persons at as low a cost and as quickly as possible, without compromising the health and safety of shelter occupants, to encourage the move of homeless persons from shelters to a self-supporting environment as soon as possible, to encourage provision of services for as many persons at risk of homelessness as possible, to encourage compatible and effective funding of homeless services, and to encourage coordination among public agencies that fund or provide services to homeless individuals, as well as agencies that discharge people from their institutions. Existing law requires the department to distribute funds appropriated for activities providing for capital development programs, including acquisition, leasing, construction, and rehabilitation of sites for emergency shelter and transitional housing for homeless persons, as grants in the form of forgivable deferred loans, as prescribed. Existing law requires the department to terminate the grant and require the repayment of the deferred loan in full, if a transfer or conveyance of the project property that results in the property no longer being used as an emergency shelter or transitional housing occurs before the term of the loan expires. This bill would provide that when property is transitioned from an emergency shelter or transitional housing to permanent supportive housing and serves people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness, an existing loan may be deferred and forgiven, as if the property had remained an emergency shelter or transitional housing. Prior to a transition, the bill would require a project to obtain department approval to transition and would require the department to consider specified factors in determining whether to approve a transition. The bill would require a project transitioned to permanent supportive housing to have a loan term of 20 years. The bill would require the department to terminate the loan and would require repayment of the deferred loan in full if the project property is no longer used as permanent supportive housing for people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. By authorizing the use of continuously appropriated funds for a new purpose, this bill would make an appropriation. This bill would also incorporate changes in Section 50802 of the Health and Safety Code proposed by AB 873, that would become operative on the date this bill becomes operative only if AB 873 and this bill are both chaptered and become effective on or before January 1, 2014, and this bill is chaptered last.