Local Housing Trust Fund.

Existing law establishes the Local Housing Trust Fund Matching Grant Program for the purpose of supporting local housing trust funds dedicated to the creation or preservation of affordable housing. Existing law requires the Department of Housing and Community Development to make available the amount of $35,000,000 for the Local Housing Trust Fund Matching Grant Program, from the continuously appropriated Housing and Emergency Shelter Trust Fund of 2006. Under the grant program, the department is authorized to make matching grants available to cities, counties, cities and counties, and existing charitable nonprofit organizations that have created, funded, and operated housing trust funds. The minimum allocation to a program applicant is $1,000,000 for existing trust funds, or $500,000 for newly established housing trust funds. The maximum allocation for any applicant is $2,000,000. Under existing law, all funds provided under the grant program are to be matched on a dollar-for-dollar basis with moneys that are not required by any state or federal law to be spent on housing. This bill would revise the law applicable to the above grant program, including (1) reducing the maximum allocation to $1,000,000 per notice of funding availability for a trust that has previously received a grant through the program, (2) revising funding priorities for certain types of local housing trust funds, and (3) revising requirements relative to deed restrictions and equity sharing agreements applicable to for-sale housing projects or units within for-sale housing projects. Under existing law, an applicant is required to continue funding the local housing trust fund from identified local sources, and continue the trust in operation for a period of no less than 5 years from the date of award. This bill would extend any award to a local housing trust that was under contract on January 1, 2013, by 12 months. Existing law requires 50% of the funds allocated to the Local Housing Trust Fund Matching Grant Program to be made available exclusively for newly established housing trust funds. Existing law requires funds set aside for newly established housing trust funds to be available for encumbrance for 42 months and, after that time, to revert to another specified housing fund. This bill would remove the above restrictions, making the funds continuously available for purposes of the program and not reverting to another fund, thus making an appropriation. The bill also would authorize funding for a housing trust fund that had previously received a grant under the program. Under existing law, the department awards funds under the grant program through the issuance of a Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) , as specified. This bill would require the department to issue a new NOFA for new trusts, as defined, by June 30, 2014. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.